^w ^. _^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^<^,r (■ •»* 3M» > <«v4*-" ■ ._. JiK.(«,S*;4 THE \ / GOLD FIELDS OF CANADA AND HOW TO REACH THEM. Being an Account of the Routes and Mineral Resources of North- Western Canada. MPRCANTii.f Library NEW YOKV^ BT E. JEROME DYER, F.R.G.S. Honorary Secretary of the Incorpuratedt London Chamber of iixnet, Lofulon. cheap edition. -1 Publi$hed under ihe AuifUt$ of i THS JNCORPORATSD LOS DON CHAMBSR OF 3ttSS8 with whiek are offliaUd the AuttnUuian and Canadian Cliawther af Minee, London). 3473x5 LONDON : GEORGE PHILIP «k SON, 82, FLEET STREET, E.G. LIVERPOOL ;— Philip, Son & Nephew, 45 — 51, Socth Oastls Stbiet. 1898. (iU rifkU reeented.) |fMi^«<**V'.«;»k:W«i&.-jji)?° * * * it 295361 I - / j)y /^ K.£ ^ \ *?i ll ^ ■> PREFACE i; In my oapaoity as Honorary Secretary of the Incorporated London Chamber of Mines (with which is affiliated the Canadian Chamber), I have had continnouti occasion to remark the need of an abridged hand-book upon the mineral resonrces of North- Western Canada. The gold discoveries in the Upper Yukon Country have made this want even more keenly felt, for it ii believed that throughout the vast expanse of the Northern Dominion there are innumerable openings for the intrepid mineral explorer with the fascinating possibility of many " Klondikes " awaiting the pick and pan of the adventurous pioneer. Meanwhile millions of many nations that have heard the name and news of " Klondike " are eager for more information of the Great Territory of which this newest marvel in goldfields is but a spot. Shaping my e:96rts by the numerous enquiries that have come before me, I have endeavoured to compile a work to meet the demand, and have embodied other necessary information that I think will interest those concerned. The chief consideration, after ascertaining the existence and locaLty of payable minerals, is how to reach them. A considerable proportion, therefore, of this book is devoted to the question of routes. On this subject, for obvious reasons, I write from the point of view of a resident in England and show that there are many routes into the N. W. Territories and the Yukon from the East and South East which &re, perhaps, superior to those from the Pacific Coast. This question, together with Mining Fields being developed and those prospective, is dealt vrith in Part I. Special attention is drawn to the Mackenzie Biver and Bay, for the discovery of an evidently immense tract of gold-bearing Country in the Mackenzie- Yukon lends a deeper interest to tie value of Mackenzie Bay by making it a means of opening up a Commercial route to the Bay by way of Beking Straits and the Arctic Ocean. Its superiority over tlie Yukon Biver Boute is also a2 ui ■4. ^,'"^A'»'ff'-. "TTT ^^HP h. pointed out. Dr. Dawson c views—that Mackenzie Bay will one day serve British North Amerioa as the White Bea serves Russia will, doubtless, eoon become fact. The inimitably rich resouroes of this huge territory reached by the Mackenzie, P^el and other rivers flowing into Mackenzie Bay are indicated, as also are the advantages of a direct route from Hudson's Bay through Chesterfield Inlet, or from some other point leading from this great arm of the sea. Part II. and the Appendix consist wholly of a classified digest of the chief works of reference, books of travel and exploration, recent reports and other publioa* tions of the N. W. Territories together with extracts from various official reports, leading newspapers and expert authorities upon the resources, chief waterways, routes and distances around and throughout the far Northern Dominion, and more particularly of the Yukon-Mackenzie Country and the means of access to that region. I would direct special notice to the accompanying map which is based upon the most recent information and discoveries, and has received the best attention of the Publishers. Whether this book fulfill the object with which it is written or not, I shall be quite satisfied if it directs some attention to the splendid work of the Geological Survey of Canada under the brilliant directorship of Dr. O. M. Dawson, to whom I must acknowledge my chief indebtedness. Nor can the name of Mr. Wm. Ogilvie be omitted in any present day work on Canada's Mining Industries : a name, practically, synonymous with the World's greatest goldfields, whom the "Times" (London) describes ns a man of indomitable courage and sterling integrity, whom the " Toronto Globe " names " The Modem Gato," to whoni thousands of Miners will owe more than they can ever repay and to whom this Book's greatest attmotion is due. The many others to whom I am indebted are mentioned below along with such publications and special reports as I have quoted in Part 11. and the A'ppendix, and to some extent in Part I. E. JEROME DYER. •w m ▼. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. List of AttthoritIcA congulted in the preparation of thla Work. Report of the Select Committee of the Senate appointed in 1888 to enquire into the Hesourcei of the Greet Mackenxie Basin (many of the names mentioned below— Indicated by an asterislc — gave evidence at this Committee). - British Colombia Year Book (OosneU's) for 189G— 97. Victoria (B. C), 1807. Exploratory Surveys in 1887—88 by Mr. Wm. Ogilvie (Ottawa, 1890). and Mr. R. Q. McGonnell (Montreal, 1890), and by Dr. a. M. Dawson (OtUwa, 1890). Annual Reports of the Qeological Survey of Canada for the yean 1886 to '96, inclusive. Official Handbook of the Dominion of Canada, published August, 1897. Reports on the Yukon and adjacent country by Mr. Wm. Ogilvie during 1896, '96 and '97 (Ottawa, 1897). Sununary Report of the Geological Survey Department of Canada for 1896. Annual Reports of the Minister of Mines for Canada for 1894—96. The 12th Annual Report of the U. B. Geological Survey referring to Mr. Frederick Bchwatka's exploratory tour through the Yukon VaUey in 1891. Canadian Pacific Railway publications for 1880, and also for 1896, '97, '98. Chartered Hudson's Bay and Pacific Railway publications, com- piled by Col. J. Harrifl, P.R.G.9., P.R.C. Inst., London, 1897. Journals of the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain (numbers referred to where quoted). "The EUurly Charterod Companies," by Geo. Cawston, Barrister. at-Law, and A. H. Keane, F.R.G.B., London, 1896. *'0n Snow Shoes to the Barren Grounds," by Caspar Whitney. London, 1896. *' The Barren Grounds of Northern . Journal of a Second Voyage for the Diaoovery of a North- Weat Pasaago, Ac, 1831— S8, by Captain Parry, London, 1834. Journal of a Third Voyage for the Diaoovery of a North-Weai Paaaage, Sto., by Captain W. E. Parry, London, 1836. Appendix by Prof. Jameson on Geology of Countriea diaoovered during Captain Parry's Second and Third Ezpeditiona. Narrative of a Beoond Expedition to the Shorea of the Polar Se» in the yean 1825—87, by Captain J. Franklin, London, 1818. Appendix 1, by J. Blohaidaon. A, 5*- ■ tii. V»mUT« of tk Baeond Voy§» In SMroh of a North-Want Pauaga, Ao., 1819—88, \>j Sir John Bom, London, 1885. Appandii on 0«olo(]r by Sir J. Roas. Marntiva of the Arctic Land Espadition, fto., 1888—85, by Capt. Back, London, 1886. (Saa also Journal Royal Geographical Sooiaty, T3l. It., 1880). Narratira of an Expedition in H.M.8. "Terror," 1836-87. by CapUin Back, London, 1888. Narrative of tf a Diaooreries on the North Ooaat of America, Sm., 1886—89, by Thomae Simpaon, London, 1848. Some account ol Peel River, North America, by A. K. Isbleter, Journal Royal Geographical Boo., London, vol. xv., 1846, p. 888. Narrative of an Expedition to the Shores of the Arctic Boa in 1846—47, by Dr. John Rae, London, 1850. Journey from Great Bear Lake to Wollaaton Land, and Explora- tions along the South and East Coasts of Victoria Land, by Dr. J. Rae, Journal Royal Geographical Boo., vol, xxii., 1868. Journal of a Voyage in BafTln's Bay and Barrow Straits in 1860—51, by P. 0. Butl.erland, M.D., London, 1858. Geological Appendix by J. W. Baiter. On the Geological and Glacial Phenomena of the Ckiasts of Davis' Strait and B.UBn'8 Bay, by P. 0. Sutherland, M.D., Quarterly Journal Geological Society, vol. ix., 1858, p. 206. A Bummer Search for Sir J. Franklin, by Captain Inglefield, 1868, Contains a Geological Appendix. *' Arctic Manual " of 1876. The Last of the Arotio Voyages, &o., 1853—54, by Sir E. Belcher London, 1865. On some additions to the Geology of the Arctic Regions, by J. W. Baiter. Report of the British Association for the Ad- vancement of Science, 1855. Further Papers relative to the recent Arctic Expeditions in Search of Sir John Franklin, Ac. London, Government, 1855. On the Geology of ihe Hudson's Bay Territories and of Portions of the Arctic and Nortb-Western Regions of America, by A. K. Isbister, Quarterly Journal Geological Boeiety, voL id. (Also reprinted, without map, in American Journal Science and Arts, second series, vol. xxi., 1866, p. 818). The Diaoovery of a North- West Paaaage by H.M.S. " Investi- gator," Capt. R. MeClure, 1860— 64. London, 1867. Geological Appendix by Bir R. Mnxohlaon. A Personal Narrative ol the Discovery of the North- West Passage, by A. Anaateosig, M.D., late Burgeon and Naturalist to H.M.S. "Tnseetigator." London, 1857. ArsUe Explorations by Dr. E. K. Kane, American Journal Soienoe and Arts, second aeries, vol. xxiv., 1867, p. S86. ^ ■-■*rj m. J a"^>' A iK Tiii. Report rrom the Selaot CommiliM on the Iludiioii'a lUy CiiH ^ i < HWl H ^ ^y V...-,^i If *.y^ j "iw-»»»y it. DMeripUyt Rkctoh of kh« Phyaloal 0«agrftpti7 and Ckology of kh* Dominion of r«nftd». By Alfr«d R. C. Salwjrn and (i. M. Dftwion, lfoutr«»l, 1884. •*0mum1«— A 0«ognphic«l, Agrieultaml »nd Min«nklogio«l BkJtoh," by T. 8t«rry Hunt. Qnebeo, 1860. Raport on the CHin«t« and Agrioulkunil Valuo, 0«n«r»l Oaologioal FaakurM and Minarala of Eoonomio Imporkano* of park of the Norkbarn Portion of Brlklth Columbia and of kba Peace River Oounkry. By Oeo. M. Dawson, 1880. Leokura by Mr. Wm. Ogilvia, delivered Viokoria fB. C.) on Norember 5th, 1807. Oovemmenk Printer, Victoria (B. C). 1807. Annual Reporka of khe Clovernor of Alaeka for eaoh year, from 1884-95 inclusive. Washinffkon. U.S. The 6kh Annual Report of tb« OnUrio Bureau of Mines (IR07). The 18kh Annual Bi>port of khe Brikish Columbia Board of Trade lor 1896-97. *Jamee Anderson, Explorer, Pranlilln Search Bzpedlkion (quoked by bis son before khe Commikkeo of the Senate, Okkawa, 1888). •Hit liordship Bishop . C. Bompas, N.W. Terrikories. Archibald Blue, Director Bureau of Mines, Ontario. (Summary of Geological Survey of Canada for 1696.) F. a. Hinde Bowlter, N.W. Terrikories. (Interview, Pall Mall Gaaette, I^ndon, Ockober S8th, 1897) Inspeukor Conskankine, Commuidank Yukon Police Division. (Reporks of khe Commissioner of khe N.W. Mounked Police for 1895 and 1896. *Hon. Wm. Chriskie, Lake Chief Inspecting Factor, Hudson's Bay Company. •Hla Lordship Bishop Cluk, Maokemda River Distriok, N.W. Terrikories. fDr. a. M. Dawson, O.M.Q., F.O.S., Director of khe Geological Surrey of Canada. Thomas Deasy, Chief of Fire Department, Vickoria, B. C. (Extracks from Lckters to Commander Wells, B.N., Loudon, Aogusk ii7kh, 1897.) Boaaall L. Dunn, M.E., London. {London Iftntnp Journal, Ootober 9nd, 1897.) tProf. J. B. Hurlbert, Geological Burvey of Canada. W. A. K. Isbisker, Explorer N.W. Territories, 1644 (menkioned dlaewhere). Joseph Ladue, Yukon Pioneer, Dawson Ciky. (MoOlaro's Maga- line, Sepkember, 1897.) Sir J. H. Lefroy, Preeidenk Geological Beekion Brikish Assooiakion, 1880. A* ^ ^^' tProf. Maooan, Gkologioal 8urf«y of Oitaadm. R. O. lIaCk>nn«U, B.A., OaologioAl Borrey of OmwI* (BMationw! clMwhere). Eon. H. U. Mkolntodi, Liout-Oovemor of N.W. TanHotlM. (I^Mrview, PaU MM OaatUt, 16tli Sapt«tabw, 1697.) 'rHiiuUd MolTor, Ifftnitobft. *Wm. J. MoIiMn, Chief Trader, Hudaon'i Bay Co. 'Malcolm MoLeod, Q.O., Es-Judge, Ottawa. •Stuart D. Mulkia, N.W. Territoriee. Wm. OgilTie, F.R.Q.8., Borrey Department of Canada (BMBiioned elsewhere). *Frank Oliyer, Editor, Edmonton, N.W. Territorlee. Roger Pooock, JoumaUst, London (for many years in the N.W. Territories, and Special Correspondent Lloycfs WMhly, Ler, 1897i and London Times, July SSrd, 1697). Professor N. S. Shaler, Harvard Univer«ity, USJL. Dr. W. H. Dael, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, U.SJL Professor Geo. P. Wright, Professor of Geok)gy, Oberlhs OsUege, U.S.A. Wm. Van Slooten, M.E., U.S.A. J. E^^ 'A I')",:- .' 7swri5«l(it)»i*v?«nr' . U . IS . IS . la . IS . 14 . 14 . 14 . Iff . Iff . 16 . 16 . 17 . 1» . 90 . 20 90 96 91 99 99 9» 9» 96 98 96 94 94 9ff 9ff 9ff 9» 96 96 xiii. INDEX — continued. Country between Great Slave Lake and the Mouth of Coppermine River The copper mountains Mode of oooarrence of the copper Country North of Copper Mountains Chromic iron ... ... ... ... Arctic Coa»t, Weat of the Mackenzie River Continental Coast, from Mackenzie River to Boothia peninsula ... ,,, ., ,,, ,,. ,,, ,,, Boothian nnd Melville Peninsulas, and vicinity Melville Peninsula Northern Continental Shore East of Hudson Bay, with Baffin Land ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Copper and iron ores Coal formations ... ... ... ... ... ... Coal outcrops ... ... ... ... ... ... Routes to the Yukon and Far N.W. Territories of Canada Routes to the Yukon from the West Coast Railways from the West Coast Objections to short costly railways . Railways from a dividend-paying point of view Good waggon roads v. short railways Travellers and Traffic v. Railway Shareholders White Pass and Stikeen routes The White Pass route ... The Stikeen route Ugly features of the St. Michael's Chilkoot and Taku ' ' River routes The St. Michael's Route The Chilkoot Pass Route The Taku Pass Route Chief object of these pages Routes and approaches from the East and South East ... Overland from Edmonton ... ... ... ... ... A bad feature in the railway question Liard and Peace River routes The Mackenzie River route Route from Hudson's Bay to the Yukon The Route of the future Hudson's Bay . •• ..• ••• .»• ... ... ••• TAau. 20 29 29 80 80 81 84 84 85 86 87 88 80 89 40 4U 40 40 41 41 42 42 42 48 48 48 48 48 48 44 44 44 4ff 46 46 l__l^j^^^l_^^_i^^^_^_l^ 5;i7^^' ;w.--;jiiirjv''*''"'' ' xiv. INDEX — continued. Safety of navii^atlon in Hadson't Bay 46 Resources of the Hadflon's Bay country 47 The route after leaving OhesterSeld Inlet 47 A waterway between the Inlet and Qreat Slave Lake ... 47 The Great Slave Lake section of the route 4B The Mackenzie Biver section 49 Navigation of the Mackenzie 48 Country tapped by a Hud«on*« Bay route 49 The navigable area of the Mackenzie and its rerouroes ... 49 The Peace Biver The Liard Biver The Peel ' ver ServiceabL tributaries of the Mackenzie A report of great value Summer route firom the Mouth of Uie Mackenzie to luG XUKOIl ••• ••* ••■ ••• ••• ••• ••• Winter route from the Mouth of the Mackenzie to tno xtuLon ••• ••• ••» ••• ••• •• « ••• Valuable discoveries on this route The through Peel Biver route Mr. Ogil>'ie on the through Peel Biver route to the headwaters of the Stewart Biver The Up- Porcupine route via Tatonduo Bivev Navigation of rivers by the Mackenzie Mov.th Route ... Proximity of Yukon and Mackenzie navigable waters ... Official particulars which establish important facts Route via Behrins Strait and Mouth of Mackenzie The Arctic Ocean route ; important points A noteworthy extract bearing upon the navigation of Canadian AX'Stio seas An Important adjunct; Arctic 5ea FislieHes Wlialiug in Mackenzie Bay Taking machinery, etc., to headwaters of the Peel, Stewart, and Maomillan Bivers American whalers in Mackenzie Bay An attractive opening for British enterprise The Archangel of North America Comparisons with Arctic seaports in Northern Europe ftuu Aflulft ••• «•• ••• ««• ••• «•• ••• The Canadian Dominion's fntore ... ... 49 49 60 60 60 61 61 61 62 62 62 68 68 68 64 64 66 66 65 66 66 66 6T 67 67 ••wnjnartr yr- "^ii^i^ifm^: ■:ii,.'»1g0^*lS, ' v J XT. 47 47 47 48 4S 48 49 49 49 49 60 50 60 61 61 61 62 INDEX TO PART II.-AUTHORITIES. MonoM fkou 1. Untold wealth of Alluvial Gold in the Country 60 The Tokon Ooldfields 00 The Klondyke Biver and Distriot 64 1888 Committee's Report and Evidenoe of Bishop Clat ... 07 Mr. W. Ogilvie's 1887 Beport 67 Important and Beliable Newspaper Beports, oommenoing at pOKv ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••t •«• OV Beport of Inspectors Constantine and Strickland 76 The Stupendous richness of Klondyke 77 New Qold Discoveries of great richness 80 A Quartz Beef on the White Pass . .. 81 A Stupendous Output of Gold predicted for 1898 ..% ... 81 The Great " Bush " of 1898 82 Klondyke's Marvels, by a Yukon Pioneer 88 A Miner's Life on the Klondyke 84 A New Field in Alaska 84 An Interview vnth an Alaskan Pioneer 84 Interview with a Klondyke Miner 87 Ontario Mining ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 87 The Biohest Man in the World... 88 Mr. Wm. Ogilvie on the Yukon Ooldfields 88 Value of Yukon Gold 89 2. Quartz Reefs in the Mountains and at the Headwaters of (no 111 VOi'o ••• •*• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• vv Wm. Ogilvie's 1896-97 Report on Quartz Bee£a 90 Inspector Constantine's Beport 91 Interview with Di*. Dawson 92 8. The Source of the Klondyiie Placer Gold 98 Quartz Beefs in the Bockies towards the Mackenzie Biver ... 94 Quartz Beefs on Stewart Biver and Headwaters 94 Formation of the Yukon Goldfields 06 4. Other Minerals » 07 Beports of 1888 Gommittee and Experts, oomjnencing page.. 97 Mineral Besouroes of the N. W. Territories 99 Evidence of MoConnell and Prot Bell ^ Evidenoe of Anderson, the Explorer, and Dr. Dawson ... 101 Evidence of Wm. Christie and J. Burr Tyrrell 102 Discoyeries of Gold, Iron and Copper; Ohesteifield Inlet and Lake Athabasca 102 I .,.-r •»«;.«* '.I.;' , ■»-'*^^ •.*.^y-.'•.i;•»«^W^r•'«r7•' -^..'.W-'Vt^rK-* ••("•'•'''"**- -^ WT" p::. «;^;. *.; XVI. INDEX — continued. -ncnoM TA«» Fetrolenm Fields of Immense Value 108 Ironutone and Copper, West of CbesteHield Inlet 108 5. Coal for Visiting Steamships, Manufactures and Mining Industries 104 Evidence of Professor Maoonn and Dr. Hurlbert ... .104 Evidence of Wm. Ogilvie and M. MoJueod, Q.C 105 Coal near the Mouth of the Mackenzie 106 A Fore-runner of Qreat Coal Discoveries 106 Coal on the Yukon 106 6. Hydraulic and Placer Mining 107 Report by Mr. Wm. Ogilvie 107 Gold in the Stewart Biver (B. O. McConnell) 107 Placer Mining in the Klondyke Country 106 Prospecting with " Booker " and Fan 112 7. Furs, Ivory, 4o 118 Evidence of Experts ... ... ... ... ... ... 118 London Sales of Hudson's Bay Company's Fnrs, etc • 118 Large and Exceptionally Fine Specimens of Ivory found ... 114 An Alaskan Plain strewn with Ivory Tusks 116 B. Steam Navigation from Yanoouver via Behring Straits to Mackenzie Bay and thro ;h to Mackenzie River 116 Tho only Navigable Channel ; a Safe Harbour 119 9. Whaling and Sealing off the Mouth of Mackenzie River; Splendid prospects lao Valuable Ivory Deposits 122 Whaling Statistics 128 Inspector Constantino's Beport on Mackenzie Bay and the Whaling there 124 Whaling Profits and Particulars 125 Whaling in the Arctic Ocean via Mackenzie Biver 126 10. Navigability, do., of the Country's Seas, Rivers and Lakes 126 ... ••• -LaO ... ••• IaO ... •*• XTwr ... ••# lox ... ••• 188 ... .•• lov ■•• ••• Xow a. Distance betwecm Mackenzie and Yukon Bivers The Mackenzie Biver and Tributaries b. The Porcupine, Bat and Bell Bivers Bell and Bat Bivers, and McDougal's Pass ... e. The Peel Biver d. The Yukon Biver A Trip np the Yukon wmmmm lip«fil«9IMl. I I ^l«ilW»,««5i^'^ xru. INDEX — continued. MOTION e. The Klondike Biver /. The Tatonduo, Poroupine and Peel Rivers g. The Stewart Biver h. MacMillan Biver 'Ilie Poroupine Mackenzie Boute «. The Telly Biver J. The Lewes Biver k. The Liard, Francis and Dease Bivers; also Dease and Franois Lakes The Liard Biver Dangers of the Liard Boute From the Liard to the Pelly Gold on the Liard and Francis Bivers Franois Lake ••• ... ... ... .., Boad from Franois Lake to Pelly Banks I. Dease Biver m. The Peace Biver Coal on the Peace Biver Distances and description of tho Peace Biver ... Agriculture on the Peace Biver n. Old Stikine Boute The New Stikine Boute , The Stikine Boute Bailway The C.P.B. and the proposed Stikine Bailway Gold on the Stikine 0. The Tes-lin-too (Hootalinqua) Biver p. The Big Salmon Biver q. The Tohl-Tan Biver r. The Chilkoot (Taiya) Pass A Bailway Line from Chilcoot Inlet to Fort Selkirk . a. The Chilkat Pass t. The White Pass V. The Toiya Pass Boute w. Taku Boute to Lake Teslin-too A Significant Incident ... ••• as. Taku and Windy Arms y. Large Bivers Flowing into Hudson's Bay 11. Distances of Chief River, Sea, Lal(e and Overland Routes... 160 Boutes from Liverpool to the Yukon Goldfields 160 yA3B iS • • • •• ^85 i» • « • •« 186 j)jB • • • •• IBO "ii • f • •• 141 .!^ • • • •• 141 ifl •« t«* 142 ^ • • • • * 142 'Ji lase • • and • •• 142 i • • • •• 148 9 • • • •# 144 '^ • • • •• 144 'il ta #•• 146 v'^ • • • •• 146 -.Jj • • ••• 146 'M • • ••■ 146 'M •• • «• 146 ■ M • • tee 146 "'3 •• • •• 146 ■'■^ • • • •• 148 ;M • • • •• 148 .'3 • • ••• 160 "M • • • •• 152 '^M • • • •• 162 • • • •• 168 • • ••• 168 • • • •• 168 1 • • • • • •• ••• 164 164 • • • •• 164 M • • • •• 166 ■M • • • •• 166 4 •• ••• 166 ."'*■" • • • •• 166 • • • •• 167 • • • • • •• • •t 168 168 ■ 4-' W. Ogilvie's Distances, 18'J6 161 : ^IfSi^j^, ___ -'-V .1 " **,'*^vnpfr7S| r n.. •aoTlON xviii. INDEX — continued. rA«a OoverDinent Map Measoremento 161 The Uppor Pelly .. 108 Dawion's Diatanees from Fort Selkirk to Taiya Inlet ... 168 Distanoeir from Head of Chilkoot Inlet to the Domiilarv Line on the Yukon River between N. W. Territories and Alaska 166 Distances from Fort Maopherson to Fort Chipewan 166 Distances to points on Peace River from Fort Ghippewyan on Athabasca Xiake ..• ... ... ... ... ... ... 168 Athabasca Landing to Great Slave Lake 168 Lengths of some of the Chief Lakes 169 Route from Athabasca Landing to the Poaoe River 160 12. loe on Rivers and Lakes Ice on Mackenzie and Tributaries Ice on Great Slave Lake Ice on the Stikine Ice on Deasr. Lake Ice on the Liard ... Ice on the Peace ... Ice on the Lewes ... Ice on the Yukon ... Ice on Lake Bennett Ice on the Churchill River 169 169 170 170 171 171 171 171 171 172 172 13. Restrictions to large Foreign Joint-Stooi( Companies on the British Yulcon 172 14. Climate 174 Daylight in the N.W. Territories (Actual Sunlight) 174 Mean Temperature at Fort FranUin, Great Bear Lake, Lat.05«12' Small Snowfall on the Mackenzie The Open Sea at the Mouth of the Mackenzie. Important Changes in the Climate 15. Indians and Esquimaux Employment of Indians : their numbers Trading with the Indians 16. Fish (freshwater) and Game 17. Corn, Vegetables and Pasturage 18. Diffloulties of Routes from the South ... • *• 176 • •« 176 )... 176 • »• 176 • *• 177 • •• 177 ••• 178 • »• 178 • •• 180 • •• 183 -rTr,^'T-y7iirT^ ■ ■'^fWfifffllJ**'''*'* **-'»^T V!^."»lf ,. run • •• 161 • •• 108 «•• 108 Lme laska 166 • tf 106 in on • •• 108 • •ff 108 • •• 109 • • • 109 • • • 109 • •• 109 • •• 170 »•. 170 • •• 171 • ■• 171 • •• 171 • •• 171 >•• 171 • •• 172 • •• 172 1 on • #• 172 • •« 176 • •• 176 • «• 176 • •• 170 • •• 177 • •• 177 • •« 178 • ■• 178 • •• 180 • •• 182 ♦ INDEX — continued. n.enon 19. 8ub-Aroi!o Winter Travelling; Reindeer, Dci$8, et<^. Dog- Trains for tko Yokon Frioea and PaitioularB of Dogs Biver Travel in Winter Beindeor Transport Bivur Travelling on the Ynkon 29. Population of the Future The " Kush " of '08 to alter the face of the Cotmtry ... New Comers muBt go far Afield 21. Present and Prospeotive Routes to the Qoid Fields... Bt. Michael's Route The Cbilooot Pasn Route The Ohilcat Pass Route The Taiya Pass Route Tlie White Pass Route Behring Strait to Mouth of Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River Route Ednjonton Route via the Mackenzie River The Peace River Route The Liard River Route The Stikine River Route via Teslin Lake The Taku River Route via Teslin Lake Bound's Overland Route Dalton's Overland Route The Edmonton Routes All Canadian Bontes The Most Likely Boute from Edmonton to the Yukon The Churchill Boute from Hudson's Bay The Old Hudson Bay Route from York Factory at the Month of the Nelson, Hudson Bay, to the Mackenzie XdVGf ■• • ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• mV'* U. S. America v. British Boutes to the Y^ukon Goldfields . . . 208 The Chesterfield Inlet and Mackenzie Biver Boute 2CS Another Boute from Mackenzie Biver to the Stewart Headwaters ••• ••• ..• .«• ... ... ... 206 22. The Chesterfield Inlet Route The shortest Boute from Europe to the Yukon Country London to Elondyke in a Fortnight The Hudson's Bay to Klondyke scheme Trade Boutes from the East to the Yukon 23. To Chesterfield Inlet from Athabasca Lake A r.'.oa ... 186 li ... 188 ^E ... loo •^ ... 189 •4 ... 180 ... 190 > ... 100 ... 192 ... 102 ... 108 A ■A 1 ... 108 ... 198 ' A ... 108 \ ... 108 ... 108 ... 198 i.'Oh ... 194 ... 194 l£^^H ... 196 ... 196 ■^!»M ... ICO ''« ... 106 '^"^ ... 100 f^. ... 106 ... 108 } ... 100 ... 200 ... 202 207 208 210 212 216 '.*j •'^i "H ^i •I INDEX — con tinued. MOTION »*•■ 24. The 8ub-Arotio Territory of North Canada W An Important Un-Mapped River 819 Extracts from the Explorer Andenon't Diary 280 AKrioulture on the verge of the Barren Grounds 390 The Chesterflold Inlet Country S81 26. Important Oomparison with Northern Russia and Asia ... 38S Home FartioularH of Archangel 88ft Populous Towns in Snb- Arctic Enrope and Ania 888 The Possibilities of the Mackenzie-Yukon Country 884 26. Hudson's Bay and its Territory 885 Extent and Resources of tho Territory 835 Thk Hudson's Bay Bra Route 887 Exports and Cost of Transport 887 Hudson's Bay 887 Navigation of the Buy 228 Resources of the Hudson'it Bay Territory 889 Mineraln iu the Hudson's Bay Territory 880 The New Importance of Hudson's Bay 281 Agricultural Possibilities 888 Advantage in Distance of the Hudson's Bay Route 888 A Passenger Route of National Importance 288 No Obstructions to Navigation 284 Period of Open Navigation in the Bay ani Rivers 384 EcoQomio Advantages of this Route tc Europe 885 Record of Wrecks in Hudson's Bay; only one in 874 Years ... 886 Important Evidence of the Bay's Navigation 28ft 27. Dangers of the Chillcat, Taiya, Chilltoot and White Passes... 287 28. Generai 242 ••• jMbv ••• IHv ••• Xvv ... 845 ... 848 ... 846 ••• Ai47 ... 848 ... 258 ... 854 ... 257 ... 258 ... 258 ... S5» uenerai ... ... ,.• ... ... ... ., A Yukon Outfit Joe Ladue's Food Outfit for Twelve Months Klondyke Market Prices, July, 1897 Another Table of Prices A Light-Weight Outfit A 12 Months' Outfit Fares and Time from Liverpool to the Klondyke How a Miner " Pegs-Out " on the Yukon The British Columbia Boundary question Hints to the Mining Novice Condensed Foods for the Far N. W. Territories The Table of a Year's Food The Klondyke Food Pack Termination of the Hudson Bay Company's Charter A.ppOuCUX ••• !•• ct* ts« ••• ••• •• \tfH^ '»mi* n.. ... 262 .. ... 264 .■ ... 267 .. ... 268 ... 258 .. ... S6» MrHc;\NT;!.F Library NEW YORK. TUB ROUTES AND MINERAL RESOURCES or N. W. CANADA. PART I.-AROUMBNT. Until a few months ago thu Canadian Dominion was chiefly known, written about, and lectured uik)u at a country of great and promising agricultural capacity, excepting that portion west of the Bookies known as the province of British Columbia, which enjoys such world« wide repute as a country of well-nigh illimitable resource in itsminmg, agrictdtural, pastoral, timber, and fishing industries, as to need little more than passing reference in these pages. Woll-informed people, however, had kept themselves posted up in the reports of the Dominion's ably con* ducted Geological Survey, find were aware of tho boundless stores of mineral wealth, only awaiting man's enterprise and ingenuity to locate it and his energy to unearth it. There were, however, many circumstances which prevented mineral exploitation, but the most potent hindrances were the inaccessible character of the country and the want of a prospecting community. Means of aocess would soon have been forthcoming liad a pressing demand arisen, but this could only be provided by popu- lation. The steady growth of an agricultural people could not supply this want, it required the colonizing influence of gold discoveries. The majority of mining men are rovers ; here to-day, Australia to-morrow — so to speak — and South Africa the next day. Had it not been for the gold-mining attractions i i . ^ 'I WliathM bttberto yre- rented nuniug derelopmeivk. -J a ■■••5 nw» — TiMflntaBd follovlnc mlalBf dwU^Mif. A miUter of the higbMl importance to commercial of the iMt-menlionetl countries, following those of Californi* fifty years ago, this roving band of adventurous meu would long ago have turned their attention to this moet promising land, and brought it well ou to the high road of mineral development, instead of it beiug as it is to-day merely in the groping stage. On the decline of the Califomian diggings thp minors gradually scattered and many found their way into Canada, chiefly along the Columbia and Fraser Rivers, and in the late fifties the placer mines of Cariboo became known. ThcHO were followed by the Cassiar "rush," and ultimately led to the discovery of magni- ficent gold-bearing quartz in Kootenay, where a large amount of British capital has been invested during the last two years. As the Gassiar placers were worked out miners drifted farther west and north, prospecting on the Dease and Liard Rivers, and along the Lewes into the Yukon district. Others sought the snow-bound regions of Alaska, nltiinately finding their way on to the gold- bearing tributaries of the Yukon River. The wonderful discoveries on the Klondyke creeks of 1896, and last year, '97, are the result, and are believed by the highly qualified ot&cen of the Canadian Geological Survey and other experts, to be the very probable forerunner of greater and richer discoveries in that immense gold- bearing region between the Yukon and Mackenzie Rivers which Dr. Dawson describes as occupying a total approximate area of 192,000 square miles. (See Section 1. Part II.) The prominence which this vast region will occupy amongst the gold-bearing countries of the world, and the important position it will take in the eyes of the world's commercial centres, may be gauged by the facts that the above-mentioned area is nearly equal that of France, and greater than the United Kingdom by 71,000 square miles, and that almost all supplies must be imported, as the soil and climate are unsuited for any appreciable agricultural production. «;i«»,T*«if».»»*j«iJ;.ll i ^ -» r ! rj > » i< i ) | yi wj t*;..-' r-i- »*.■■•••■" .' ■ ;r'* 'J- 1 . t \ ; t rt 1 , ..,,^...^,^,^^^,,,,, PPM T's. 1?' TtacgrMt fstare of the ngion. The questic n of aoceBs. The greitt key note— gold. very great distance and these quartz veins stiU exist," (see Section 2. Part II.)i one's eyes are opened to a long and widening vista of future possibilities for the North- West Territories, It must, consequently, be taken for granted that the Western side of these sub-Arctic mountains— on the tributaries and at the headwaters of the Lewes, Yukon, Pelly, Macmillan, Stewart, Peel, Porcupine and other rivers — will be the scene of great activity in years to come, when the glens and mountain passes of this wild region will resound with the whirr and thud of mining machinery and the strident march of civilisation. It is quite reasonable to suppose that the Eastern side of these far Northern ranges may also be found equally rich as is the case further South in the neigh- bourhood ol the Liard and other adjacent rivers, and still further South in the Fitates. And in the pursuit of the yellow metal are there not in this region vast stores of other concomitant products such as coal and iron which may open up such a field of industry in this far North- West Territory as not even the most sanguine has dared to forecast ? The question of access, as has already been pointed out, has been one of the obstacles to mineral exploitation of North- West Canada in the past. But the solution of this matter only awaited the striking of a note in a certain key and all difliculties surrounding the question ecame mere details to be summarily swept aside before The Great Purpose. This key note was struck in California- fifty years ago when similar difficvdties were dealt with as drift before a cyclone. One of these difficulties was a 2,000 mile waggon journey through an unknown country that wag not only heartbreaking in its trials, but was infested with robbers and hostile Indians who ravaged, murdered and despoiled in a manner sufficient to terrify the most courageous, ex- cepting those lured by the keynote — gold. This keynote was next struck in Australia, and 18,000 miles of what was then considered a desperate and •i 'tf »v)»5t^rVxVlw* **'^ perilous voyage was undertaken by scores of thousands without a moment's hesitation. New Zealand, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, West Australia — all countries where trials had to be endured^ach struck this irresis- tible keynote, and a now era of prosperous development set in for each. Great cities arose, costly railways were built, manufactories were established and splendid fortunes were made ; the countries were developed. The richer and moro permanent the fields the greater the development, and the more magnificent the cities and industries. With these examples before us there is every reason a splendid to anticipate a splendid future of mineral development mineral for the Canadian North- West Territories, now that the magical keynote has been struck in the Yukon, and with this a development of trade, manufacturing and agricul- tural production which will not only bring wealth to the Dominion, but will give this great British possession a position in the world which will qualify it to play no unimportant part in those questions which concern the world's welfare. ■3 Mining Fields now being Developed. Before dealing with the important question of means of access to the Yukon and other far distant portions of the North- West Territories, a brief reference might be made to the mining fields of the Dominion now being worked, and those that might be teamed prospective. Briti5h Columbia. (See, also, Appendix). Gold was first discovered in this province early in First discovery the fifties, following the great Califomian rush of 1849. rataequmt At first, and for many years, it was nearly all placsr or alluvial mining in valleys on the banks of rivers or along old creek beds. Splendid returns were made on many occasions and there were several " rushes " to different parts of the country. In the year 1863 ^old to the value 1? 6 Vanaonvec bluid; gold uidooal. Kootenay. of £800,000 was taken out of British Columbia placers. but from about that time returns declined until in 1893 the annual output was valued at only about £70,000. About 1890, however, quartz mining, under modem methods, was introduced and a new era in the industry set in for the province. The Gassiar and Cariboo fields have not yet been exploited for quartz and are still being successfully worked for placer gold.* It is said that from the time the traveller enters British Columbia through HeU's-gate Pass till he reaches salt water, or the extreme west of Vancouver Island, he cannot get away from minerals. At Albemi and Barclay on this island miners claim to have had assays running £2 to the ton, while the placers on China Creek are said to be miniature El Dorados. Gold mining on Vancouver Island is not done on a very extensive scale, though prospects appear promising enough, but the coal mines are big enough to supply the world. Since these mines were first worked in 1836 they have yielded 11,000,000 tons, worth £6,600,000. For the last six years the output has represented £400,000 per year. It is on the mainland, however, in the Trail district, the Slocan, East Kootenay, Boundary Creek, Harrison Lake, Cariboo and Cassiar, that the great mineral development, in gold mining chiefly, is looked for. The great gold- producing district of British Columbia is the Kootenay, which is by far the most important mining sub-division of the province. Its richest part is that known as Trail Creek on either side of the Columbia Biver. Its chief centre is Bossland, a town with a population of 5,000. This district is by no means a new one. It was first discovered in 1824 by H. B. Coy voyageurs and further exploited by miners travehing into Canada from California along the Columbia river. A "rush" to the district took place in the early sixties, but the di£Sculties of mining the low grade surface ores in the district, the want of means of communication and gold rushes elsewhere {*B«« Appendix— " Anotbet Mew Gold Field In BritUh Coinmbia.") -?'*> gp i ^ji l|) ,IIW| f ,]M i« »ll. >»i yiMM i i ' 'l l I WW V inr. drove (or drew) the miners away, and it was not until the last six or seven years that systematic efibrts were made to open up the fields. The results have been most encouraging. In 1896 £773,000 worth of gold and silver was produced in the Kootenay and last year (1897) it is expected there will be a large increase; £2,000,000 worth of gold being the estimate, though five years ago the lode-gold production was practically nil. British Columbia's record in gold production up to Sfa^ohmSter- date is the very respectable total of nearly £12,000,000, |^^\^**" while the total value of the output of mineral wealth is set down at £20,000,000. Thib is not brilliant compared with some of the Australasian colonies, but it must be remembered that gold mining in British Columbia has scarcely passed beyond the surface-scratching stage. As showing, however, the rapidity with which develop- ments are taking place it is recorded that in 1896 upwards of 12,000 mineral claims were staked out, 8,000 of these being in West Kootenay. Another point to be borne in mind is that there is scarcely a square mile of the province that is not in sight of gold-bearing country. Mining in British Columbia is not altogether confined o*«»"»toer»ta to gold. Various minerals are worked, the chief of which are silver, lead, iron, cinnabar, and copper. Coal is also found in several localities, especially on Vancouver Island and in the south-east, in the vicinity of the Crow's Pass. Here 20 outcropping seams were recently discovered, having a total thickness of from 132 to 448 feet. Just outside the border on the Canadian Pacific Bailway line and on Queen Charlotte Islands large seams have been found. On these islands, also, there are very rich undeveloped anthracite fields. The Standard of August 28th gives the following cicasWcation classification of British Columbia ores : — (a) Coarse- Columbia oies. grained pyrrholite, or " iron ore," containing very little gold; (6) ore containing iron pyrites, arseno-pyrites, and other compounds, in which the silver value exceeds the gold ; (c) typical ore of the principal mining camps, divided into two classes, the first of which yields on an I IIHUPPHH ••WWH^^i" lanwpRiiaaRtHHlHppR^-^ Ooreramerit mining gnuiti. MlnidZ vagea In Briu*b Oolunbia. Dr. Dawun'a Siinionof rttUta Oolnmbi* proapects. Free Grant LnndB. 8 average 2-6 oz. of gold, 1"8 oz. of ei'ver, and 2-6 per cent, of copper to the ton, and the second about half the quantity of each. According to the mining regulations, a Crown grant is given on completion of £100 worth of work, while a claim held as a location reqiiires that its owners each have a free miner's license and do £20 worth of work per annum, or pay £20 into the provincial treasury. Wages nm from 128. to 208. a day tcr shifta of eight to ten hours. Dr. Dawson, the recognised and greatest authority on mineralogy in Canada, states — •' Everything that has been ascertained of the geological character of the province, as a whole, tends to the belief that, as soon as means of travel and transport shall be extended to what are still the most inaccessible districts, they also will be discovered to be equally rich in minerals, particularly in precious metals — gold and silver. Ontario. {See, also, Appendix.) This province bears the reputation of being the most beautiful and healthful in America, if not in the world. It may also truthfully be said to have the most fertile soil, the richest area of mineral covmtry, and the moat liberal land laws. Its immenss area of 222,000 square miles only con- tains a population 2,114,000, thus providing wide scope for the industrious immigrant. A word or two for the intending emigrant bent on agriculture. Any head of a family, whether male or sole female, having children under 18 years of age, can obtain a grant of 200 acres ; and a single man over 18 years of age, or a married man having no children under 18 residing with him, can obtain a grant of 100 acres. Such a person may also purchase an additional 100 acres at 50 cents (28. Id.) per acre, cash. This province is known to be extremely rich in minerals throughout its entire extent, which, however, is practically unexplored ; but enough is known to prove •■fl^K^wir^-" /.-■■:.'.;vifi^,> .'♦■*»f\;.jjvrjCT«^<»y^^^J9P«»*^a^^ The now Tain* or Nickel. that the districts north of Lakes Huron and Superior are enormously rich in gold, iron, silver, copper, nickel and other minerals. The nickel deposits are practically of illimitable extent Nickel and enormous value. They are situatad at Sudbury, near the north shore of Lake Huron. Their importance, which was lirst recognised six or seven years ago, has been much enhanced by tho recent decision of the Admiralty to use nickel-steel armour plating for our new ships of war, as only one other large deposit of the metal is known to exist — namely, in the French Colony of New Caledonia, where it is much lees accessible than at Sudburv. The nickel occurs in association with copper, in the form of pyrrhotite, and it was for copper that the mines were originally worked. The presence of nickel was only discovered through metallurgical difficulties in treating the copper ; but since 1890 the mines have been worked for both by a Copper Company, a concern consisting chiefly of American capital. The ore contains from 2 to 3 per cent, of nickel, and the deposits have been proved to be very extensive. The deepest shaft occurs in what is known as the " Copper Clifif Mine; " it has been sunk to the eleventh level — say about 700 feet — and the ore shows no sign of giving in. Other nickel companies have now been formed for ex- tending the industry, and Canada looks forward with good reason to developing it into a leading source of wealth. In eastern Ontario there have been considerable Ooid, galena, finds of gold, galena and mica, while the quarrying of and marble iti apatite, or phosphate of lime, and marble of excellent quality, are both profitable industries. In tho southern district, near Lake Hiiron, are the Petroleum famous oil springs, from which petroleum is obtained saitweiis. in immense quantities. In 1896 the value of the crude petroleum was valued at 1,155,646 dollars, and of natural gas 276,301 doUarr;. Further to the north, in the same district, are prolific salt wells, which send forth an abundant supply of brine ; the salt obtained from which '--^TO^iii' ■■«_"*Sl IT mm mm The oldeit llinlng District in Onkkrio. tv r The Lake of the Woods DlstriotB. The Lal(e of theWoodBOoId Ontpnthas ahready trebled the total Out- put of Ontario. fonna a large item in the oommeroe of the place ; and north of Lake Superior, in the Thunder Bay district, rich ores of silver are found; while eastward, on the Grand Biver, there are extensive mines of gypsum, or Plaster of Paris. There are also oonRiderable areas of peat beds in several parts of the province. The oldest mining district is at Hastings, near the eastern border of the province. Gold was first found here in 1866, when the discovery caused considerable excitement for a time. The ore, however, proved re- fractory to the processes of that day, and very Uttle gold was produced ; but within the last year or two a marked revival has taken place ; there has been a large expendi- ture on modem plant at several mines in the district^ and the prospects are improving. It is at the other end of the province, however, near the Lake of the Woods and the Bainy Biver that most activity prevails. Here an immense and richly auriferous region has been opened up quite recently. The area is 250 miles long, and about half as broad. Gold occurs only in quartz veins, but unlike the Hastings ore, it is nearly all free milling. Dr. Coleman, the expert of the Bureau of Mines at Toronto, has just returned (August, 1897) from an official inspection of the gold fieldn, and reports very favourably upon them. The whole thing is still in its infancy ; the oldest mine has only been worked for three years, new ones are being started almost from month to month, and further prospecting is still being carried on under a Government concession. But already the results have trebled the gold output of Ontario, and Dr. Coleman expects a large and rapid increase. " There is every prospect," he says, " that a number of mines will be producing gold in 1897, and that the total will rapidly increase. The area of the auriferous country is so enormous, and the ores as a whole so easily treated, that within a few years a very large output may be expected." In addition to these two principal gold fields at opposite ends of the province, mines are now being worked at various intervening points near the shore of Lake Superior and at Lake Wahnapitae. ■■;«flrK-rtW(i*«-./^SMK«lrtrt»H««;.: ■": w i ii <| l i ! | y ij y ^ 11 Perhaps the most important of the many mining fl,"*"®"' discoveries made in Ontario was that reoently made on the Michipicoten Biver, near lake Wawa. Mr. Blue, Director of the Ontario Bureau of Mines, returned in Octobe:, 1897, from inspecting this new find, and reportft the discovery of a vein of quartz then yielding 600 dc'llars of gold to the ton. (This new field is referred to at greater length further on, under the heading of " Mining Fields Awaiting Development.") In short, great activity prevails throughout Ontario. Northern Alberta. This section of the North- West Territories of Car>ada is the only remaining portion, excepting the British Yukon, in which gold mining is carried on. For some years past, since 1863, an average of about 6C,000 dollars worth of gold has been washed out of the bfirs and banks of the Saskatchewan Biver. In the early days 10 to 15 dollars per day was the average oamings of the miner, but the return now averages very little over 1^ dollars per day. New interest has been lately aroused in the possi- bilities of this industry, from the fact that some Americans, who made tests in 1896, found that only about ten per cent, of the gold was saved by the hand " grizzlies " used by the miners. For many years placer mining has been carried on Ooid on the along the big Saskatchewan Biver, chieny on the north Biver. branch, about 200 miles north of Calgary, where fair wages are now being made every summer; the same bars being worked year after year and never becoming exhausted. Last year (1896), says the Calgary Herald of September 16th: "A small boom was started by dis- coveries of high gold values in the black sand with which the river abounds. Some 30 mining scows are now at work taking out the black sand, but for want of smelting facilities and improved methods, little is yet known of the real value of the diggings There is gold on the bars of the south branch of the Saskatchewan, as well as on the north branch, and of the two rivers ; old M wa |. >p| w|W jy »y i i i ywfn iiiii mny yp i| j i in4 petroUamaiea. 18 enough is known to show that on the headwaters of the Peace, Liard and Peel Rivers, there are from 160,000 to 200,000 square miles which may be considered auriferous, while Canada possesses, west of the Rocky Mountains, a metallifurouB area principally of good yielding rocks, 1,300 miles in length, with an average breadth of 400 to 500 miles, giving an area far greater than that of the similar mining districts of the neighbouring Republic. '• In addition to these auriferous deposits, gold has J^rf""" **' been foimd on the west shore of Hudson's Bay, and ^,JJ!5[i* has been said to exist in certain portions of the barren grounds. Silver on the Upper Liard and Peace Rivers, copper upon the Coppermine River, which may be con- nected with on Eastern Arm of Great Bear Lake by a tramway of 40 miles, iron, graphibe, ochre, brick and pottery clay, mica, gypsum, lime and sandstone, sand for glass and moulding, and asphaltum, are all known to exist; while the petroleum area is so extensive as to An tmmetue justify the belief that eventually it will supply the larger part of this continent, and be shipped from Churchill, or some more northern Hudson's Bay port, to England. " Salt and sulphur deposits are loss extensive, but the former is found in crystals, equal in purity to the best rock salt, and in highly saline springs ; while the latter is found in the form of pyrites, and the fact that these petroleum and salt deposits occur mainly near the line of division between deep water navigation and that fitted for lighter craft, give them a possible great com- mercial value. The extensive coal and lignite deposits of the Lower Mackenzie and elsewhere, will be found to be of great value when the question of reducing its iron ores, and the transportation of the products of this vast region, have to be solved by steam sea-going or lighter river craft." No important mention is made in the above extracts of pioh *«1*» , , . , beyond the the regal mmeral which is now creatmg such a sensation ^^^'^ in the Yukon-Mackenzie country, particularly on the tributaries of the Klondyke River. But the above report was handed in years before the marvellous goldfinds of in' -»)*s ^^KprT. Ya- u l'h« new gold t; •IT 15 semblonoe of the country rocks to the Lake of the Woods region, I think there is every reason to believe that the Division will well repay oaretul prospecting, and that in a few years gold mining will hero bo established on as profitable a basis as in other parts of Ontario." This field has an advantage over almost all other roiattoii of um Canadian goldfiolds that should bring it into rapid favour floia. — if its prospects are good enough, it is easy of access, it is situated on the North- East shore of Lake Superior, between the Lake and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and may be reached from either. The lake route is pro- bably the easiest, end wai chosen by Mr. Blue for his hurried visit. Michipicoton is about seventy-five miles directly North from Sault Ste. Marie by steamer, which lands passengers about two miles from the mouth of the river. There is an Indian reserve in the bay, so that it is not difficult to obtain canoes for the rest of the journey. Professor Willmott, having more time at his dis- posal, took the inland route, travelled by the Canadian Pacific Railway to Missanabie, and thence with two Indian guides by canoe. Missanabie is forty-six miles in a straight line from Lake Superior; but the prospector follows a circuitous route, in order to take advantage of the lakes and streams. There are two routes from Missanabie, both starting in a South- Westward direction through Dog and Manitowick Lakes. Thence one follows the Michipicoton River round one-third of a circle to its outlet, a probable distance of sixty-five miles. There ore on this route six portages, all well travelled, but some of them very rough. The Big Stcny portage is five-sixths of a mile long, and the Long portage one mile and two-thirds. The others are short. Below the Long portage the river winds about in a gravel plain for nearly ten miles, with considerable current, making it necessary to " pole " in many places when ascending. For this reason, and because of its shortness, the route which diverges from the lower end of Manitowick is usually taken. This ascends a small stream in a South- Rontos to the flold. ..'■ft .JiilM^J!!iirfi2,ii:iti.ff3»,»aSi<0 ., J, •■fH.^i^i •, '.TTTPfr-- "trtmr.r ■ ■ f«»4i»*".- r *,,! ' Oold-baftrir. eoootry No' .n otLiklw Winnipeg. ^"^Pi^' 1« western direction, pMsos through a namhor of tmnll lakefl, over the height of land and down Wawa Luke to its South-Wost end. Thence an old Canadian Paoifio couHtruction road may bn taken to Michipicoton, a distance of seven miles, or a portage of two miles to the Magpie River, and a further portage of a quarter of a mile at the mouth of this stream. At present two teams are transporting goods across the " tote- road to Wawa at exhorbitatit rates. This route from Missanabio is veiy direct — little over fifty miles — and can bo made in two days by two men travelling in a light canoe. The portages are numerous but good, except the Big Stony one. At the time of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway roadit were built by the contractors for the purpose of getting in supplies. Though theso loads are now overgrown with small bmih and the bridges across the creeks have decayed, they alTord to the pros* poctor a comparatively easy entrance to the interior. The following extract from the Summary Report of the Geological Survey Department for 1896 describes an exploratoiy work by Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, of the Canadian Geological Survey made last year in the country lying along the Grass River to the North of Lake Winnipeg. Grass River is a tributary of Nelson River which flows into Hudson's Bay : — A New Field for Mining Enterprise North of Lalce Winnipeg. Report of a Survey by J. W. TYRRELL, B.A., of the Qeological Survey Department of Canada. " On the 29th of June (1896), I left Selkirk, Manitoba, accompanied by two oanoemen who had been with me through two previous seasons, and the following day reached Selkirk Island, near the mouth of the Saskat- chewan River, On the morning of the Ist of July we were taken by a small fishing tug northward to Limestone Bay, and thence we proceeded by canoe along the north shore of Lake Winr'peg and through Playgreen Lake to Norway House. ^ 4 17 % " Here two IndlAni and an extra oanoe were hired, >in««tiMt»»k« and we tamed westward into the country lying to the *•'•'• woHt of Nelflon River, exploring Goose-gut, Pino and Wolf Riverg ; returning from the latter stream to Nor- way Houao, where the two Indians were paid off. '* We then dosoended Nelson River to Cross Lake, where two other Indians ^ rere hired, and the descent of the Nelson River was continued to the north end of Sepaywisk Lake, whence we crossed se/eral portages and small Lakes until we reached Bunitwood River, which was ascended to Nelson House, whore the Cross Lake Indians wore paid off and allowed to return home. With one oanoe, and the two men from Selkirk, I returned to Paint Lake, and then ascended Grass River, through Setting, Herb am. Reed Lakes to its source in Cranberry Lake. From the south end of Cranberry Lake, we crossed the Cranberry Portage to Athapapuskow Lake, and thence descended Goose River, through Goose Lake, to Sturgeon River, which was descended to Cumberland on the Saskatchewan River. " From Cumberland we ascended the Saskatchewan River to Fort k la Come, where the canoe was stored for the winter, and we drove to Prince Albert, arriving there on the evening of the 9th of October, three months and eleven Jays after leaving Selkirk, having travelled in all about 1,100 miles, largely over routes previously unexplored. " From Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan River, Northern the horizontal Palaeozoic limestone was found to extend PailKMoio northward to the south end of Hills Lake, on Pine River, and Herb Lake, on Grass River. Thence, the northern limit of the limestone extends westward, keeping to the south side of Grass River, and generally forming an escarpment from fifty to one hundred feet high. Goose and Athapapuskow Lakes lie in a deep bay in the face of this escarpment. West of the latter lake the northern edge of the limestone is known to extend along the south- west side of Beaver Lake, and thence ouwurd towards Lac la Bonge south of Churchill River. A llineitone mMN ;fT" i,*.iw.!iA,!; "J' ^ " iMinatiHi •adHoroaUn roolu. LargettHa- toolaauea. ■&"-■■ 18 " North of the limestone escarpment, the country is underlain by Archaean rocks, which have usually a gently undulating surface contour. From the Nelson River westward as far as longitude 99° 80'' they consist chiefly of gray and reddish-gray Laurentian gneisses and granites. Along the Nelson River these are cut by numerous dykes of dark -green, highly basic traps, and in the vicinity of Pipestone and Gross Lakes they are associated with an area of micaceous, homblendic and serioitio schists, stretched schistose conglomerates and fine-grained slates of Huronian age. " On the South side of this area, and near the edge of the gneiss, is an eruptive mass of light greenish-gray anorthosite, tind a gabbro containing a large quantity of mispickel, associated with some copper-pyrites. " On the 8outh side of the Indian Reserve Island in Cross Lake, the hornblende- schists are cut by wide veins of coarse, white, pegmatitic granite, containing large crystals of black and white mica, some of the latter being nine inches in diameter, and very possibly indicating deposits of commercial value. On account of the evenly rounded nature of the surface, and the want of blasting materials, none of the larger crystals could be taken out, but some of the smaller fragments obtained were clean and unbroken. '* Thinly foliated green schists, probably of Huronian age, were again found on another Pipestone Lake, on the way from Cross Portage to Bumtwood River. "But the most extensive and interesting area of Huronian rocks was discovered on the upper part of Grass River. Beginning a short distance east of Herb Lake it extends almost continuously westward through Reed, Elbow and Cranberry Lakes, and crossing to the drainage basin of the Saskatchewan River, underlies parts of Athapapuskow and Goose Lakes. " Seven miles east of the north end of Herb Lake, the Huronian rocks are first encountered, in a hill of massive or slightly foliated diabase largely altered to ■ ih »v:i|--.«»i)J..-.';^'(ii.;, .,.;«. :j>-^-^ . 19 chlorite, and a short distance further west is a ridge of dark-gray micaceous schist studded with rather large crystals of stanrolite. On the east side of Herb Lake ia a ridge of thinly foliated light-grey micaceous gneiss, containing a good deal of white mica, and cut by many veins of white quartz. *' On the west sida of the same lake, and extending south to Wekusko Poi:at, is an eruptive mass of coarse gabbro, approaching a tiiabase in texture. South of this is a considerable area of dark-green, slaty schists. On the south-west side of ijhe lake these are cut by another large eruptive mass of a finer grained and more typical gabbro. The schists are also disturbed and altered by a large mass of red granite. " Almost everywhere the schists are cut by larger Kamennu and smaller veins of white quartz. The river above Herb * Liake runs for a considerable distance along the line of contact of red granite on the west, and Huronian schists and conglomerates en the ea^t, above which it crosses an area of coarse, dark-grey gabbro, returning, near the entrance into Beed Lake, to the red granite. Near the contact are many quartz veins, associated with a good deal of iron-pyrites. " On Beed Lake, the Huronian rocks consist chiefly of fine-grained, green slaty schists, holding much pyrites, and cut by many stringers of quartz. " Above Reed Lake the country becomes more rugged bocIm of Beed •' oo and Cnmbenry and the hills more precipitous. The river circles round L»kM. an area of basic igneous rocks, as far as Cranberry Lake, often occupying a valley along the line of contact of these rocks with the surrounding gi'anite or gneiss. Near the contact, the rocks have been much disturbed and are cut by many veins of quartz, often containing a large quantity of pyrite. " On Cranberry Lake the Huronian rooks are often altered to a silvery sericitio schist. The same schists extend across the water-shed to Athapapuskow Lake, and thence continue westward, perhaps beneath the un- disturbed Palaeozoic limestones. o2 20 wmmm Promlaliic Add for ptoi< paoton. d«poaita. Bofland "Thig area of Huronian rooks, extending about seventy-five milas from east to west, and an unknown distance towards the north, presents a good field of exploration for the prospector for gold and other precious metals, on account of the number and variety of eruptive masses that break through it, surrounded by zones of highly disturbed and fissured rooks. " From Nelson Biver westward to longitude 100^ 80', and from the north end of Lake Winnipeg northward to beyond latitude 66°, the country is generally covered with a coating of stratified clay, varying in thickness from a few feet up to fifty, sixty, or even one hundred feet. This clay is of much the same character as that of the Bed Biver valley, having been, like it, deposited in the bed of the old post-glacial lake that once occupied the basin of Lake Winnipeg. The rivers have, as a rule, out down through this clay to the underlying rock, but away from the water-stretches, rock-exposures are not of very frequent occurrence. The soil is rich and fertile, and Bince summer frosts do not seem to be very prevalent, the country will doubtless produce in abundance all the hardier roots and cereals grown in the province of Manitoba, and cattle, sheep and horses could be success- fully raised. If the country were made accessible by a railway passing through it to Hudson Bay, it would certainly support a considerable agricultural popu- lation." . Mr. Tyrrell returned to Ottawa on October 16th. ii Extracts from Qeologlcal Notes on the North-Western Territories by QBORQE M. DAWSON, C.M.a., D.5., F.a.5., Director off tlie Qeological Survey of Canada. P«ftK)l«iim dcpoaiU. If'- Slave River. The district to the south of Athabasca Lake, on the Athabasca Biver and its tributary the Cleax^water, (not included by the accompanying map), and also on Peace ■*(, iin'" «>^%'t#'^- ''/-'((^rr I 21 Biver, is oharaoterized by a great abnndanoe of pitch and petroleum deposits and springs. These are desoribed by Sir A. Mackenzie, Sir J. Bichardso^, Prof. Macoun, Dr. Bell and others (Cf. Reports of Progress Geological Survey, 1876-6, p. 169, 1882-84, p. 82, o o). It is inte- resting to observe the recurrence of such deposits at intervals along the Mackenzie valley to the Arctic Sea. At the " Lightening Place of the Hummock " on Slave Biver, thirty miles below Fort Ghipewyan, the limestone beds were noted by Bichardson to contain mineral pitch in fissures (J. B. V., vol. 1, p. 137.)* About half-way between Athabasca and Great Slave 8»it iBiiiiigi. lakes, Salt Biver juins the Slave Biver. Of this stream, Bichardson writes : — " The Salt Biver flows in from the westward, a short way below the portages. We ascended it for twenty-two miles, including its windings, but not above half that distance in a straight line, for the purpose of visiting the salt springs from whence it derives its taste and name. Seven or eight copious saline springs issue from the base of a long even ridge about six hundred feet high, and spreading their waters over an extensive clayey plain, deposit a considerable quantity of very pure common salt in large cubical crystals. The mother water flowing into the SaJt Biver gives it a very bitter taste, which it retains until near its junction with the Slave Biver, when the addition of some fresh water streams, renders it only slightly brackish. A few patches of greyish compact gypsum were exposed on the side of the ridger from whence the springs issue." (1st Expedition, p. 618.) Captain Back, who accompanied Bichardson, again visited these salt springs in 1833. He writes : — " There were no mounds like those seen in 1820 ; but just at the foot of the hill which bounds the prairie in that quarter, there were three springs, varying in diameter from four to twelve feet, and producing hillocks of salt, from fourteen to thirty inches in height. The streams were V * Jowmal of a Boat Voyage through B Arctic 8m, by Bit J. Biohaidson, London, 186i t's Land and the ':^ -f .r./--^ -v iw7»/«»wffrr »*^«*i«' •ire 7, f. «.».»- 1 R,." |(- 22 dry, but the surface of the clayey soil was covered, to the extent of a few hundred yards toward the plain, with a white crust of saline particles." (Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition, p. 80.) Petitot states that, according to the Indians, the Caribou Mountains, between Salt Blver and the Peace Biver, contain much rook salt. (Bui. Soo. G^og., Paris, vol. x, p. 140.) WmI end of Orwkt Blare Z«k«, Bltamen &s,-: WerteniBart of Gtwtt Blare Qreat Slave Lake. Bichardson describes the west shore of this great body of water as composed of horizontal strata of limestone, forming a flat country (2nd Exp., appendix p. xxiv.) In his Journal of a Boat Voyage (vol. i, p. 152,) he writes : — "In the vicinity of the westernmost channel of the delta [of Slave Biver] and from thence to the efflux of the Mackenzie, the whole western shore of the lake is limestone, associated with a bituminous shale, and belonging, as well as can be ascertained from its fossils, to the Erie division of the New York system, which includes the Marcellus shales." He also refers to the limestone as being bituminous, and speaks of fossil shells of which the cavities are filled with bitumen. Gapt. Back's description and specimens (Arctic Land Expedition, p. 544, et seq), show that the north side of Great Slave Lake, from the entrance of the north arm westward, consists of Laurentian rocks. The hills are said to be rocky, low, grey and rounded, and gneiss, porphyry and granite are the prevalent materials. The large islands and promontory which occupy the centre of the eastern part of the lake are, on the contrary, " of the trap formation" and exhibit long lines of high mural precipices, sometimes distinctly colunmar. Back com- pares these to those formerly seen by him near the Coppermine, and refers them to the same formation. Neai' the western end of the long island, Peth-the-nu-eh, he says the Indians obtain gt«enish-grey •' marl " of which they make their pipes. The same point is shown by Petitot, as composed of black serpentine, which he also notes is used for the manufacture of pipes, (Bui. Soo. r. ^•\f<--i-*»K r--ti:-ti\i'^^ :■ T?yyy^y"^?'?y^cg'^''w»^ 28 Qiog., Paris, vol. x., p. 143). Specimens of slaty magnesian limestone were obtained by Back from the south side of the long island. Similar limestone is associated with the series of the Coppermine Biver, and there is every reason to believe that the trap formation here should be referred to the same great Lower Cambrian series. Pebbles of a jasper conglomerate, which evidently exactly resembles the jasper conglomerates of Lake Huron, were collected near the east end of the lake. The rock was, however, not seen in place. (Arctic Land ojixpedition, p. 547). Mackenzie River from Great Slave Lake to Bear Lake River. In the appendix to Franklin's Second Journey, Dmniaii wd Richardson writes : — " the only rocks seen in situ rooks. *' Bltaminow between Slave Lake and the Forks [mouth of the Liard] iiukie. where a bituminous shale of a brownish-black colour, in thin slates, and a slate-clay of a pure yellowish -grey colour, which, as well as the bituminous shale, forms steep banks," (appendix p. xxiv). In his subsequent Journal of a Boat Voyage, (vol. i., p. 164), he describes on the same part of the river, " bituminous shale " and "greyish-green slate-clay," which weathers into a tonaceous clay, and adds : — " The whole banks of the river seem to belong to a shale formation ; but from the want of induration of the beds, they have crumbled into a slope more or less steep." Though Tentaculitea fissurella is noted as occurring in the bituminous shale, it appears probable that the general surface of the country in this vicinity is composed of Cretaceous or Laramie beds, through which the river has cut in some places to the subjacent Devonian rocks. Richardson did not ascend the Liard River in any of tauh Biv«c. his journeys, but learned that, "for twenty-four miles upward from its mouth, it flows through sand and shale, with limestone occasionally cropping out," while seventy- five miles up it is a high hill, named the " Noh'hanne -r,-rp " ' t" ''f' " ' ' i'' ""w ^^~" "*Ty jrif r f .. 24 Nalghbonring pan of Bool^ iCoanUins. Onpliiteand toon ore. CratMMoauid Lanuule. Bed! of lignite. Butte," on the summit of which is a salt spring. From this hill, Mr. MoPherson brought specimens of limestone, " similar in lithologioal character to those procured from the Rock by the Biver's Side." (J. B. V., vol. ii. p. 203). This observation may be regarded as approximately fixing the western edge of the Cretaceous and Laramie rocks in this latitude, while the limestone seen further down the Liard, may be that underlying these rocks, exposed by the river in places. In loose fragments of limestone at the mouth of the Liard, Kennicott collected fossils which, according to Meek, are referable to the Hamilton group. (Trans. Chicago Acad. Sci., vol. i., p. 69). The Rocky Mountains, where approached by the Mackenzie below the mouth of the Liard, are described as consisting of a number of ridges running S.S.W., or S.W. by S., with abrupt eastern faces and longer slopes to the westward, thus corresponding with the outer ridges of the same range much farther south, and probably indicating a similar prevalent west- ward dip. A few specimens obtained from this part of the range are not sufficiently characteristic to be of much value, but some of them, from near the Liard River, are said to be indistinguishable from those of Limestone Point, in Great Bear Lake, noted further on. (2nd Expedition, appendix, p. xxvi). Specimens of plum- bago and specular iron were also given to Richardson as derived from this part of the mountains, (p. xxv). The valley of the Mackenzie near the mouth of Bear Lake River, is occupied by rocks referred by Richardeon to the " Lignite formation," which, with little doubt, represent the series now known as the Laramie. The formation "may be characterized as consisting of wood-coal in various states, alternating with beds of pipe-clay, potter's clay, which is sometimes bituminous, and slate-clay, gravel, sand and friable sandstones, and occasionally with porce- lain earth. The strata are generally horizontal, and as many as four beds of lignite are exposed in some parts." (2nd Expedition, appendix p. xvii.) The lignites were observed "»- " i»f W »'l ,< |ii' i -r-'^: >-— r'-tmf—'''~'«>;H'^"~"«^'>"^'' 25 to be on fire in varions plaoes, both by Sir A. Maokenzio, in 1789, by Biohardson and others. Four sections seen in the banks of the river are detailed by Bichaidson — (1) at the mouth of Bear Lake Biver, (2) five miles above the mouth of the river, and (3) ten miles above the same point. (2nd Expedition, appendix pp. xix-xxi.) A detailed description of these beds and the lignites they contain is again given in the Journal of a Boat Voyage, and fossil plants obtained from the shales are figured, (vol. i., p. 186.) Great Bear Lake and Vicinity. The greater part of the north-western and western ^^!^* shores of Great Bear Lake, together with the low land Bitaintaira|i at the base of Great Bear Mountain, which stands on Roiptaiix, and the promontory to the south, appear, according to Biohaidson's notes, to be formed of rocks referable to the Cretaceous or Laramie. He describes slate-clay and shale more or less bituminous, plastic and bituminous coal and earthy clay, with selenite, pyrites, poor clay- ironstone and efflorescenses of alum and sulphur. At the base of Great Bear Mountain, are bituminous slate and slate-clay, holding brown coal. The indications on Fetitot's map, however, show that limestone and granite project through the newer formations in places, forming the hills in the centre of the promontory on the west shore of the lake, as well as Great Bear Mountain. Other rocks described on Bear Lake Biver must be ^*"5"*°"£. assigned to the Cretaceous, or possibly in part to the »^d with Laramie. At the mouth of the river, however, rocks, both of the limestone series and the Cretaceous, evidently occur, the former probably constituting a projecting ridge. A hill is described on the north bank of the river, at its mouth, composed of limestone rocks similar to those of the ridge at the rapid above referred to. Parts of the limestone are saturated with petroleum, and petroleum springs were observed by Franklin. On Bear Lake Biver, a little below the rapid, a small B«i^ stream flows in from the southward, near the sources of '■"1 ■•A I ■|M0MdM*!)iMflMwniuka«itiai v< •r it m p-.. Th« tUmputs to the Nwtowt. tenditones at the MiuTows. Peol Bivar. 26 which the Indians procure an exoellent common salt, which is deposited from springs by natural evaporation. (1st Expedition, appendix p. xiii). /Vlackenzie River and vicinity fctelow Bear L«lce River. In latitude 66f , about 80 miles below The Bamparts, is a perpendicular sandstone cliff, about one hundred and sixty feet high, which presents the same castellated appearance with that above noted. The beds are hori- zontal, and rest on horizontal strata of limestone. (2nd Expedition, appendix p. xxxv.) Beyond this point, to '* The Narrows," north of which the river divides and becomes estuarine in character, several outcrops of sandstone, marl-slate and shale were observed, all piv bly referable to the Cretaceous or Laramie. At The Narrows the sandstones are said to contain, "small, rounded, and also sharply angular grains of opaquj, ''vhite, green and blue quartz with grains of lydian- stone and coal." (J. B. V., vol. i., p. 222.) These silicious materials are, in all probability, fragments of the cherty beds of the limestone series. Such material forms a great part of many of the coarser Cretaceous beds of the Bocky Mountains where they have been geologically examined south of the latitude of the Peace River. The Feel Biver, which flows into the Mackenzie not far below The Narrows, is said to show " the shale for- mation in its banks," (J. B. V., vol. i, p. 222), while Isbister mentions that alum -shales occTir along it to the point at which it leaves the mountains. (Quart. Joum. Geol. Soo., vol. xi., p. 511. Joum. Boyal Geog. Soo., vol. XV., p. 343.) Country between Great Slave Lake and the nouth of the Coppermine River. The following notes, embracing the information avail- able, for the tract of country above defined, are extracts from or abstracts of those given by Bichardson in Appendix I., to the narrative of Franklin's first journey r 4y'3r3-',T ■ ^r'''?",«i»w^^y^f'TA-^v' WH ' r.j' .re as follows : — "The Copper Mountains appear to form a range running 8. E. and N. W. The groat mass of rook in the mountains seems to consist of felspar in various conditions; sometimes in the form of felspar rock or clay-stone, sometimes coloured by hornblende, and approaching to greenstone, but more generally in the form of dark reddish-brown amygdaloid. The amyg- daloidal masses containod in the amygdaloid, are either entirely pistacite, or pistaoite enclosing oak .pi l«'fl*",1"-«»-Vk'»'»~', Vlt"^-! •"*-»*>"l 36 Tennant in the appendix, hornblende and mica-slatcs and ohloritic and talooae slates are noted. On an island near the south shora of Banken Inlet, Dr. Bae " picked up some specimens of copper ore, but the ore did not appear to be abundant." Northern Continental 5hore, Ea^t off Hudson Bay, with Baffin Ljind. In the Transactions of the Geological Society, vol. ii. steiniura«r on (1814.) Bev. Mr. Steinhauer describes a number of specimens sent by the Moravian missionaries from the Labrador coast, and gives localities for labradorite, and for the soap-stone used by the Eskimo in making lamps, &o. Dr. Bell specially mentions the occurrence of mica Micsuid and graphite on the north shore of Hudson Strait, as '^^ being of possible economic importance. In a supplement to the appendix of Capt. Parry's west coast of Voyage for the Discovery of a North-west Passage in the years 1819-20 (Natural History) C. Koning describes the most characteristic rocks of the west coast of Baffin Bay as " gneiss and micaceous quartz-rock, with some ambiguous granitic compound, in which hornblende seems to enter as a suboidinate ingredient (p. ccxlvii). Dr. P. C. Sutherland, in the Quarterly Journal of the Remarks by Geological Society (vol. ix., 1853, p. 299), describes the east coast of Baffin Land from Lancaster Sound to Cumberland Sound, as follows : — " On the opposite (south) shore of Lancaster Sound, at Cape Walter Bathurst, the crystalline rocks are again recognised, and from this point they occupy the whole coast southward to Cumberland Strait (Sound) and probably considerably beyond it. To this, however, I believe there is one exception, at Cape Durban, on the 67th parallel, where coal has been found by whalers ; and also at Kingaite, two degrees to the south-west of Durban, where, from the appearance of the land as viewed from a distance, trap may be said to occur on both sides of the inlet d2 t 1 1 1 ! 1 1 i; i ; / f ! :» I: , ■; 1 wmmimi^^ i ij.jHi i nMJipaimiHi Booklet VroUaher Bay. Oonier and Icon ores. Notes by Endlioh and Hanghton. ft' m Oceorrenoe of twda of gypaom 36 Graphite is found abundant and pure in several islands situated on the 65th parallel of latitude in Cumberland Strait, and on the west side of Davis Straight. A oonsiderable collection of rooks and fossils, made by C. F. Hall, chiefly in Probisher Bay and its vicinity, is described by Prof. B. K. Emerson, in Appendix III. to Hall's Narrative of a Second Arctic Expedition. The greater number of these specimens consist of ordinary Laurentian rocks, including granite, gneiss, magnetite- gneiss, hornblendic gneiss, mica-schist, etc. In associa- tion with these, in Frobisher and Field Bays, magnetite, apatite, bornite and pyrite were found, together with crystalline limestone holding oooolite. At the head of Frobisher Bay, from a hill named by Hall " Silliman's fossil mount,"* which appears '^o form part of a some- what extensive development of nearly horizontal cream- coloured and sometimes magnesian limestone, a number of fossils were obtained. Mr. F. M. Endlich, in a list of minerals obtained in the Howgate Polar expedition (1877-78) enumerates, among others, the following from Cumberland Sound : — Muscovite, crystals and large plates; chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, apatite, (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collect- ions, 1882, p. 171.) In this appendix to M'Clintock's voyage, Professor Haughton gives the following, respecting the south shore of Pond's Bay, or inlet at the northern extremity of Baffin Land. (Lat. 72" 40'). "In this locaUty, a quartziferous black mica-schist underlies the Silurian limestone, and is interstratified with gneiss and gamet- iferous quartz-rock, all inclined 38° W.S.W. (true)." M'Clintock states the inclination or dip of the beds as 36° to the west, in the same volume, (p. 156). From the appendix to Parry's Third Voyage, we learn that in association with the limestones of the east side of Prince Begent Inlet, are subsidiary beds of * The position of " BilUman's foBsil monnt " is shown on the map accom- panying Hall's Life with the Esqaimaox. London, 1861. ^ltlf(M.<*>:'t^(^}^fW^ 't^^imttmrni/mv ' •7;r'>'-Si-f*'.-£i.'i»^=ni'«»jf!tew^» 37 gypsum. Gypsum also occurs on the west side of the inlet in North Somerset, where it is said to occur in " beds several feet thick, extending for at least 30 miles through the country." (App. p. 147.) At the first- mentioned locality brown haematite was also found, apparently derived from the limestone. " Coal, sandstone, clay-ironstone and brown haematite OoaI fonnattoa were found along a line stretching E.N.E. from Baring Island, through the south of Melville Island, Byam- Martiii Island, and the whole of Bathurst Island. Car- boniferous limestone, with characteristic fossils, was found along the north coast of }' ;nurst Island, and at Hillock Point, Melville Island." From a comparison of different coal exposures noted Lo^tieB oi by M'Clintock, M'Clure, Austen, Belcher, and Parry, in rock-Bpednmi the Parry Islands, Prof. Haughton has laid down the approximate outcrops of some of the coal beds. These he finds to agree remarkably well with the trend of the boundary of the formation drawn from totally different data. Lists of fossils and rocks from the following places, with notes, are given : — Hillock Point, Melville Island (lat. 76° N. ; long. Ill" 46' W.) Bathurst Island, north coast. Cape Lady Franklin (?) (lat. 76° 40' N. ; long. 98° 45' W.) Princess Royal Island, Prince of Wales Strait, Baring Island (lat. 72° 45' N. ; long. 117° 30' W.) In connection with this place, it is noted that the carboniferous sandstones underlie the limestones, and that "it is highly probable that the coal beds of Melville Island are very low down in the series, and do not coiTespond in geological position with the coal beds of Europe " (p. 885).* Cape Hamilton, Baring Island (lat. 74° 15' N. ; long. 117° 80' W.) Cape Dundas, Melville Island (lat. 74° 30* N. ; long. 113° 45' W.) Cape Sir-James-Ross, Melville Island (lat- 74" 45' N. ; long. 114° 30' W.) Cape Pro- i' Dr. Armatrong In his Narrative of the DiBooverj- of the Korth-west Passage (p. MB), says of the same place, " In Fiinoess-Roya! Island, bep*dea the eharaoterlstic Silurian limestones, there are black basalts and red Jaspers, as well as ted rocks, less altered by heat, but shoving a passage into jasper." '..I ■T'*^»f^'i1«»*3«JWI|«!l<'!ii" ^': is I. m Cokl ontoropa. 88 vidence, Melville Island (lat. 74* QO- N. ; long. 120° 30' W.) Winter Harbour, Melville laland (lat. 74" 36' N. ; long. 110° 45' W.) Bridgeport Inlet, Melville Island (lat. 76° N. ; long. 109° W.) Skene Bay, Melville Island (lat. 75° N. ; long. 108° W.) Hooper Island, Lyddon Gulf, Melville Island (lat. 75° 6' N. ; long. 112° W.) Byam-Martin Island (lat. 76° 10- N. ; long. 104° 15' W.) Graham-Moore Bay, Bathurst Island (lat 75° 30* N. ; long. 102° W.) Bathurst Island, Bedford Bay (lat. 76° N. ; long. 96° 60' W.) [Vesicular scoriaceous trap rocks were found here by M'Glintock, though no such rocks are mentioned elsewhere in connection with the Car- boniferous.] Comv^allis Island, McDougall Bay. Silurian and Garbonifeiouo fossils were found together at the last mentioned p.,» w: ■■(^ttr.'^ '^ 41 forthooming to build a line from the terminal point of all the coastal railways right through to the goldfields. At present good waggon roads to the navigable waterways and inland trails are all that is needed when the question is considered from the profitable investment point of view. As to building a railway 600 miles into a gold-raining country like the Yukon, before its wide- spread richness and permanency have been thoroughly established, and which, during the summer months, when the bulk of the carrying trade would be done, could never compete against the Mackenzie and Yukon Eivers' traffic, it is sufficient to say that no government would be so unwise as to countenance such a project. There is no intention of questioning the value which I"*!?"*" "?* these coast lines will prove to traffic during the short j»»y share- taoldore. open-wtiterway season, but with three or four short costly railways, all with the same object and converging towards the one point, competing against all-waterway routes and good waggon roads, and, more particularly, against each other, it is difficult to see how they are going to pay. There is no doubt that the proper course was for the Canadian Government to have had rapid surveys made of the most likely routes, before any charters were granted, and to have selected the best for a State railwav, which should have been constructed at once. This would, at least, have stopped many schemes now afoot in which much disappointment and loss will be experienced. As the case stands now, several charters have been granted for different railway projects, on some of which, it is said, preliminary operations have already begun. If possible, and not too late, it would be a wise move for the various companies, or concessionaires, to join forces and decide upon one railway only. The advantages of such a course are obvious. The White Pass and the Stikeen proposed railway The wute z^utes are, no doubt, the best known at present, and, of BtikeenBoatei. these, all information to hand at the beginning of this year (1898) gives the palm to the first-mentioned. It must be noted that railway routes are referred to, not roadways, ^i 'I -I § Pi n -■:4 '■mmm; un mimmm ' mmmg^^ I ii)% 42 Boat*. The BtlkMn Bonte. ■•.v#^Ml,< 43 Victoria, B. C, Novcnibor 6th, 1897) digoloses some ugly foaturvi upon these routes. The St. Michael's or Jp- Yukon Route :— Only 2^ months' open navigation, and treacherous sand-bars, vrhioh are likely to limit vessels to only one trip in the seaHon. The Chilkoot Pass Boute : — So rough and moun- tainous that, Mr. Ogiivie remarks, " it would probcbly be necessary to suspend the road by iron girdjrs from the cliffs on the road to Sheep Camp, and from Sheep Camp to the head of the climb the road is yet more difficult." Taku River Route:— The dangers from the Oreat Taku glacier, and obstacles to navigation caused by enormous gravel-bars, form permanent objections to this route. However, the object of these pages is not so much to deal with the routes from the west coast as from the point-of-view at which Europe, oud mure particularly this country, must regard the development of these far north-western territories of Canada, in which mining, the fisheries and furs, must ever be the only possible industries of any extent, though circumstances may bring about a wide development of the great petroleum areas which extend throughout the entire length of the great Mackenzie basin, though in some favoured localities in the South limited agricultiu'e may be carried on and stock grazed during the short summer. Route« and Approaches from the East and South East. The main highway into the great auriferous territory in the far north-west, between the Yukon and Mackenzie Rivers, will ultimately be from the east, or, to be quite correct, from the south east. The exact route will be determined by such mining developments as occur throughout the North Western Territories within the next few months, but for the reasons w^hich follow, the Mackenzie River is certainly destined to play a chief part in the opening-up of these sub-arctio regions. Residents of Lower or South-East Canada will no doubt favor those routes of which Edmonton — a terminus H% MiehMrt itoat*. Th« ChUkoot PMiUoute. Th«Talra Klver Hottto. Tbemaln objMt of * pages. -I Roato Overland trois Kdmonton. I A bftd feature in the railway qnettlon. ][H^' ,,1 ■*■'■ i. Uardaud Poaoe BiTor routes. If- Ir 1' *^/ V The HMkenaie Rfrer route. ?/»-■■ 44 on a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway — is the starting point. (See Map.) A through- railway route to the Yukon from this point would pass through good pgricultural country for the first few niiies, but the rest of this gigantic under- taking — over 1,000 miles in length — would pass through regions absolutely unproductive for all practical purposes, excepting in the matter of furs, and such minerals as may be discovered. A feature of this question that must be kept in view is, that railways to any goldfields in the far North- West Territories, can only pay on the outward journey ; there will be little or no freight on return trips, and few passengers, so far as any appreciable addition to receipts are concerned as compared with the cost. The length and cost of this line, together with the competition of cheaper routes, must relegate the consideration of its construction to some future period when possible dis- coveries -''long its proposed route may be sufficient to warrant reconsideration. A waggon road is another matter and one will no doubt be made by the Government if the Survey Party now on the route report favourably. (See Edmonton Routes, No. 14. Section 21, Part II.) There are summer routes from Edmonton to the Yukon along both the Liard and the Peace Riverc, but it is very unlikely that either will ever be popular. The dangers, length and unceasing toil — the greater portion being up a swift stream of the former, and the same drawbacks though with fewer perils but greater length of the latter, will never permit these river routes to be much favored, excepting by travellers residing in or about the districts through which these rivers flow. (See Sections 10 and 11 in Part II., for description and distances.) The route from Edmonton to the Yukon goldfields, ■yta the Mackenzie River, is preferable to any other from this point because of its ease and inexpensiveness. The great attraction of this route is, that out of its entire length from Edmonton to Dawson City, 2,458 miles, 2,182 miles are down stream. There are only three mmmm "'^''■^^IT'r-.'r.fr*.''/-"^ "■""'■ """■'" T..-*'^; ■;r^--'r«'^.^-^«J;Ty-*t^-'-■: 45 'S portages between the starting point and Great Slave Lake, and two or three short ones about 1,000 miles further on in McDougall's Pass, which altogether scarcely exceed a mile in length and are described by Mr. Wm. Ogilvie (1887-88 expedition)—" The Pass is wide and level, the valley being nearly a mile wide at the bottom, and very flat. It is almost treeless. Lakes in the Pass reduce the portage distance to less than half a mile." Mr. Ogilvie passed along this portion of the route in June with his canoes, thus showing that the waterways in this Arctic region are free from ice almost as early as the lakes on the Lewes Biver. There are Hudson Bay Posts at certain intervals, so that during the summer months this down-stream journey should be quite a pleasant trip. The only up-stream portions are on the Peel and Trout Bivers, and up the Yukon, 260 miles, to Dawson City. (See under Sections 11 and 21, Part II., for distances and particulars.) Route from Hudson's Bay to the Yukon. The summer route from Europe to the Yukon and the whole of the North- Western Territories, north of about Lat. 65", will, undoubtedly, be from Hudson's Bay by way of the Great Slave Lake and Mackenzie Biver ; and the easiest and most direct course of such a route would be via Chesterfield Inlet. The notes and extracts in Part II. of this work, under Sections 11 and 22 dealing with the distances, and giving the descriptive particulars and resources of the country which such a route would tap, should be read in order to understand its many advantages. ItL chief value lies in the almost direct comse which it provides between England and the Yukon goldfields ; but it also possesses almost equal attractions in the vast extent of mineral country, Arctic whale and seal industries, freshwater fisheries, and an almost \:i[ntapped fur country which it opens up to European markets, ui*i the enterprise of European Capitalists. Perhaps its chief advantages are that throughout its entire course of over 1,000 miles from the Great Slave Lake it is navigable by river steamers ; and four-fifths of this river route to the Yukon country is down stream. The Ronte of the fatore. ■sag *•■'^"*t•.*!■'"■■'^'' '•'!>■'■•» Kr »•»•»•■ .J.,; '. «*■*»■(■• •'V* p\ 7 ' -:i«(t,TO(|iy»»-".'V'»> I. 46 Bndson's Bay. ♦ l!'t f fS-j i^ t^;. Ss- Skfetyof KftTigatlon InHndaon's Bay. By reference to Section 26, Part II., it will be seen, on the high authority of Dr. Robert Bell, Assistant Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, that the greater portion of Hudson's Bay and Straits is quite open to navigation throughout the whole of the year, while the same authority states — " I have a record of the principal phenomena of the seasons at Martin's Falls on the Albany River, extending through a period of fifty years, and from it I find that the river is open there on an average for six months of the year. I have also a record of dates of the opening and closing of Qayes River at York Factory, extending over 50 years, from which it appears to enjoy an average of fully six months of open water. The Nelson River is open for a longer period." There are no accounts procurable respecting Chesterfield Inlet, but it is reasonable to assume that this great arm of the Bay is open for a period not very much shorter than that of the rivers just mentioned. In referring to the safety of navigation in Hudson's Bay and straits, Dr. Robert Bell states that he obtained a record from the Hudson's Bay Company which shows that "there have been almost every year during the past two centuries ships of various classes and sizes navigating the strait without loss, and it seems almost incredible that such a number of voyages could be made, extending over 874 years, without the loss of over one, or, as is claimed by some writers, two small sailing vessels ! " The navigation of Hudson's Bay will be suflSciently dealt with by quoting from the report of the 1884 Hudson's Bay Committee, which states — " No evidence has been given that goes to prove that Hudson's Strait and Bay, proper, ever freeze over, or that the ice met with in those waters is sufficient to prevent navigation at any time of the year; that Hudson's Bay and Strait appear, from all evidence taken, to be singularly free from obstruction to navigation in the shape of shoals or reefs, and, during the period of open water, from storms or fogs." ■;Mf^y„ -^t .1, .•,^.i' ,;->i,- .,. ./fl.'.Wff- "-"■.•• ■ 47 loATing Chesterfield Inlet. These extracts surely prove the practicability of the Mackenzie River route so far as Chesterfield Inlet — or any other port in Hudson's Bay — is concerned. The chief consideration in the question of opening j^'SJSJJ**' up a shipping route from Europe to Hudson's Bay is Bay coontry. that of freight. This subject is dealt with at consider- able length under Section 25, Fart II., under the heading — " Hudson's Bay and its Territory." But the amazing gold discoveries on the Yukon and in the country between this great Alaskan waterway and the Mackenzie Biver, and the probable early development of other rich mineral areas in the far North Western Territories, present additional and urgent reasons for the opening up of this direct route from England to the Yukon-Mackenzie country. The next section for consideration in this Chester- The route after field Inlet route is that between the Inlet and the Great Slave Lake. Mr. J. W. Tyrrell proved in his exploratory tour of '93 that deep navigable waters extend 250 miles beyond the Inlet to the head of Aberdeen Lake, and he describes himself and companions as being the first white-men who had ever been on this lake. (See Section 22, Part II.) "Writing of his journey along the Doobaunt Biver, just before entering Aberdeen Lake, he states — " The surprising and most delightful feature of the locality was that upon the shores there was strewn an abundance of driftwood. At first sight its occurrence was unaccountable, but the mystery was readily solved, however, by finding that we had reached the confluence of another large river flowing in from the west. Much of the driftwood was of large size, and judging from the slightly battered condition, one would infer that it had come no very great distance, or, at any rate, through very few rapids." This account leads to but one conclusion, viz., that a large unexplored river, free from any serious impedi- ments to navigation, extends from near the mouth of Doobaunt Biver at Aberdeen Lake to some point directly west, or nearly so, and to some unknown distance, possibly '4 AWatwway between the Inlet and Oreat Blare liake. 48 The Great BUkTeLake Section of the toate. The llaokenzie Biver Section. Navigation of the MaokenEie. to branches of the Great Slave Lake. The total distance from Aberdeen Lake to the navigable branches of Great Slave Lake is somewhat about 160 miles. Branches flowing east from the Lakes and this large river undoubtedly cover the greater part, if not the whole, of this distance. Under any circumstances the country is level and easy to travel. Well-defined Indian and Esquimaux tracks from the Inlet to the Lakes have been known to exist for years. The Great Slave Lake, about 250 miles in length, and its eastern branches are the next section of this route. The Great Lake is well known to be navigable for large river-steamers, and so also are Artillery and Golden Clinton Lake, but the channels connecting them, though well-defined on maps and apparently extensive waterways, are lacking official records. The Mackenzie Biver Section comes next in this route. The following extracts from a report on an exploration in the Mackenzie and Yukon Basins in 1887, by E. G. McConnell, B.A., of the Geological Survey of Canada, supply some most valuable information con* ceming the navigation of the Mackenzie fiiver, its lakes and its tributaries :— " The Mackenzie Biver and its continuation. Slave Biver, are navigable from Fort Smith at the foot of the Slave Biver rapids to the Arctic Ocean, a distance of over 1,300 miles. A small steamer, built by the Hud. son's Bay Company at Fort Smith, in the winter of 1886-8, now makes annual trips from that post down Slave Biver and the Mackenzie as far as the mouth of Peel Biver, which enters the latter at the head of its delta, and thence thirty miles up Peel Biver to Fort Macpherson. ... It follows from these dates (see Section 12, Part II.) that the Mackenzie, disregarding the obstructions in low water from rapils, cannot be considered as navigable much before the 10th of June, nor later than the 20th October." On reaching the delta at the mouth of the Mac- kenzie and passing through the left-hand channel for ..■tut' BS^^^S^ '.■'-v7*ri>MW*5i!«!?3r?/i!'^;f)!P*j'j /' 49 12 miles, the Peel Biver is reached. Fort Maophersoa is situated 14 miles up the Peel on the left bank. Country tapped by a Hudson's Bay Route. Before proceeding further with a description of this route, a short reference might be made to the immense area which the Mackenzie Biver, its lakes and tributaries, would open up were they connected with the sea by a diiect route through Hudson's Bay, A vast and very rich fur country between Hudson's Tbenaviiabie Bay, Athubasca Lake and the Arotio Ocean would Maskensie. be tapped, as well as the copper and otherwise highly mineralised country of the so-called "Barren Lands." The magnificent freshwater fisheries could also be operated upon as well as those of the Arctic Ocean by means of this great navigable waterway. Excepting a 14-mile break of rapids, the Slave Biver is navigable through to Lake Athabasca, in the surrounding coimtry of which there are evidences of innumerable mineral deposits of great apparent value. The navigable Athabasca Biver continues further, affording command of a large extent of country of high prospactive value, and, excepting a break of rapids 70 miles in extent (capable of being made navigable by improvement) Athabasca Landing is reached, whence there is a 90-mile road to Edmonton, the terminus of a branch of the Canadian Pacific Bailway. The magnificent Peace The Peace Biver, extending from Lake Athabasca right through to the Omenica goldfields of British Columbia, and na\agable throughout, excepting for three or four rapids which make portaging necessary, forms a part of this groat navigablo waterway system. The northern arm of Great Sh.ve Lake, Hay Biver, and other smaller streams, provide further means of supplying this proposed main artery of trade. About 200 miles down the Mackenzie from Great TheLiard Blreti Slave Lake is the Liard Biver, which is navigable by steamers for quite 200 miles to the mouth of the Nelson Biver, which is also navigable for small steamers for at least 100 miles further on. Canoes can, and do, proceed ^'0imi0'_ w j'Jlifffli'*'y>*l'^l'^>iW,l . " 60 TlMPeel BorriMftble tributaries of tbe Mackenzie. A Mport of the hicheatim- pottftooe upon the MMkensie RiTer. right on — with occasional portages — to the head waters of the Liard, where the favourable route from Edmonton to the Yukon Goldflelds is met with. Mr. B. G. MoConnoU, in his report, which I quote on a preceding page, states : — "Of the other tributaries of the Mackenzie, Peel Biver is the only one which can be considered as nayi> gable. This is ascended annually, as stated above, by the steamer "Wrigley" as far as Fort Maopherson, and, if necessary, could be followed much further, but the exact distance is not known." But there are many short tributaries of the Mac- kenzie which naght prove valuable arteries in connection with the fur trade, the mining industry, and trade with the Indians ana Esquimaux. Of these the Nahanni, the Dahadinne, the Carcagou and the Arctic Bed Biver are the most important on the West so far as exploration has gone, and the Willow, Black water. Great Bear (connecting with Great Bear Lake) and the Hare Skin rivers are the most important in the East. The Boport of the Select Committee of the Senate, appointed to inquire into the resources of the Great Mackenzie Basin in 1888, states in reference to the Mackenzie Biver : •i! " There is a river navigation of about 2,750 miles, of which 1,390 miles are suitable for stern- wheel steamers, which with their barges may carry 300 tons ; the remaining 1,360 being deep enough for light draught sea-going steamers. There is a total of about 6,500 miles of continuous lake, coast, and river navigation, broken only in two places ; that the two breaks in question are upon the Great Slave and Athabasca Bivers, the first being over- come by a 20-mile waggon road from Fort Smith southwards on the Great Slave Biver, and the latter being a stretch of 70 miles on the Athabasca, of questionable navigation above Fort McMurray, down which flat boats or scows descend, but cannot 51 50 a ler lof lot ascend, and which aboat 50 miles of waggon road would overcome, while some improvement of the rapids might make the whole river navigable ; that with suitable steam crafts this river and lake navi- gaciin may be connected with Victoria and Van- couver by way of the mouth of the Mackenzie River, by way of the Arctic Ocean and Behring Straits and Sea, and it (the Mackenzie) is now connected on the south by 90 miles of waggon road, between Athabasca, Athabasca Landing and Edmonton, with navigable water in the Saskatchewan." From the Peel River the summer route generally J^'L'tJoJ" taken to the Yukon is by way of the Trout (or Poplar) Jfnkon from Biver to McDougall's Pass, where lakes reduce the um MnokenBi*. portage distance to less than half-a-mile. The Pass is wide, treeless, very flat, and easily traversed. An 8-mile cuek, navigable by boats, leads to the Bell Biver (navigable by river steamers), which takes one to La Pierre's House, a few miles further on. From this point to the Porcupine Biver — also navigable by steamers — is about 30 miles. The junction of the Yukon and Porcupine is 290 miles- distant. (See Notes b, Section 10, Part II.) The mid-season route from the mouth of the Mac- Tbemid-Mwon kenzie to the Yukon is the same as that just described, mouth of the excepting that, instead of taking the McDougall's Pass the YvSim. route, a porta>ge of between 48 and 50 miles is done. This portage is some miles longer if La Pierre's House is the objective point, but the shorter distance is from the Peel Biver, near Fort Macphe^son, to the nearest point on the navigable Bell Biver, from which there is unob- structed navigation for steamers along the Porcupine to the Yukon River, or up the Porcupine Biver to its head- waters. In 1872 a Mr. James McDougall made thorough valuable ois- explorations of these routes — both by portage and water thbTro^te. ways ; he discovered the Pass which bears his name — and reported that it was not more than 35 miles b2 m W N m inrn ■ I :,' I'l— i)iH<»MlMi»i mmaaitfll 62 The tbroogli PmI Biver toate. Mr. OgUvie'H report ; the Peel Uiver route to the Stewart Uirer. The Upper Poronpuie ronte via the Tatondnc RlTer. between good steamboat navigation on either side. He also declared that a good road oould easily be made. Mr. McDougall made a most important discovery of coal on the Trout River only a few navigable miles from the junction of Peel and Mackenzie Bivers. (See Notes B, Section 10, Part II.) The Peel River supplies a route that will be largely used when the object is to reach the gold-bearing reefs at the head waters of the Stewart and Macmillan Bivers. The Peel — described by the Senate Committee of 1888 as " a gold-bearing stream " — is a river that, so far as official records go, enjoys the distinction of having been explored by only one man. Mr. W. A. K. Isbister journeyed down this river in 1844, and his report is to the effect that it is SOO miles in length, and has no serious obstructions to river steamer navigation. In his report of exploration in the Upper Yukon country of 1888, Mr. Ogilvie furnishes evidence which shows that the navigable Beaver branch of the Stewatt River is only separated from the west branch of the Peel by some " low terraced sand-hills." The latest official maps contain this important west branch of the Peel, but it is absent from the earlier ones. (See Section 10, Part II.) The Upper Porcupine forms another very important route to the Yukon goldfields from the mouth of the Mackenzie River. This route, also, has been explored by one man only — Mr. "Wm. Ogilvie, 1887-88. A summary of this interesting journey is contained under Note F, Section 10, Part II. of this work. After crossing to La Pierre's House, or some ether point on the Bell River, the journey is continued to the junction of the Porcupine and Bell Rivers. Instead of proceeding along the Porcupine to the Yukon River, the opposite direction is taken. The Porcupine is navigable by river steamers up to the neighbourhood of its headwaters. There are one or two other rivers by which the Yukon may be reached from the Porcupine headwaters in addi- tion to the Tatonduc River route, but these are sufficiently referred to in notes F, Section 10, Part II. The total ■-rr^r^j;»»l3ipT||«j5i/:i>MiW»^^ F. of riven by the Mftok«Bxle month ront*. distance from tLe Bell Biver to the headwaters of the Porcupine, following the river windings, is about 220 miles. In his report of exploration during 1887-88 Mr. B. O. McConnell, B.A., of the Qeologioal Survey of Canada, states :— "On the west side of the Eocky Mountains, the Boll, Bat, and Porcupine Bivers could easily bo navigated for throe or four months of the year, by small steamers, from liapierre House down to the junction of the latter with the Yukon. Above the mouth of the Porcupine the Yukon, beyond a stiff current of from four to five miles an hour, presents no obstacle to navigation as farasBink Bapids, a distance of over five hundred miles, and below the mouth of the Porcupine it is navigable to the sea. Stewart Biver, the principal tributary of the Yukon on the east in the district examined, is reported to be navigable for a distance of nearly two hundred miles above its mouth, but has not yet been ascended by the steamers plying on the Yukon." '* The navigable waters of the Mackenzie are separated from those of the Yukon in Lat. 67-20 N. by a distance of about sixty miles only.* A cart trail was staked out some years ago by the Hudson's Bay Company across the interval separating these rivers with the intention of supplying the Mackenzie Biver district with goods by way of the Yukon, but the project fell through and the road was never built." The facts established by these official reports and ofHoiai the extracts from authorities in Part II., are : — that eeuwSih" unparalleled gold discoveries have been made on the Yukon Paote?"*"* Biver; that the richest finds are made in those rivers flowing in from the East — in the Bocky Mountain ranges; that the further up the rivers the richer the gold ; that the headwaters of these rivers will be the scene of great The navimblfl waters oitiu Yukon and Maokenito River* Mparated by only eOmllM. • Mr. Jas. MacDonc&U made aereral explorations in this neighbonrhood in (he neTentiei, and dedaree thatl the distance between goo.! Bteamboat narigation on either ride was only 86 miles. 1 ~>1! 1 ,. '1 ■^f.MmmiMs&ms" i^i-xmrnnmd 1 m^^m- *i>" t:^'"' An imporUnt •nminwjr. The AroUo Ooesn HoQte ; tmpcrtant pofnto. 64 minin;; activity ; that the Peel River — after leaving the Maokenzie— offers the l)est means of providing a through -navigable waterway route to theB& headwaters, and that the Mackenzie River will be the shortest, easiest, most direct, leant exi)en8ive, and mott popular rou^e from the East oast — taking nn English port aa the starting point. Route v/« Behrli ^ d«.r«lt and mouth of Mackenzie. The following important statement — the more sig- nificant in view of tho recent gold discoveries in tho Yukon -Mackenzie country — was made in the summary handed in to the Dominion Government by the Select Committee of the Senate appointed to inquire into the navigation and resources of the Great Mackenzie Basin in 1B88, p. 10 :— " That with suitable Kteam crafts this river (the Mackenzie) and its lake navigation may be connected with Victoria and Vancouver by way of the mouth of the Mackenzie River, the Arctic Ocean, Behring Strait and Sea." (See Sections 8 and 9, Part II.) It is not for one moment proposed that the Arctio Ocean offers a regular means of reaching the upper Yukon goldfields that can compare or compete with other routes, but, putting the common prejudice against Arctic Seas aside, there is abundant proof available to show that this route to the mouth of the Mackenzie River is quite as safe — perhaps more so in its season — as the Yukon River. Besides, it can take deop-sea vessels, whereas the Yukon requires especially shallow draught vessels of light tonnage for its navigation. River steamers are certainly required from the mouth of the Mackenzie to the gold-bearing region, but only for 260 miles in one case (the Peel R. route), and 500 miles in the other (the down Porcupine R. route), as against about 1,800 miles by the Yukon. The distance from Victoria — taking time into consideration — is in favour of the Arctic Sea route. From Victoria to the mouth of the Mackenzie — via the Arctic Ocean — and along ni m iffi , i , i n ' m fi l i iH| ii> n i{y» H >i w) i>ii 1W"^. ' ,.> * -■Jj^ ' <»> ' V ' ^'*" ! i ' ."w i i.'j r 55 AreUe8«M. the Puel River to the region of the headwaters of the Sto^ail River it about 4,460 miles, whereas frum Victoria to the mouth of the Stewart River — by way of St. Michael's and the Yukon — the distance is aliout 4,400 miles ; a difTorence of fifty miles in favour of tho • St. Michael's route, but ocean travelling is admittedly more rapid than by shifting sand-bank obstructed rivers. Besides, this ocean route gives from three to four months open seaway as against ten weeks on the Yukon. (See Suction 26, p. 163, Part II.; " A prophetic state- ment by Di*. G. M. Davson.") In respect to the navigation of Canadian- Arctic Seas, ^52i^'h!»2ZiM and the development of their rich mineral and fishing upon Um resources, the following extract from the report of the UMCanadian special Committee of the Canadian Senate of 1888, p. 308, is impoiiiant as confirming the opinion long held by navigators, that, taking the proper season in the year, the Arctic -Coast of British North America can bo navi- gated with ease and safety : — " In a memorial from Sir Roderick MurchiHon upon the same subject he speaks thus (p. 394) : < In respect to one of these courses, or that by Behring's Straits, along the coast of North America, we know that a single sailing vessel passed to Cambridge within ISO miles of the mouth of the Back River, and returned home unscathed, its commander having expressed his conviction that the passage in question is so constantly open that ships can navigate it without dii£culty in one season.' " An important adjunct; Arctic Sea Fisheries. The advantage of the Arctic Ocean route to the Yukon-Mackenzie country rests in its serviceability as a means of combining the highly remunerative whale, seal and walrus fisheries in Mackenzie Bay and the Arctic coast, with the advantages it offers of reaching the goldfields and taking machinery and supplies to the madStnerr and head- waters of the Peel, Stewart and MacMillan rivers. he^wiS«»^* (See Part II. Section 8, re navigation of the Arctic g^^,2rt*»nd Ocean and the ^.^ackenzie River, and Section 9 re Dr. ^*'^*'^° Wbaling in Maolcenita Bmj. i ii' -n -"— n-'^-^f'SfKF!^.?!^ ,^.. AnMrloAii whalan In MMkmalo iMjr. A iplmdld OMnlngfor Bntlsh enter- priM. The fnture im- portance of MMskenjiie 66 Dawson's cpinioii and whaling in Mackenzie Day; and also Section 2 re quartz reefs at the head waters of the riveifi.) The whaling industry (combined with the capture of the seal and walrus) is one of great value in Mac- kenzie Bay. Tills bay is said to l)C the best whaling ground in the world, but, curiously, it is only exploited by San Francisco whaler They have established head- quarters at Herchel Island, about 90 miles from the mouth of the Mackenzie River, as, being subjects of the Unitod States, they are debarred from coming within the three mile shore limit. Even as it is they are said to be acting contrary to International Law. Inspector Con- stantine reports that there were 1,200 men (all United States Americans) on this island in the 1895 season, and the Hon. John Schultz reports that their profits are enormous. (See Section 9, Part II.) Why British whalers, with the greater advantages they could command by being British subjects, do not establish themselves in this industry in those prolific waters, is a question often asked by well-informed authorities in Canada (see Section 9, Part II.), but invariably answered with the reply that the industry could only be conducted from Victoria or Vancouver, from which places, however, no whaling is carried on. This is a reason in which there is a notable want of spirit — because of the fear of American competition, and perception — ^because of the splendid opportunity that is lost. In view of the great mining development that is promised in this region, there is little doubt that the Mackenzie Bay fishing industry will shortly assume considerable importance, as whaling vessels now going to those fishing grounds comparatively empty will ^fill up with supplies for the goldfields, and to supply those miners who take the Mackenzie and Peel Bivers' route to the fields. Besides, as before mentioned, heavy machinery and supplies can be easily taken by ■ii^ ..%im *'*•"> -» ■■^tmrfymtflf T).,^.-....;,,^-^. TIm Arob*Dfltl nf North Amorto*. 67 this deep soft route to the quartz reefi at the rivert' headwaters. Consid. vble soeptioism is felt in renpoot to tho proRpective value of the mouth of the Mackenzie as a oonimercial seaport. Dr. Dawson, however, dispels any doubt in this direction by proving that the circum- stances of Maokenxie Bay and the White Sea are almost parallel, and that what is being done so suooeBsfully in Sub-Arctic Russia should be done equally well in Sub- Arctic Amorioa. (See section 24, Part II.) Other examples are shewn in the prosperity of many cities quite as far north as the mouth of the Mackenzie. Besides, northern Asia affords even more telling comparisons, numbers of British vessels going many degrees further north on ordinary shipping business and with nothing like the promising prospects held out in this easily reached bay, into which tho mighty and far reaching Mackenzie discharges its great volume of tepid waters. The future of British North America is a fascinating p|]J,inio„., problem to speculate upon, the only danger being that 'aO"'e- the more one studies the indications of its enormous resources, the more boundless become its possibilities, until one passes into a state of bewilderment at the apparent extravagance of the prospect. Its agricul- tural, lumber, and fishery resources are rich and promis- ing indeed, but when it s futu re minera l develo pment is added the vista widens out beyond^all human calcu- lation. (!omp»riM>B nith Arotlo xeaportoln Northern KuroM anA Aula. M mmmmii^imf' ■ ijim i Hi i Mt imji a f i iiMM Ji MiW BiBWMI W'lAiaJBi^^.^m.v .W,f & fi THE ROUTES AND MINERAL RESOURCES 60 BonaAarlM aod Area of the Ynkon District. Character of the Oountry. The Ynkon or PcUy Biver. Dr. Dawson's Expedition. The Yukon QoldfleldA. The following account of the Yukon Goldfields district is embodied in a report issued from the office of the High Commissioner of Canada, August, 1897. - The Yukon district is a vast and, as yet, little known tract of country which forms the extreme north-westerly portion of the North-West Territories of Canada. It is bounded to the south by the northern line of British Columbia (lat. 60 deg.), to the west by the eastern line of the United States Territory of Alaska, to the east by the Rocky Mountain ranges and the 13Gth meridian, and to the north by the Arctic Ocean. The district has an ai'ea ot 192,000 square miles, or about the size of France, and of this area 150,768 square miles are included in the watershed of the Yukon River. The region as a whole is naturally mountainous in character, but it comprises as well a large area of merely hilly or gently undulating country, besides many wide and flat-bottomed valleys. It is more mountainous in the south-east, and subsides generally and uniforml}'' to the north-westward, the mountains becoming more isolated and separated by broader tracks of low land. The average base level may be stated at a little over 2,000 feet. The Yukon or Pelly River provides the main drainage of the region. This river passes from Canadian into Ameiican territory at a point in its course 1,600 miles from the sea. The 200 miles of its course in Canada receives the waters of all the most important of its tributaries — the Stewart, Macmillan, Upper Pelly, Lewes, White River, etc. — each with an extensive subsidiary river system, which, spreading out like a fan towards the north-east, east, and south-east, facilitate access into the interior. In 1887 an expedition was despatched by the Canadian Government to the Yukon country, under the personal charge of Dr. G. M. Dawson, now Director of the Geological Survey of the Dominion, and that gentle- ■I? 61 man's exhaustive report, published among the prooeedings of the survey in 1888, contains the most authentic information at present available on the geology, topo- graphy, and general characteristics of the district. The immediate necessity for the exploring and surveying work undertaken by the expedition aroso from the fact that somewhat important developments of placer gold-mining had been attracting a yearly increasing number of miners and prospectors into a portion of the region in question ; and the work decided on included also the preliminary determination of the point at which the Yukon or Pelly Eiver crossed the 141st meridian, which line constitutes the boundary between the Canadian North-West Territories and Alaska. 1 So far as is known, it was as late as the year 1878 that The tnt Ooid- the first gold-prospector entered the country, and from that time onwards small parties of miners and prospectors regularly have made their way thither. The route generally taken is vid the head of Lynn Canal by the Chilkoot Pass and the Lewes River, whose upper waters lie within thirty miles of tide water. "While gold has been uSrm^^* found from the outset in the bars of the Lewes Biver and its affluents, it was generally in unremunerative quantities for the conditions under which mining could be conducted in that remote and difficult region. In 1881, however, paying placers were found along the Big Salmon Biver. In 1882 the Upper Pelly Biver was prospected, and in 1884 mining operations were successfully carried on on that river and the Tes-lin-too, a southern tributary of the Lewes. In 1885 mining was begun along the Stewart Biver, which soon attracted the greater part of the mining population. Cassiar Jar, on the Lewes, with rich deposits, was discovered early in 1886 ; while in the autumn of that year came the sensational discovery of *' course gold " on Forty-mile Creek, still further down the main river than the Stewart. The announcement of this fact drew oflF nearly the entire mining population to that place in 1887. 62 Of the results of the gold discoveries to that datOi Dr. Dawson writes as follows in his report : — Or. Dawion'i Bfport the Lewea and TM-lln-too Rivan. " Taking a general view of the gold discoveries so far as made in the Upper Yukon country, we find that, though some small bars have been worked on the upper paii of the Ijewes, and ' prospects ' have been obtained even in the streams flowing into Bennett Lake, paying bars have been found on this river only below the mouth of the Tes-lin-too. The best of these are within a distance of about 70 miles below this confluence, and the richest so far has been Cassiar Bar. This is reported to have yielded, in some cases, at the rate of 30 dollars a day to the hand, and gold to the value of many thousand dollars has been obtained from it, chiefly in 1886. In Gold Jidda on 1887 only three or four men worked here. All along the Lewes below the Tes-lin-too many bars occvu: which, according to the reports of prospectors, yield as much as 10 dollars a day ; and the same is true of tho Tes-lin-too itself, both below and above Tes-lin Lake. Bars of this kind are, however, considered scarcely remunerative at present. " Gold has also been found for a long vlistance up the Big Salmon Biver, and on the Upper Felly as far as it has been prospected. The Tes-lin-too, Big Salmon Eiver, and Pelly have each already afforded some good paymg ground, but in consequence of the rush to Forty- Mile Creek only about 13 miners remained in 1887 on the first-named river, four on the second, and two on the Pelly. On the Stewart River, as much as 100 dollars a day to the hand was obtained in 1885 and 1886, and probably over 100,000 dollars worth of gold has already been obtained along this stream. It has been prospected for a distance of 100 to 200 miles from its mouth (according to varying stetements), and the gold found furthest up is said to be somewhat ' coarser ' than that of the lower part. •* Forty-Mile Creek is reported to be a river of some size, but more rapid than most of those in the district. V Gold on the Biff Salmon •n-y Upper Felly RtTera. V ■ iV Yield on the Stewart Biver v^. JSS.fc. - rr:-,. ■ FoTty-MUe Creek. i'^rp»!.T-> ,'V '•i^^fliBHWi'^'ir^Jp'"^''*^''***'* T;''virfffVi|Tf«Tip'*^r^'rV»?Wt'' • '•"^T^'^'tV^^'^VT!'^^ 63 It has, according to miners, been prospected for about 100 miles from its mouth, gold being found almost every- where along it as well as in tributary gulches. The gold ^aries much in character, but is quite often coarse and nuggety, and very large amounts have been taken out in favourable places by individual miners. Few of the men muiing here in 1887 were content with ground yielding less than 14 dollars a day, and several had taken out nearly 100 dollars a day for a short time. The amount obtained from this stream in 1887 is reckoned by some as high as 120,000 dollars, but I believe it would bo safe to put the entire output of the Upper Yukon region for the year at a minimum of 75,000 dollars, of which the greatest part was derived from this stream. " The number of miners in the whole Upper Yukon country in 1887 may be stated at about 250 ; of these, 200 were on Forty-Mile Creek, and it was estimated that at least 100 would winter on the creek to be ready for work in the spring. " Forty -Mile Creek is what the miners term ' a bed- rock creek' — i. e., one in which there is no great depth of drift or detrital deposits below the level of the actual stream. It is so far the only locality which has been found to yield ' coarse gold,' but from the extremely wide distribution of ' fine gold * it may safely be predicted that many more like it remain to be discovered. " Mining can scarcely be said to have begun in the aon"h!iSerto.' region more than live years ago, and the extenli of country over which gold has been found in greater or less quantity is already very great. Most of the prospecting has been confined to the bankb and bars of the larger rivers, and it is only when their innumerable tributary streams begin to be closely searched, that ' gulch diggings ' like those of Dease, McPame, and other streams in the Cassiar district, and possibly even on a par with Williams and Lightning Creeks in Cariboo, will be found and worked. The general result BO far has been to prove that six large and long rivers — the Lewes, Tes-lin-too, Big Salmon, Pelly, Stewart and White — yield 'fine gold' along hundreds of miles V\ mmmi Mi l tllUlmlmm mtmr!m uv^ .1— . ■ nWB iRMW9nRlflRMII!IJn^'if|inK.^ t ' I"' Br. DftWflon'ii optnioQ of tntnie pcovpeott. 64 of their lower courses. With the exception of the Lewes, no part of the head waters of any of these have yet been prospected or even readied by the miners, and scarcely auv of their innumerable tributaries have been examined. The developments made up to this time are sulficicnt to show that when means of access are improved, important bar-mining will take place along all these main -rivers, and there is every reason to anticipate that the result of the examination in detail of the smaller streams will be the discovery of much richer auriferous alluviums. When these have been found and worked, quartz-mining will doubtless follow, and the prospects for the utilisation of this great mining field in the near future appear to me to be very promising." (For distances and further particulars of the streams and resources of this territory, see Index.) ^:' **•• The name " Klobdyke." The first discovery of Oold on the Elondyke. The Klondyke River and District William Ogilvie, of the Department of the interior, in his report to the Surveyor-General of Canada, dated November 6th, 1896, says the name Klondak, Klondyke, or Clondyke, as it is variously spelled, is "a mispronun- ciation of the Indian word or words Thron-dak or Duick," which means plenty of fish, from the fact that it is a famous salmon stream. It is marked Tondack on old maps. It joins the Yukon from the east a few miles above the site of Fort Reliance. Concerning the discovery of gold on this stream he says : — " The discovery, I believe, was due to the reports of Indians. A white man named G. W. Carmach, who worked with me in 1887, was the first to take advantage of the rumors and locate a claim on the first branch, which was named by the miners Bonanza Creek. Carmach located here 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 Klondak having totally failed him. He returned with wmmmmmmm mmmm mm 65 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 his claim. As he was very short of appliances he could only put together a rather defective apparatus to wash the gravel with. The gravel itself he had to carry in a box on his back from 30 to 100 feet. Notwithstanding this the three men working splendid very irregularly washed out 1,200 dollars in eight days, and Carmach asserts with reason that had he had proper facilities it could have been done in two days, besides having several hundred dollars more gold, which was lost on the tailings through defective apparatus. On the same creek two men rocked out 75 dollars in about two hours, and it is asserted that two men in the same creek took out 4,008 dollars in two days with only two lengths of sluice boxes. This last is doubted, but Mr. Leduo assures me he weighed that much gold for them, but is not positive where they got it. They were newcomers and had not done much in the country, so the probabilities are they got it on Bonanza creek. A branch of Bonanza, named Eldorado, has prospected magnificently, and another branch named Tilley Creek has prospected well ; in all there are some four or five branches to Bonanza Creek which have given good prospects. There are about 170 claims staked on the main creek and the branches are good for about as many more, aggregating say 350 claims Vfhich will require over 1,000 men to work properly. A few miles further up Bear Creek enters Klondak, ^bntaries and it has been prospected and located on. Compared ^^Jj^ermi with Bonanza it is small and will not afford more than returns. 20 or 30 claims, it is said. About 12 miles above the mouth Gold Bottom Creek joins Klondak, and on it and a branch named Hunker Creek after the discovery very rich ground has been found. One man showed me 22 75 dollars he took out in a few hours on Hunker Creek with a gold pan prospecting his claim on the surface, taking out a panful here and there as fancy suggested. On Gold Bottom 3 The Creeka at the Klondyke prospected uiagulticeutly. /f>T m'"^'' I'.' ■■:^1«^*^' 66 Greek and branches there will probably be two or three hundred claims. The Indians have reported another creek much farther up, which they call Tco Much Gold Creek, on which the gold is so plentiful that, as the miners say in joke, " You have to mix gravel with it to sluice it." Up to date nothing definite has been heard from this creek. BAp« on th« Xfcndyka g«ia flalds. Indian Oioek. The Stewart BlTer. From all this we may, I think, infer that we have here «. district that will give 1,000 olaims of 600 feet in ler^.>u each. Now, 1,000 such claims will require at least 8,000 men to work them properly, and as wages for working in the mines are from 8 to 10 dollars per day, without board, we 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 news has gone out to the coast, and an unprecedented influx is expected next spring. And this is not all, for a large creek called Indian Creek joins the Yukon about midway between Klondak and Stewart river, and all along this creek good pay has been found. All that has stood in the way of working it heretofore has been the scarcity of provisions and the difficxilty of getting them up there even when here. Indian Creek is quite a large stream, and it is probable it will yield 500 or 600 olaims. Farther south yet lies the head of several branches of Stewart River, on which some prospecting has been done this summer, and good indications found, but the want of provisions prevented development. OfiMqaartB on Klondike trUmUtiw. Good quartz has been found in place just across the line on Davis Creek (see my map of the 14l8t . . . ), but of what extent is unknown, as it is in the bed of the creek and covered with gravel. Good quartz is also reported on the hills around Bonanza Creek ; 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 Biver is on our side of the line, and copper is found on it, but more abundantly on the southerly branch of which a great deal of it is in our ■ tvrt :,.«v^(^»»iip.^ "^ by the natives from White Biver, but just from what part is uncertain. I have also seen a specimen of Silver ore said to have been picked up in a creek flowing into Bennett Lake, about 14 miles down it on the east side." (For distances and further particulars, see Index). Blihop CLUT8 Evidenoa. In the Peace and Liard rivers certainly there is gold nwi nJffii in large quantities. It is found in the sand bars, and I j^t^Je^^* fancy that mines will be found in tho Bocky Mountains, ^^°,^ and that the gold is carried from that part the same as iut*"* in British Columbia. ... I should imagine there Are considerable veins of goid in the Bocky Mountains. .i our Extracts from the Report of Mr. WILLIAM OGILVIE, Dominion Land Surveyor. I have heard the amount of gold taken from the Mining on «1m stow art BiTW. Stewart Biver in 1885 and 1886 estimated at various amounts. . . . Many agree that 30 dollars (£6 6s.) per d&y, per man, was common on many of the bars of the river, and instances of as high as 100 dollars per day having been earned were spoken of. ATwry extenslTe I cannot here enter into the reasons for it, bat I unhesitatingly make the assertion that this corner of our ™^^^^*fi?S territory from the coast strip down and from the lilst meridian meridian eastward will be found to be a fairly rich and very extensive mining region. Up to date of mailing, November 22nd, (1896,) very f/^ J'^*J rich prospects have been found on the few claims ^rmutper prospected on : from one dollar to the pan of dirt up to 12 dollars are reported and no bed-rock found yet. This means from 1,000 to 12,000 dollars per day per man sluicing. f2 1 ■ -* R"' fr-' BbtfTelloMly ■khyleUU. Tta« rlobest mining wea •rer (oand :— offldal zaport. 68 GuDAHT, gth December, 1896. Since my last the prospects on Bonanza Creek, a tributary of the Klondyke, and tributaries are increasing in richness and extent until now it is certain that millions will be taken out of the district in the next few years, On some of the claims prospected the pay dirt is of great extent and very rich. One man told me yesterday that he washed out a single pan of dirt on one of his claims and found £3 worth of gold in it. Of oourae, this may be an exceptionally rich pan, but 6 to 7 dollars per pan is the average on that claim it is reported, with 5 feet of pay dirt and the width yet undetermined, but it is known to bo 30 feet, even at that ; fi(mre the result at 9 to 10 pans to the cubic foot and 600 feet long : nearly 4,000,000 dollars at fi dollars per pan, one-fourth of this would be enormous. CuDAHY, 11th January, 1897. Some of the claims are so rich that every night a few pans of dirt sufi&ces to pay the hired help when there is any ; as high as 204 dollars has been reported to a single pan bui» 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 yet discovered its limits. Extracts from the Report by R. G. MoOONNELL, B.A., of the Geological Survey Department of Canada, 1888-89. Banks of Mackenzie Delta and the Feel Biver ar» oomposed of alluvial sands and clays. 1-wrxM 69 ! Th« "Daily Ohroniole," 5th Auguit, 1897, stttei:— Of all the 800 claims staked out on Bonanza Cruek and Eldorado Greek not one has proved a blank. Equally rich finds were made on June 6th to 10th on Dominion Greek. Not less than 300 claims have been staked out on Indian Greek, and the surface indications are that those are as rich as any of the others. The largest nugget found was picked up by B. Hudson on Glaim 0, on the Bonanza, and was worth 257 dollars. Next in size was one found by J. Clements on Indian Creek, worth 231 dollars. Bigger pockets have been struck in other regionSi but nowhere has so general a find been made. Etmt olaia pMRad out • rrlM; no » 1 " In all, about seventy-five lucky miners have reached Fortnnei *' *' oat In on* St. Michael's. Some brought but a portion of their seaiwn. clean-up, preferring to invest other portions in claims they know to be rich. Among the most lucky are J. J. Clements, of Los Angeles, who cleaned up about 175,000 dollars. The last four pans Clements took out were worth 2,000 dollars, and one went 775 dollars. He brought out 50,000 dollars, and invested the rest. Pro- fessor Lippy, of Seattle, brought out about 50,000 dollars, and he has 150,000 dollars in sight, and claims his mine is worth 600,000 dollars, or more. W. Stanley, of Seattle, also cleaned up 112,000 dollars ; C. Berry, 110,000 dollars; H. Anderson, 56,000 dollars; F. Keller, 60,000 dollars ; T. J. Kelly, 38,000 dollars ; W. Sloan, of Nanaimo, 85,600 dollars ; and at least thirty more who did not talk, but stood guard over their treasure in the state room. Then there are about twenty more men bringing from 5,000 dollars to 20,000 dollars. All this gold is the clean up on last winter's work. It must come out vid St. Michael's, and the bulk of the supplies must go in that way. The two great transportation companies pushing in supplies, are the North American Trading and Transportation, and the Alaska Commercial Company." ^ \?* V* '^ \N ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 4^. & :^ X 1.0 }^^ Vi ^^ HI ^ g2.2 1 1.1 r-^Bs ^>' V f ^ w I mm ^•»<»l.r''l!!:M'V*'!S'JW'',n"?'.'^'*'«tr''«W»?ra>"^rir-'/- - V.-^}*-rf.7riV*fWlPf 70 The fbllowing tppMnd in th« "Daily Telagrtph" of August 12th, 1897:— " In conyena&ion with a representative of Renter's Agenoy, Mr. Harry de Windt oommanioated his impres* aions regarding the goldfields at Ebndyke. ** He said : < There is no donbt that extraordinary rich finds have been made at Klondyke, although it is not possible to vouch for the aoeuracy of a great many of the aocounts. Mr. Ogilvie, the Dominion Government Surveyor in Alaska, with whom I stayed just a year ago to-day, has since written home saying, that he had, with his own hands, washed 560 dollars worth of gold out of one pan. Another case for which I can vouch is that of a fireman on board one of the Yukon River steamers, who last year was earning 8 dollars a month, and has just returned here with 170|000 dollars worth of nuggets and dust.' " In th« "Finsnoial Quide" of August 9th, 1897, tppeantd the foliowing :— Voj^faandid "Klondike practically defies competition. In the •mntaT^Moia oourse of the present century there have been several ' rushes ' to so-called mining camps, but the present excitement has a solid foundation. Klondike is not a 'pocket ' district. It is gold bearing throughout, and its water-courses, as we are told in an American despatch, 'literally reek of gold.' One can best judge of the importance of the wonderful finds at Klondike by the value of the precious metal won there in a few months." " Daiiy Telegraph," 22nd July, 1 897. " A telegram from New York, dated July 23rd says, that there were on that date still 4,000,000 dollars of gold dust to come down from St. Michael's. The ""^■^iWHifgr*' '^d**"! 71 •peoial correspondent of the Daily Telegraph wired on July 22nd :— II «' 'The Dominion Qovemment at Ottawa, is using ^^|(^||J^ every effort to complete the organisation of the district g°«p^ in which the goldfields recently discovered along the ooBobooktod. Klondyke and other creeks are situated. This action has been taken in view of the fact that the Gk)yemment is in possession of information which corroborates the first accounts given of the richness of these placer diggings.' " " Under date July 25th, Beuter's special corre- spondent at Victoria (British Columbia) wires : — " Never in the history of the Pacific Coast has there «io.ooo mium been such excitement as is at present being manifested by or. dawmb m connection with the recent gold discoveries on the riohingoid. Klondike placers, which undoubtedly appear to be the richest ever found. Their actual extent is unknown, but the total area of the auriferous region in Canada, in which they are situated, extends to nearly a quarter of a million square miles. Dr. Dawson, of the Oeologioal Survey, classed this whole area alike, and gold-bearing gravels have been found in the bed of every stream." " Accounts received from the mines tell of fabulous aii aeeoanta richness. No one knows how much gold has been taken ffboiou rieh-* out. Miners have brought out all they could carry, and ^^f^^*^ others have remained behind because they have iound more gold than they could bring away. « One man speaks of seeing in one cabin four five- gallon cans full of gold dust. Another tolls of a bank out of which nuggets stuck like pebbles. "Dougall McArthur, a miner, who has returned with a fortune, stated yesterday, that the reports of fortunes being made in a day are not exaggerated. He declares that there is no danger of the country becoming overcrowded, as there are mines enough for all." RaporUnot esaggentad. mm mmm 72 Tlnrlnlml OoldflaUlinttM iwriJ. Om 490O to Um pan on " Mr. Berry (Mr. Clarence Berry, of Fresno, Cali- fornia, who, together with his wife, went to Klondike three years ago), says, ' Klondike is the richest goldfield in the world.' Some of the pay streaks are nearly all gold. One thousand dollars to the pan is not unconunon, and over 100 ounces have been taken out in a single pan. It is not unusual, Mr. Barry says, to see men staggering along with all the gold dust they can carry. iMTsaeeared " ' Several women have leoently returned from Klon- fortouM. dike, with gold dust vulued at from 10,000 dollars to 60,000 dollars which they had dug up themselves. " ' Thousands of gold seekers of both sexes, and all classes, are hurrying to the Pacific coast cities in the hope of reaching Klondikej content with any mode of getting there. Tteraii dtetricU oftbo South being dCMCtCd. '< < Tho mining towns in Colorado, California, and Montana, arc being deserted by the miners ; every man with sufficient money is starting for Klondike. The same feverish excitement prevails iu San Francisco and other Pacific coast cities, and the remotest parter of the country are rapidly catching the infection. Men of all classes are throwing up their work and starting for the land of gold. At Seattle half the police force has re- signed, and the street cars have nearly ceased running, as a result of men leaving for Klondike.' " Hi ^iDMdfiram " -According to the special correspondent of the British tiMaSabrUte Columbia Bevieu) the shipments of gold from Klondike ttiaflmMMon for the season approximate 1^20,000,000 equal to £4,000,000 sterling. Says the journal in question : — '* The richness of the auriferous gravel deposits on the banks of the Yukon Biver have been knovtm and recognised on the Pacific seaboard for several yeais, but every succeeding summer has brought reports of new discoveries on tho higher reaches of the river or tributaries, and coarse gold-dust has found its way into NI«WWf«**ff|fpP>''?ffW^ 73 the banks, until the recent arrival of two Bteamers at San Franoisoo with upwards of two tons of bullion from the Klondike diggings has created an excitement in Western America unparalelled since the Califomian gold rush of '49 and the Cariboo excitement of 1858. Much of the dust lately brought down ia very coarse, and the emptying of leather sacks on the bank counters, where several hundredweight of gold could be seen in one heap, has sent up a real and intense gold fever, the effects of which are plainly discernible in London To quote the New York correspondent of the Daily Mail: — '"The continued excitement over the Klondike gold TheN«wYor» ^ papsra oonnmi discoveries, and a widespread demand for information thirepprtaot ^ rapid fortuiiM about goldfields have resulted in the leading newspapers babg mad*, tliroughout the country issuing special supplements to-day, giving reports from Klondike, as well as the cost and the methods of getting there, and other useful information. The New York papers devote great space to interviews with lucky men from Klondike, who con* firm the recent repo)ts of rapid fortunes made in the diggings.' New York " Tribune," July 14th, 1897. The San Francisco correspondent of the Tribuns gives some interesting particulars regarding the recent dis- coveries. He writes : — " Forty Alaska miners came in here to-day (July 14) icinmuriTiiis by the steamer " Excelsior," bringing over ^500,000 in mimo^5u« gold dust from the new Klondike mines. '^ ***^ " T. S. Lippy and his wife, of this city, brought down (2160,000, which represents their work, since April, 1896. Mrs. Lippyi who is a small wiry woman, tanned black by the Emn, was the first woman to cross over the divide t si_J"..:^fc.i/*.J*iTV:'- ^OJIT"''''''-*!-''*!/''?};''''^'' "■'*■'" " ■•>'•">.': <'V%'V,i Cv T6 *' The Altuka Mining Record, published in Jonean, contains letters stating that the stories told are not exaggerated. ' One hundred dollars to the pan is very common. One can hardly believe it, but it is true, nevertheless. A very hard country to live in on account of the mosquitoes and poor grub, 'but healthy and a show to make a ten strike.' There is nothing a man could eat or wear that he cannot get a good price for. First-class rubber boots are worth from an ounce to 26 dollars per pair. The price of flour has been raised from 4 dollars to 6 dollars and was selling at 60 dollars when we arrived.' Another letter says : — ' It will pay to bring anything hero which can be carried in.' " " Weatmlniter Qaiette," 2Ut July, 1897. " Thti latest advices state that discoveries of a sen* sational chnracter have been of almost daily occurrence in the Klondike district, and it seems now beyond doubt that one of the richest gold-fields hitherto known exists within Canadian territory on the Yukon." INSPECTOR C0N8TANTINE, January 23rd, 1897. " Placer prospects continue more and more en- couraging. It is beyond doubt that three pans on di£ffiront claims on Eldorado Greek turned out 20d, 212, and 216 dollars; but it must be borne in mind that there were only three such pans, though there were many running from 10 to 60 dollar's." " There is an immense reach of country beyond whioli aas not yet been prospected. ... Of all the 200 claims staJted out on the Bonanza and Eldorado Creeks not one has proven a bl^ink." INSPECTOR BTRICKUND, in the Toronto "Qlobe," August 8rd, i897:— He believes the placer goldfields of the country in- exhaustible, as there are hundreds of streams knowr to be goldbearing which have not yet been prospected owing to scarcity of men and difficulty of getting food. . . . He had, himself, actually seen one ordinary mining pan yield 696 dollars worth of gold. ¥ -- '^ i t ^.mmf m mvm vf.'^ ' ■'^■ '^ M^w^y* vmfi 77 PraMnt UMthodof After gold ia discovered, the miners cut down a quantity of timber, and then they bum a hole, or rather g;^]|^,"<^|, two holes, about 6 feet long by 4 feet wide, putting in ^^^ ^ two fires in each hole during the day. Each of these fires will probably bum out about 8 inches of dirt. The Marvellott* rIchneM of Klondyke. From the " Bullloniit," 18th October, 1897. The news from Klondike is of a mingled charactor, |)ut nothing could be more emphatic than statements contained in the New York papers within the last few days as to the enormous quantities of gold obtainable in the neighbourhood. In a dispatch received by the Journal of that city from Mr. Joaquin Miller, the well- known American poet, who writes from El Dorado Gulch, Klondike, he says that "he has been fairly dazzled with gold." He describes in detail sixteen rich claims, several yielding over 80,000 dollars per foot. One owned by Gaptaia Ellis, of California, yields over 1,000 dollars per pan, or 10,000 dollars every 24 hours. That gentleman showed Mr. Miller thr»)e bags, each containing 50 lb. of gold dust, also numerous oyster and tomato cans and old boxes filled with gold dust, and invited Mr. Miller and others who were present to help themselves. The latter remarked : " Wherever we go we find men with heaps of gold." On Sunday the New York Herald published a communication from Sitka, in the adjoining American territory of Alaska, announcing that marvellous gold discoveries had been made in Ck>ok Inlet in the same region. The newly discovered gold field is said to be easily reached, and to have a mild climate and a fertile soil. A po«t at Klondyto. VMton iDTlted to help tben- ■eWea to noggata. Another " marTeUona ' dlacorery. London "Standard's" Spscial Oorrsipondent, 26th A. .«i, 1897. It is reported from Klondyke that miners who ^*°^S^^^ possess buckets fall of gold are living on two spoonsful potatoM. •f beans and a bit of bacon daily. A steamer has started to return to the East with several tons of gold of the value of over three million dollars, heaped on deck, under r *»% Offldalnport of 70,000.000 doUMTt of guld tDRlgfal TlwnMtnt goldindln th« worU'ihlatory 78 tarpaulin, like to mneh eoal or potatoof. M'Kay, a returning miner, says there is more gold than any man has yet dreamed of. A Correspondent, quoting the statements of this man, says the miners' tales make one's heart jump and the pulse tingle. From the 8p«oisl CorrMpondent of "The SUndArd" of London, 8ltt Augutt, l&;7. The steamer "Portland" having failed to meet at Bt. Michael's the Yukon Biver steamer with its tons of gold worth several millions of dollars, brought to Seattle only 18 miners with 576,000 dollars of gold Mr. Ogilvie the Donunion Land Surveyor, whose capaoity or integrity .... says, in November he informed the Authorities of th') Dominion that 60,000,000 of gold was in sight. This quantity he now increases to 70,000.000. RfluteKt Agonoy, Seattle, August 80th. The Steamer Portland arrived here to-day. . . . She brought gold to the value of about 500,000 dollars . . . . Old timers, who realize the state of afifairs, predict death and distress during the winter. Those who are returning now, however, admit that the strike of gold was, and is, one of the greatest in the world's history. They also predict further gold finds in future i>'l u fe ?v" Otowtni Aooonnts of tbe country's wmJOl . . Gold galore. Now AJmwiuj otgoUnoar JunotioD of Tnkonand PoronpliM BiTnr*. eic«edbc VkHidykaiD From "Morning Posfs" oorrespcndent. New York, August Q9th, 1897. "The steamer "Portland" arrived yesterday at Port Angeles with 100,000 dollars in gold, and a party of early ioneers retumirg home from the Elondyke gold- fields. The passengers are full of glowing descriptions of the mineral wealth of the country, and speak of gold galore in all directions. They say nothing of the terrors and priva- tions described by later adventurers in the same region. They speak of a splendid gold discovery in the Monnet Greek, 800 milos from the mouth of the Yukon Biver, and outside the '.boundary of British America. The wealth there is said to exceed that in Elondyke. When asked to reconcile the smallness of the quantity of gold brought in his ship with the glowing statements of th* • W. ^i ' t w I > tti i II i. p M i i iyn ' j^ i 79 pMsengen, the Captoin of the "PortUnd" ezpkuiMd ^^{St' khat he km compelled to leave 8k. Michael's before the '^■*y*» arriTal of the treMure boat from the Yukon. Mr. Ogilrie li t tMi o Is quoted as saying that the 000 claims already staked In the Klondyke region will yield 70,000,000 dollars in gold to their owners." "Standard'' (London* 27th Auguit, 1897. Rbutbb'b— ViOTOKiA (B.O.), Augtut 26th. According to an apparently authentic report from JjJJ^^Sy* Dawson City, gold to the value of six million dollars is ^^^^ *^ there awaiting shipment in June. " Daily Chroniole," 4th SepTember, 1887. A report received at the Department of the Interior to-day (Washington, 3rd September), from the Oovemor of Alaska, states that two-and-a-half (2^) tons of gold dust have been shipped this season from Klondike. New discoveries of gold are constantly being made. Mr. Thomas Deasy, Chief Officier of the Fhre Depart- ment of Victoria, British Columbia, writing to Commander Wells, B.N., Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, on August 27th, 1897, states : " Situate as the writer is at Victoria, the nearest tim shipping port io the mines, he has an opportunity to awtii. truthfully depict everything connected with tho greatest goldfields on earth. From Cassiar to Alaska, covering thousands of miles of Canadian territory, gold has been found. Scarcity of provisions end long distance from civilisation retarded the miner. The frozen North had terrors which only the most hardy of mankind could endure. Snow and ice, precipices and gorges, dangerous rapids on the rivers, impenetrable woods on land, every mile meant privation. At last a whisper was circulated in the nearest camps that untold wealth could be found further up river. Places where miners made good pay were deserted. Towns and villages added hundreds to the rush. Eventually the news reached cities, and thousands are on the way to the Mecca of the North. At the present writing two steamships are on the way .5.»*;-r^,i^*i& •; ;-^ vr ii I V'. lllaMVlQlM (»MD«d upon UM lUekonito. 80 oal wiih tons of gold. The great Tukon country in no place for the 'tenderfoot.' Strong men, with means enough to outfit for a year or two, will be successful. The country will produce more wealth each succeuding year. It ii practically undeveloped. Hundreds of thousands will scatter over the numerous creeks and rivers, eventually opening up mines on the Peace, Felly, and Maokensie. From this city ny left in the first mad rush, and many will return to w.iter. Those remaining .^k into consideration the difiiculties to be surmounted, and preferred to await until next spring. If 10,000 men should delve all the coming winter, only a smftll expanse of territory will be opened up. i i I i: K' ^ New Qold dUcoverlee of great rkhneM. The first copy of the International, published at the new town of Warder, on Lake Tagish, in June this yet\r (1897), states :— Two prospectors have come in from the middle fork of the Salmon Biver, a section that has never been ex- plored, bringing a quantity of gold taken out there in » few week's work. The amount of their cleanings was close to 1,000 dole. An interesting feature of the matter is that this gold is washed from the decomposed surface of a mountain which they declare to be all ore. The mountain is porphyry. The gold is found all through it. They do not claim the rook is high grade^ but. they assert that it is all good ore. A. H. Fettengill, ex-chief deputy county auditor, who now owns and operates mining interests on Upper Kettle river in Stevens- Country returned to Golville recently from a trip across CSolville reservation, and if his statements are true, the portion of the Golville reserve lying along the boundary line between Stevens and Oakanogan Counties will rival even the palmiest days of Cripple Creek. A Mr. Allison bonded the claim from the original owners for 10,000 dols. In a very short time he secured 30 sacks of ore. No one is allowed to visit the works of the mine, which are a little more than the mere uncovering of the vein. 81 How wide the pay-itreftk is. is yet a matter of the most random conjeoture, bat on one will doubt that it it wide enough, for out of less than 60 lbs. of the ore from the ledge, 800 dollars in pure, yellow gold was puutled out in a common mortar. A QuarU Reef on the White Pa«s. The correspondent of the Pall Mall Oasette writing from Vancouver, on September 9th (1897), states that news had just reached Vancouver of the discovery of a ledge of quarts 20 feet wide, which assayed from 86 to 73 dole. per ton. It was discovered by a man named Wade, who, on a trip from Lake Bennett, at a point contiguous to the White Pass, picked up four piecen of quartii rich in gold. He then uncovered the ledge above mentioned with a wooden spade and took some pieces to the Treadwell Mine for assay. A Stupendous Output of Qold predicted for 1898. The Daily Mail correspondent states in the issue of October Ilth, 1897 — " Judge Malony, of Juneau, Alaska, who is returning with a party from Klondyke , says that not one-fifth of the gold now in sight has yet come out of Klonkyke. He is afraid to offer predictions of a fabulous yield, lest he might be charged with exaggeration. Mr. Galvin, of the same party, who sold one claim on Bonanza Greek for 100,000 dollars, predicted that 250 tons of gold, or 130,000,000 dollars would be shipped from Klondyke next year. His companion placed the amount at 300 tons." "Weitminiter Qazette," 10th November, IMT. The son of Mr. Lyman Gage, the Secretary of the Prerioas Treasury, has just arrived at Butte, California, from the Kiondyka'i Yukon gold district. He confirms previous accounts of oraflnnad. *" the richness of the Klondyke Valley, and asserts that the first steamer that gets away in the spring will bring 15,000,000 dollars worth of gold from the Klondyke. ►rv-1*,-:*' r-K^'i: f-."';.' i:- 'v.t" r »--".''.iW' '^•■■^'fei^'^-T-:-'-i't'^vrrr;;w^'wr^'^J!^ 82 1^'^ k: Interview wtth Mr. HARRY do WINDT, In «8trtnd Maozine.* October, 1897. The big boom (on the Yukon) commenoed in September, 1896, when one George Gormack found gold in large quantities. Then came the inevitable rush. In the following Spring, when water was available, gold was washed out in pounds' weight. Four pans wont as high as 200 dollars. The pan, about which one hears so much, is an ordinary sheet-iron thing of 18 inches circumference and 4 or 5 inches deep. Some men made money at the rate of 17 dollars per niiniUe, and fortunes of 100,000 dollars were made in less than two months, although *he miners had only just commenced to work their claims. The Qreat " Rush " of 1898. Mr. H. DE WINDT in the Strand of OotolMr, 1807. The spring of 1898 will see the great rush, but there's plenty of room. 100,000 miners might go pros- pecting in the Yukon Valley, and be lost to one another. My impression is that there are streams richer even than the Klondike — the Felly, the Lewes, the Porcupine, the Big Salmon, the Tanana, the White, the Hootalinqua. and the Stewart Bivers, for example, especially the last-named. All are navigable tributaries of the Yukon. Bbutbb'b Telegram, Victoria (B. G.), October llth, 1897. Miners are coming out overland from Klondike, with large amounts in gold and drafts. They report a shortage of provisions, but declare that the richness of the goldfields is not exaggerated. " Daily Mail," 12th October, 1897. Telegram from its B. G. Correspomdemt. Ono year ago, Alexander Macdonald, a Yukon prospector, was penniless ; to-day he is believed to be the richest man in Kloudyke, and unable to tell whether he is worth 5,000,000 or 20,000,000 dollars untU the clean-up next spring. ^ year ago he could not pay cash for his food. -rA-r*'*^/': "f.'^'™^ ■'•♦. sir. •ntfi»>T-.i-"!*ff-^'Ttr-yw»-y, •••«'y>''^;?^f!.:¥'i*WByi y^» ))qB??';' 83 Klondyke's /VlarveU, by a Yukon Pioneer. "Dftily Ghroniole," London, 26th Ootobtr, 1897. Mr. A. E. Sola, a young Englishman who has made his fortune at Klondike, is at present on a visit to this country, writes a Chronicle contributor, and it was my good fortune to have a chat with him yestsrday at the Hotel Cecil, where he is staying. Mr. Sola is now managing director of the British North American Trading and Exploration Company of New Tork, having transferred to it for a good round sum his claims in Klondike, and thus having passed beyond the miner's stage, is in a position to speak freely touching Klondike, its hardships and its resources. Mr. Sola can speak with authority both as to the hardships and resources of Klondike. He spent from three to four years out in that terrible region ; though he has amassed a great fortune, he still shudders to recall the su£ferings he underwent during his four years' search for gold. " What is the truth about Klondike, Mr. Sola," I began. "Is there gold there or not ? " " Gold. Why there is, in my opinion, so much gold there that gold may yet be demonetised owing to the prodigious yield which the Klondike district will give. Why, the supply has as yet scarcely been tapped. There has been up to the present a slight trickle of gold, but the main stream of precious metal has yet to flow. I say ' yet,' you observe. The gold standard will not be with its back to the wall yet awhile, for the reason that the luck of winning gold at Klondike is surrounded with sach awful hardships and such perils. But when the difficulties of access to the region have been overcome, when the transport question has been solved, and the ['resent comparatively rude methods of getting the gold have given place to moi-e scientific methods, there will be a rush of gold from Alaska which will astound the world. I was there from three to four years, and perhaps I ought to know something. . . . To go there without £400 or £500 is to court disaster, disappointment, and possible 4eath. Gold; tlM prodifdooi yield wliicb Klondyke wiU glTO. •f, I .4 m 4 ':A' '4 ■t There vlll bo a rutfh to Klondyke thKt will astoniid the world. \^'.* .:;! G r V ^BM ■ mm iWW.f^''*"""* ■•■■ hi Imwlntntlia Klondjrke ia iwMbMby tmTclllng OTM Um f roMn lakMand ■lT«n. HMrtbrMklug work Marching for gold oa the Klondjks. 84 A Miner's Life on the Klondyke. " Bay, now, a man arrives at Dawson City with a year's supplies," Mr. Sola went on. " He will naturally wait until the cold weather freezes the river, and he can take his provisions on a sledge with dogs, if he oan buy the doga. He locates a claim at last. He has to build a log cabin, by no means easy work in winter time. Ho then builds a big fire, which is left to burn on the bank, the snow having first been cleared away from the ground. The fire bums all night, and the next morning the miner starts to dig the thawed earth. Then he must put in another fire and again dig, keeping this up until he strikes bed rook, twenty feet down, and perhaps he finds no gold there in paying quantity. He must build another fire, and start another hole somewhere else. He will be disgusted after several of these holes are made, and will have to clear out and start another claim. I dlTide ftttentlon with Klondyke. A New Field In Alaska. St. James* Gazette, October 18th, 1897. The New York " Herald " publishes a despatch from Sitka describing the wonderful gold discoveries at Cook Inlet, Alaska, in United States Terr'tory. The newly discovered region is easily reached, and has a mild climate and fertile soil A party of miners from the new gold- fields have, it is stated, reached Sitka with over 200,000 dollars in gold dust and nuggets. It is generally believed in New York that this district will divide attention with Klondike next year. An interview with an Alaskan Pioneer. "Pall Mall Guette," Gotober SSth, 1807. 22^^,^ Mr. F. G. Hinde Bowker (whom the Hon. H. 0. imSf'^^n M*o^*08h, at a banquet given him in London in September, in reply to Lord Du£ferin's compliments^ Ci'- ■-r^*^* f? iij". ! l W I N. l yi)^. ..^ i l iy ffH; » .i.. . MMmmmit^i^ r .-.vrn^VIPISX^lBv-'' ■ -»*»•»"*' '^PPPWP?"''^ 88 RlelniMaot loldflaldi not uaggentad. " Timet" (Undon), October 13th, 1897 (Reuter's Cable). Miners are coming out overland from Klondike wit}\ large amounts in gold and drafts. They report a shortage of provisions, but declare that the richness of the gold- fields is not exaggerated. I'.' I:' 1^ «., The only trnstworthy Infonnfttion. Ifr. OglMe ■dmlta the eztraordlnuT richneee of the gold deposits. 6a00n,000 dole, worth ont of two oreeki ouly. "The richest man In the world." "Canadian Gazette," October 7th, 1897. Mr. Joaquin Miller, in a recent letter from Dawson City, speaks of Alex. Macdonald as " The John Mackay of the Klondike," and adds, concerning him : " They say Macdonald is a very conservative man in his calculations. He made his millions by locating claims, having nothing at all to begin with but a rich claim, not a dollar to buy with. I hear he is probably the richest man in the world." Mr. Macdonald referred to is a Canadian, a native of Ashdale, Antigonish county, Nova Scotia. Mr. Wm. Ogilvie on the Yukon QoldfieldA. The " Manoheiter Guardian," 2!8t October, 1897, from its Corres- pondent, Montreal, October 9 tates;— Mr. William Ogilvie, of the Dominion Land Surveys has returned to the Pacific Coast from the Klondike, where he has spent the last two years as the representative of the Dominion Government. Mr. Ogilvie first went into the Yukon country many years ago to delimit the frontier of Alaska, and he has been there, with occasional furloughs, ever since. His official reports give the only trustworthy information published as to the Klondike goldfields, and his return to civilisation has therefore been eagerly looked for. "While protesting against the ex- aggerated reports published in the newspapers as to the fortunes made in the new goldfields, Mr. Ogilvie admits that the deposits are of extraordinary richness. In an interview he has stated that he believes that one hundred claims on Bonanza Creek and forty on El Dorado will yield about 60,000,000 dollars before they are exhausted. In addition to thia there is a vast unexplored region from '•-r-'^^Tj{|[; jW <| . i iif/ i ,yU W | Pii» i>^^iw. | !»P»., i .W".'' *'"ff T )mi ' ' > «w »i ii ^mw igpi i i n i n i w t , ii Wonderful amonoU ot gold ont of ■Ingle 89 whioh returns almost af* greAt may be looked for, and Mr. Ogilvie estimates that while the greater portion of the work will be done within the next ten years, there is every indication that placer work will be continued for at least twenty years, and this without any attention being paid to tlie quartz mining which, it is certain, will follow the hydraulic operations. Talking of the reports of wonderful amounts of gold taken out in a sing'o pan, Mr. Ogilvie gave some of his own experiences. Mr. Ogilvie went into one of the richest claims and asked to be allowed to wash out a panful of gold. The pay streak then was very rich, but standing at the bottom of the shaft, looking at it by the light of a candle, all that could be seen of the pay streak was a yellowish-looking dirt, with here and there the sparkle of a little gold. Mr. Ogilvie took out a big panful and started to wash it out, while several miners stood about guessing as to the result. Five hundred dollars was the top guess of the miners, but when the gold was washed, dried, and weighed it came to a little over 590 dollars. Speaking of the quartz to be found in the Yukon, Mr. Ogilvie stated that he had made a number of tests roughly for several men. One man brought in a sample from a quartz ledge which he had discovered. Mr. Ogilvie weighed out several samples, crushed them, washed out the gold, and found that the ore made 1,000 dollars to the ton even by that crude method. Other samples he tried S*oi^^rti?of made 100 dollars more. If the ore had been properly *°^ to the ton. crushed and quicksilver used to amalgamate, the results would presumably have been much higher. '4 Qautx on the Tnkon Value of Yukon Qold. "Engineering and Mining Journal, 9th October, 1897. According to the officers of the Selby Smelting Company, gold nuggets from the Yukon are worth from ^7 dollar& to 18 dollars per oz., and gold dust from 16 dollars to 17 dollars per oz. The Yukon gold contains a large proportion of silver and some iron, the latter giving it a fine rich colour. r 'I .''•■Ti» "ww^ir*.' rj.T-'^^;, 90 Beotion 2. Quartz Reefs in the Moun- tains and at the Headwaters of the Rivers. I I I »■."■■- ft'- OoId-tMulns QOnrta picked np. Tha quarts from wbiub all tttls gold boa oome will yet be discovered. Ooid-bearluK qnarts found •ft numerous piftces in this Horth-West Territory. Oood quartz found 00 the hills, -copper ftnd silTor also tottud. Extracts from the Report of Mr. WILLIAM OGILVIE, 1896. Pieces of gold-bearing quartz had frequently been picked up along the river in the shallow drift, but none had been found in place, nor did it appear to me that much search liad been made for it (no quartz orushors being on the field miners had no inducement to look for quart's reefs). I think it may, with confidence, be asserted that rich finds will yet be made of both coarse gold and gold bearing quartz. It is not likely in the nature of things that such a vast extent of country should have all its fine gold deposited as sediment, brought from a distance in past ages of the world's development. If this is not the case, the matrix from which all the gold on these streams has come must still exist, in part at least, and will no doubt be discovered, and thus enrich this other- wise gloomy and desolate region. From the indications I have mentioned it will be seen that this comer 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 be n found in it at numerous places, and much will no doubt be worked. Oood quartz has been found in places just across the line on Davis Creek. . . . Good quartz is also jeported on the hills around Bonanza Creek. ... I have seen several lumps of copper brought by the natives from White Biver. ... I have also seen a specimen of silver ore said to have been picked up in a Creek flowing into Lake Bennett. •■.»••• ■• ■ t » y » ' r^'^^i^ss^'^r'^' ''rt^,'r"-f*-r9rv. 91 CuDAHT, 32nd JaDuary, 1897. A quarts lode showing fine gold in paying quantitien QiMrta has been located on one of the creeks, but I cannot yet Bend particulars. I am confident from the nature of th^ gold found in the creeks that many more of them — and lioh too— will be found. GuDAHT, 23rd January, 1897. I have just heard from a reliable source that the quartz mentioned above is rich, as tested, over 100 dollars (over £20) to the ton. The lode appears to run from 3 to 8 feet in thickness. Comp«n foTilul "Rntnoial News," 13th August, 1897:— Chioago, August 11th. — A gigantic Chicago Cor- Qn»rti»rf poration, with a capital of £6,000,000, has been or- ~ ganised to get at the gold quartz miuos in Eastern Alaska. John Cudahy, the packer, is at the head of the Company. New York and London syndicates are, it is alleged, trying to get the property, but without success. II n libt )3S Iso khe a Extract from Inspector Constantine's Report, January 20th, 1896. " The country is full of quartz ledges, more or less 9^**^ valuable, and it only requires a short way of getting in proa^eoto from the south, with the assurance of a certainty of supplies, in order to develop them. ... In a country where a man has to pole up a rapid river for some hundreds of miles in summer, then pack his food, clothing, camping and working tools on his back, or in winter either haul himself or with a dog, consideration as to whore he can get his food and clothing is of vital importance to him, and he is governed accordingly. This accounts for the number of men working on the ^l^'J*" Forty-Mile and creeks emptying into it. Even hero c^rawSSI'*'" food has to be packed on men's backs in the summer at a charge of Is. 6d. per pound, and in winter by dogs at 5d. per pound. This is for about 85 miles only. . . • r [If* The Peel RItcx roate will n*ch the ilotaMt ■trMuni. Uauit required for getting Quurti MMhinerr on the field. Bee Feel Biver ronte. 02 The work done so far has shown up a large yield of gold. . . . The true value of the mineral wealth of this part of the country will not be known for many years, as new discoveries are being made each season. . . . Oold has also been found on Indian Creek, Squaw Creek, and other Rtnall streams flowing into Yukon from the Eastward." The best paying streams are those running into the Yukon from the East. Exiraot from Inspsotor Gonitantine'a Report, November 20th, 1896. " Many old miners state that this Creek (the Klondyko) is fully as rich as any found in California in the early days. New creeks are beii j found doily, all prospecting well. . . . Without doubt before long rich quartz vnll be found, but not worked until some means of transporting the necessary heavy machinery is provided and supplies can be got in at reasonable cost." 490 per ton aoMttine/i. On January 28rd, 1897:— " A quarts lode showing free gold has been located on one of the creeks. The quartz I understand from a reliable source, is rich, as tested over 100 dollars to the ton. The lode appears to run from 8 to 8 feet in thickness, and lies about 19 miles from the Yukon Biver. Coal is found on the upper part of Klondike, so that the facilities for working are good and convenient. "SUndard" Slat August, 1897. ... He (Mr. Ogilvie) also tested the quartz and 1 «j?doUMi^to ^°^^^ ^' yielded at the rate of 1,000 dollars per ton. . , tiietoB. The quartz lodes are practically inexhaustible. Qnuts lodes nrftotloaUy meitaai "Daily Chronicle" Correepondenfa Interview with Dr. GEO. M. DAWSON, G.M.Q., F.aS., Ottawa, Kuguti 16th, 1897. to'^Aro^'"' " ^® entire range of mountains which extend more itort^^ or less continuously from the extreme end of South America to the Arctic regions is rich in minerals. ' * ^ 'T- ' m ' ' ' f^^ff r r^^ K f : V " ' ,W».MH » tf.Wj W J i w; wimn ^ 93 Take .... for exainpio .... until Um receDl Klondike disoovuries appear to throw previous pUoer mining into the shado. . . . . . . . Where such larc^e deposits of heavy RfehanMtaia placer gold have been found there must have been at UMrtvmriM. some time large quantities of gold in quartz at no very great distance, and these quartz veins still exist. Fintneial Bulletin, August Slat, 1807. Another phase of the possibilities of the Klondike ^f"^ that has been overlooked is the fact that where there is 4*mu Msm. so much placer gold in the beds of streams there must be contiguous quartz ledges. When the placer gold becomes scarce, ledges will be searched for and found, and then a second era of prosperity will have come, which will be more lasting than that which is now in progiess. — Tht EotlatuUr, July 27th, 1897. ■■»' Section 3. Source of the Klondyke Placer Gold. "Ohambert* Journal," September fth, 1807. There is no reason to suppose that even the Klondyke is the very richest of the rivers which flow down from the Bockies and carry with them the drift from the auriferous rocks. Between the left bank of the Yukon and this mountain range is a vast region absolutely untrodden by man. It contains, in the upper reaches of the Stewart and Macmillan Bivers, hundreds of creeks ooUmUm quite as favourable for the reception of floating particles 9^ stawut of gold as the Klondyke. And even this river remains tunn. unexplored beyond the place which the Indians know as Too-much-Gold Greek. Dr. Dawson estimates that the auriferous alluvium in and around the Yukon watershed ;? r i» TkapUean oitffto in Um Rocky Moutalna. T'^ QmtfUrMfa •ziending k> tlMliockj MoontaiBf. 04 is aproAd over an area of a round quarter of a million •quare milus. This estimate takes no acooant of the po88ibilitics of lodo-inining in the hills where the quarts veins oxiHt. The placers of the Klondyko appear, as we have hinted, to have their origin in the Bookies ; but no Boientifio investigation has yet been made with the idea of locating the veins, and of asoeitaining their approximate extent. But a United Stateti Oeologioftl Survey party last year found in a rangb of small mountains situated between the Yukon and the Tanana and crossing the Alaskan i)Oundary in a north-easterly direction not far from Forty-Mile Creek, evidences of quart/ gold which persisted for over 600 miles and gave promise of the presence of the metal ' in well-nigh un- limited ' quantities. This range joins tho Kocky Mountoias a little north of the Arctic Circle. {Sm aUo Section 2.) Tfcu orirrtn of Upld lu tho Boeklf ■ wUero t!M Btfwart, MftotuUIui and Kloodyka Quarts Reefs in the Rockies towards the Mockensle River. The " Investors' Review," Ootober. 1897. The United States Geological Survey has discovered auriferous rooks of " well-nigh unlimited capacity " in a range of low hills running between the Yukon and the Tanana to the north-east, and crossing from American into British territory near Forty-Mile Creek. But the veins from which the fine gold of the Klondyke creeks has been washed by the action of running water muat bt located in tin Rocky Mountains which trend to the north« west between the Yukon and the Mackenzie^ and in which the Klondyko, Stewart, Maomillan, Felly and other rivers take their rise. Quarts Reefs on Stewart River and Headwaters. "Globe," 9th Kuiutt, 1897. Writing from San Francisco, a correspondent of the New York Tribune Ba,y»: — . . . The latest rumour from Alaska is of wonderfully rich quartz in large llii»Wi^H|Ullll|ipf.> 05 quantiiiea on the Stewart River ... the ledge b large one . • . rock atuiys 800 doll. . . . Thii, if true, meani muoh for the Klondike district. .1 The Stewart Rlvor runt into the Yukon not far S?tel?h!lfi. above Dawi \, and it is reasonable to suppose that the JJJJJ^ °* *^ placer gold now being found below may have its origin in the mountains at the head of Stewart Biver and neighbouring streams. Formation of the Yukon Qoldfielda* The following recapitulation of a long Article upon the Alabkan Ooldfiolds follows an Article in the London Mining Journal, of October 2nd, 1897, by Russell L. Dunn, M.E., from the Mining and Scientific Press, ^ »*;? ^ii 1. The placers are derived from the direct erosion DariTkUoa of of gold-bearing lodes in place by frost and flowing wakr. plMcn. a ylM«n. 8. The placers are the beds of the first few cutting Typo of the channels that the living streams made in eroding the flat valleys they now flow in. Those old beds, lying sido by side, aggregate a width several times the living river, but at the same time have several times less width than the valleys. The old beds preserve an approximately direct course through the linear extent of the valleys, and have the same grade as the valleys. The old beds are not exposed at the surface, but are covered with from 8 to 20 feet of silt, so that there is no surface indication of their locus beneath the silt. (This is the type of plucer; there are, of course, modifications of it Ukely to be found.) I '31 ■s •I 3. The richness of the Klondyke placei* discovery mohiMM u is likely to bo equalled by many discoveries yet to be p/wn^ made, and is possible of being exceeded in richr ^s by ex^e^tdby some of them. oUm dlSOOTOlOS. m«l Ml l-lx' 96 ^' i1 ThatonrcM of th« Oold r,t ttaa np- jttMun end of the jUmeen. Plftoer Goia not (he resnlt of (rlMier MOaiOD. Cbuaoter of (he ooontry ; the placer groond frosen to the bedrock. 4. The lodes from which the gold of the placers has come, are, for the greater number, at or about the up-stream end of the placers. The lesser niunber of them may be, however, considerably farther down stream, and some even exist wholly within the placers. These lodes have not been eroded very deeply ; and so closely are they connected witn the placers, that richness in the latter furnishes a presumption of richness in the former. 6. Certain popular opinions, and some so-called expert ones as well, are absolutely to be rejected as erroneous. The gold was not broken out of the rock and distributed by glaciers. If it were in Alaska, one would naturally search for gold in moraines and not in flat valleys, far away from them. Gold does not "flow" now, and never did ; otherwise it would be in the living rivers as much as in others. Every valley and flat in the auriferous region does not contain placers. All the bedrock xmder- lying a valley in which a placer has been found is not a "placer"; it is not possible to find gold everywhere in such valleys as the Klondyke, for example. The entire length of a placer is not of possible equal richness, nor is the locus of the portion of greater richness an uncertain or indeterminate fact. 6. To the preceding add that the surface of the country, valley and moimtain is covered with a deep strong growth of moss ; that the silt and auriferous sand of the mlleys beneath the moss is perpetually frozen to the bedrock; that from these physical conditions the methods of prospecting for placers and lodes employed elsewhere are impossible of application here; and one has clearly in view the special and, in part, unique mining conditions of the Yukon Goldfields. {See also Section 2.) "Westminuter Gazette," 24th August, 1897. Blob gold An interesting item appears to-day in the Morning &e»dwater8of Post's New York letter to the effect that the nuggets SUbSc^"" brought to Seattle from the North- West Goldfields by Motmtftina, ^^ Starr on Saturday are of such different formation > "*>'*-'i»rJ.4'.'«-' ^S«f(lH»#«««S«|J»W|S,)(8^>i«^^ mm HP 97 from nuggeto which have previoasly arriyed from Klondyke that experts believe they probably did not come from the placer mines with which the world is now 80 familiar. These experts have for some time believed in the existence of ledges of rich gold quartz at the head waters of the Klondyke Biver, and the nature of the samples in question confirms them in their opinion. % I Section 4« Other Minerals. Qenera! Summary from the Committas. Other mineral productions in this (the N. W. Terri- tones) area are silver, copper, iron, graphite, ochre, brick and pottery clay, mica, gypsum, lime and sand- stone, sand for glass and moulding, and asphaltum, while the petroleum area is so extensita as to justify the belief that eventusJly it rnll supply the larger part of this (the American) continent and be shipped to England. Salt and sulphur deposits are less extensive, but the sait. ooiki. former is found in crystals equal in purity to the best ^on oSf'great Bock saltf and in highly saline springs, while the latter ^^^*"''*' is found in the form of pyrites, and the fact that these petroleum and salt deposits occur mainly near the line of division between deep water navigation and that fitted for lighter craft, gives them a possible great com- mercial value. .■t/" Evidence of the Rev. L PETITOT. The Gbrges or Bamparts of the Porcupine Biver ^ vnmx offer a vast and magnificent field to the geologist and paaita^tbe the mineralogist. Him. wmmmm .\^^ -mr- ■ I ' ^^1 98 The Neptunian and Plutonian elements have united there to fonn rooks and soils of an extremely varied nature. . . . Goal, anthracite, gneiss, red oohre, trap, porphry, marble, feldspar — pure and rose-veined, all the varieties of granite, gypsum, sulphur, talo, blue marl, and a quantity of other mineral substances show themselves in profusion in this canyon. Moreover, the rocks, by their singular and capricious forms, as well as by their striking, and one might say, improbable colours, present to the brush of the landscape artist scenery of a rare and striking character. Evidence of DONALD MolVOR. Ctei. Iron. Ac, Iron could be found throughout the whole country, fhe MMkeniie Coal in great abundance on banks of the Mackenzie. White clay on the river most valuable for pottery. Quantities of lime and sandstone. Of course, petroleum is well known to be in large quantity. MiiMnl leaonrcesfu rioher thao Bappoeed. " Daily Ghroniole," «lu|y 29th 1887. " Tet the resources of the country axf>t far richer than is generally supposed ; it abounds in every direction in gold, silver, lead, copper and coal, and quite apart from the recent discoveries in the grim district around the Yukon Biver, the immediate future . . • . is one full of the brightest promise." i f ■ Evidence of M. MoLEOO, Esq., Q.O., Ex-Judge. Luce depositB Sulphur seems to permeate the whole of the region cbA^ontta of ^S'l^goly* because approaching the fires near the mouth the MMkeniie. ^f ^jjg Mackenzie (in the river) travellers speak of sulphurous exhalations. Evidence of BISHOP GLUT. oitoerniiiierau There is coppcr (in the Mackenzie Basin and N. W. comM^Mtt^^ Territory), and one river bears the name of Coppermine g^ml ud Biver. It is found there in great pieces. I have seen pnotooa Btones jj^j^ crosses made of it by the savages themselves. . . The sulphur abounds in several places. I have seen it on l--'ejp»iH.!w«Pl-i«; r^ i\^'#i«?75i>fi.:^-'?l<'#!l* ^^? « hVVV ''? i;.''> ' !, ' ^^-i ' ^^ ^ 99 . 18 the Clearwater Biver and on the West bank of Great Slave Lake. It is there in such quantities that the odour is annoying to those who pass by. Near Fort Smith there is a salt mine, which is probably the most beautiful and the most abundant in the universe. There is a veritable moTintain of salt. By digging a little in the earth, from six inches to a foot, rock salt can be found You have only to shovel, and you can gather a fine salt, pure and clean. On the borders of the Peace Biver, stones are found which are sufficiently precious to make rings of them. I have seen Gypsum alonp the Mackenzie, a little below Fort Norman. R. G. MoOONNELL, 1888-88. The Devonian rocks throughout the Valley are nearly everywhere more or less petroliferous, and over large areas afford promising indications of the presence of oil in workable quantities .... Near Fort Good Hope several tar springs exist, and it is from these that the Hudson's Bay Company now obtain their principal supply of pitch .... Still farther down, in the vicinity of Old Fort Good Hope, the river is bordered for several miles by evenly bedded dark shales of Devonian age which are completely saturated with oil (Fort Good Hope is 274 miles from mouth of the Mackenzie Biver). The oil fields of Pennsylvania and Baker ahready (1888) show signs of exhaustion, and as they decline the oil fields of Northern Canada will have a corree- ponding rise in value. Mineral Re«ources of the N. W. Territories. Evidenoe of ProfsMor BELL before the 1888 Committee. Gold has been found at Bepulse Bay and near Chesterfield Inlet, Hudson's Bay; also at Bumtwood Lake, near Frog Portage. Mackenzie Pf trolemn »n« Pitch. ■A m 1 ■1 1 H 2 I ■■ j;. II ^ '! !; *mmf -m:%mf^^j:^:.: ■.-■ir:f''-i,yv,'- 100 Nuggets of pure silyer have boon foimd on the Upper Peace. Native copper on the Coppermine Biver, and copper or J on the West Coast of Hudson's Bay. Clay iron-stone on the Athabasca Biver, above the Clearwater Biver; and magnetite at Black Bay, on Athabasca Lake. Sulphur h abundant in the form of pyrites on the West Coast of Hudson's Bay. Salt, in springs on the Clearwater and the Athabasca, and copiously on the Salt Biver on the West side of Slave River. Petroleum and asphaltum on the Athabasca Biver, Great Slave Lake, Mackenzie, &c. Gypsum at Peace Point, Peace Biver, Salt Springs, Salt River. Lignite, along the Athabasca Biver, Mackenzie Biver, near Great Bear Lake Biver, along Peel Biver and en the coast of the Arctic sea on both sides of the Mackenzie. Plumbago foimd near Fond du Lac, Athabasca Lake. Mr. George Dawson stated to 1888 Committee : — The pitch of Athabasca Biver (and also of the Lake and of the Macken2.ie Biver) may probably be of considerable value in the future, but it is most important in giving reason to believe that extensive deposits of petroleum exist in the country in which it occurs. Mr. Ho&nan reports on an examination of this material (1881-83) : — He suggests its use for asphalting roadways, &c., and for the purpose of distillation and tor the production of lubricating and illuminating oils. Professor Bell, in his evidence to the 1888 Com- mittee of the Senate, stated — "As to economic minerals, magnetic iron, apparently of fine quaUty, judging from specimens I obtained at Fort Chippewyan, is found near the entrance of Black Bay, on the north side of LakOi .;?T'Mw*«^y»«*'*'^«*^^'»'.''ff6i^**^'»'*»:v'rt-',^:.'»-W|?'^.»'«^^ : it^: i ' ^.qp^r''" ^^itP'^ ■ 101 Athabasca. Graphite has been foiind m loose pieces, near Fond du Lao Post, on the same side. Mr. Goohrane found the Huronian foundation, which is always apt to be metalliferous, well developed in Black Bay, and again between Fond du Lao and the eastern extremity of Lake Athabasca. " The lake is deep and navigable for steamers of a large class." Evidenoe from the diary of ANDERSON, the Explorer, Senate Committee, 1888. Bed earth, sulphur, coal oU, salt, white ew-th, ^Jp^^.^ limestone, ironstone, and sandstone, are found all along the Mackenzie and the Athabasca. Mr. James Anderson, son of the Explorer, declares that he has seen all these minerals, himself, in the localities mentioned. Evidenoe of Q. M. DAWSON, Director of the Qeofogioal Survey of Canada, to the 1888 Senate Committeo. Eeferring to the CJoppermine Eiver particularly, JJJJJrtSrno there is every reason to believe there is a repetition, "°*g;„^ along that river and in its vicinity, of those rocks, which contain copper, on Lake Superior, and which have proved so rich there. If there were any way of getting the copper out from that country, as there will, no doubt, eventually be, it could be examined and prospected and worked at once. At the present time it seems to be beyond the reach of the prospector. The Hudson Bay Go. sent Heame up there in the latter part of the last century to discover where the copper found in the hands of the natives came from, but he could do nothing but report that he found copper there. The sea tc the north was ice-bound, and he did not see his way to utilising it, so it has remained ever since. With respect to the barren grounds, I know nothing personally. I think we really know very little about them yet. It wouldappearthat the barren grounds have been generally characterised on the result of a very few expeditions which have not gone over them at all extensively. Pltehud Aaptwltam. A hill ot Iron oBliKkeAtlw* ioop< p«territ(»y Inlet. LOniysold- >— rin g qaatta :ttiebla«. 102 Evidence nf the Hon. W.n. OHRISTiE to the 1888 Senato Committee. The deposit of pitch on the Athabasca Biver is very deep. It is in springs in the sides of the banks of thd river. The bank at that point is not very high. A few pine trees grow at the top of the bank, and there are one or two springs there. They boil up there in the summer. You can put a long pole down 10 or 12 feet long, and yon cannot find the bottom. The pitch is black and very adhesive. It is like English pitch, but i; ^as no smell of tar. They use it e.t Fort MoMurray to cover some of the houses, and it looks like an asphalt pavement. I have never seen specimens of the crude oU that comes from the wells, but the general opinion is that this petroleum, or coal oil, would be found there. In fact there is a report that there are some springs of it near Edmontop. The Indians report that it exists in that country, but being superstitious they would not show where it would be found. Discoveries ot Qold, Iroc and Copper; Chesterfield Inlet and Lake Athabasca. Mr. J. Burr Tyrrell, in the Geological Survey Beports of 1895, mentions a hill of highly hsamatitio qnartzite and iron ore of 125 feet in height on the shore of I mine Biver which have long been known to contain large quantities of pure copper. Along the Doobaunt Biver, and on the North side of Doobaunt Lake, out- wiii i| (ij * i^^ ■tr^aKw--" -'Tf«mjpn(fcT-,-i»5] 103 ■HI crops of white Haronian qtuurtzite were seen. (It ia the Haronian formation that Professor Bell describes as " always apt to be metalliferous.") It was on this journey that Mr. Tyrrell made the An importut discovery of gold on Chesterfield Inlet. sold on chM- Petroleum fields of Immense valae. From the 1888 Senate Oommittee'e Qeneral Summary. The evidence submitted to your Committee points The fm»tMt to the existence in the Athabasca and Mackenzie valleys in tbe woriof of the most extensive petroleum field in America, if not in the world. The uses of petroleum, and consequently the demand for it by all nations are increasing at such a rapid ratio, that it is probable this great petroleum field will assume an enormous value in the near future, and will rank among the chief assets comprised in the Crown Domain of the Dominion. Ironstone and Copper, West of Chesterfield Inlet. Mr. Warburton Pike, in the account (1890) of his travels in the Barren Lands of North Canada, refers (p. 185) several times to its huge extent of ironstone country, extending North East from the Great Fish Biver, about lat. 65^. He also mentions coming upon Esquimaux encampments on this river and finding stone kettles and other utensils with copper let into them, shewing that the natives found this metal and knew how by ^EenlttrMf to work it. m ■'I '^4 ,.,.r^.^^:^,:^..-- "fl wmmm^rwmm- '''*!ii^?!9BpliiPt-' 104 Section O. Coal for visiting Steam- ships, l^anufaotupes and Mining Industries. CoU on the Mkokenaie. Plenty wood nnd asphalttm] u fuel lor Hteamers on Arctlo Coast. General Summary from the Oommittee^ The extensive coal and lignite deposits of the lower Mackenzie, and elsewhere, will be found to be of great commercial value when the question of reducing its iron ores and the transportation of the products of this vast region have to be solved by steam sea-going or lighter river craft. Professor MACOUN'8 Evidence. Question: — Suppose a steamer could stait from Viotcria, pass through Behring Straits and the Arctic Sea to the mouth of the Mackenzie, and ascend the river to the Great Slave Lake, would that vessel have to take coal enough for the return trip, or could she depend upon the coal to be found in the Mackenzie country ? Answer : — There is no doubt at all that she could depend upon the coal of the Mackenzie, because alll explorers speak of it. . . There is no doubt at ail that there is excellent coal on the lower Mackenzie. Evidence of J. B. HURLBERT, M.D., LLD. Sir John Bichaidson, in passing along the Arctic Coast wherever there were Bivers, found timber about the mouths of them in such quantities that, he said, if a steamer should go into the Arctic Ocean it would find wood enough to supply its daily fuel and asphaltum, or something of the kind, which is found West of the Mackenzie Biver, that it would find enough there to supply the daily wants of the steamer. S^WI!J('5-lI#r*»r'!»Ieoid •eun of eoal •! theJoneUou of Mackenato uid " shows" on the Peace Biver in its upper reaches and ueuLAiw extends to the Arctic Ocean. Then you pass on to the month of lignite whiuh you say is still more extensively developed. You give the result of Sir John P.icbardsca's observations aud enquiries on the subject in this way — " At the junction of the Mackenzie and Bear Lake Eiver the formation is best exposed ; it there consists of a series of beds, the thickest of which exceed three yards, separated by layers The coal when extracted from the bed is massive and most generally «hows the woody structure distinctly." You mentioned that all along the Mackenzie — for 1,800 miles — there are indications of this lignite and real «oal. Has anything occurred since the publication of this pamphlet to alter your opinion ? Answer — Nothing. On the contrary, I have had information to add to it. Of late, I find from the refer- ence of Simpson to pitch coal on the shoi^e of the Arctic Sea, between the mouth of the Mackenzie Biver and Point Barrow, that the extent of the coal desposit is ^eater than I supposed. IUcni< lalooi depoiita along the rlTU and onttaeAietIo CotuA atthro moatbal Mm liver. 106 pin Coal ii«ar the Mouth of the Mackenilo. (Sm paragraph under part B, Section 10, referring to Ogilvie's discovery of a large team of excellent tested Coal on Trout Biver.) A Forerunner of Qreat Coal Dlicoverlef. "TOBOMTO MOMBTABT TlMIS," 10th Buptember, 1897. Prof. John Maooon, of the Qeologioal Snrvoy (of Canada), has returned from his Bummer's work on the Prairies of the North- West Territories. He states, that in Mid-August, Mr. StofTord, of the Oalt Coal Company, discovered a 9-foot seam of excellent quality Coal in Alberta, six miles east of the mountains. Olitnate of Alaakft briflit •nd bnclDR. AU the ooa! fonnd, oat- eropped on the rim iMUikii. Coal on the Yukon. Utter from Mr. James Hardy, in the * Sheffield Dally Telegraph " August 11th, 1897. Sir, — I should Uke to say a little about these gold- iielrls, which I think would be of interest to the readers of your paper. As I have spent two summers and a winter tip there prospecting, in the employ of Dr. Dawson, I think I ought to knew something of camp life in that barren territory. The climate is bright and bracing, not damp and foggy, as Mr. Mackey says. You can work out from March until October. In the winter wo opened several seams of coal, as I was a miner. They took my advice, and it found us fire and warmth in cold weather. The coal we got was lignite. We found some bituminous coal some hundreds of miles from there, but did not test it. All the coal we found outcropped on the river banks. In some places the coal was stratified; others un- stratified. I think the gold at Klondike is an outcrop of some general bed. If it is so they will want miners of a better stamp when they have reef to get, instead of gravel. I would not advise any one to go from here until the spring ; it would be madness (o attempt it. It wiU be a •.f" 107 grand pUoe for men interested in oo«l, ai il wHl be wanted in winter worse than gold. Young men going from here ought to get together in fours, and sixes, and so on. and not to be parted at any price. I never saw the meroury below 58 aero nor abova 1*17 Fahr. Section 6. Hydraulic and Placer Mining. ExtraoU from th« Report •t Mr. WILLIAM OQILVIE, The only mining done on the Stewart Biver was on the bars in the river ; the bench and bank bars were all timbered and frozen, bo that to work them would entail a resort to hydraulic mining, for which there was no machinery in iihe country. During the fall of 1886 three or four miners com- spiffidM bined and got the owuers of the " New Backet " steam- s^nrt'i boat to allow the use of her engines to work pumps for bSr^Stk"^ sluicing with. The boat was hauled up on a bar, her engines detached from the paddle wheels and made to drive a set of pumps manufactured on the ground which supplied water for a set of sluicing boxes. With this crude machinery, in less than a month the miners cleared 1,000 dollars each, and paid an equal amount to the owners of the boat as their share. There are many bank and bench bars along the river a tUb s«id i which would pay well if sluiced, but there is no con- ^SmoSu^. venient or economical way of getting water on to them, and there is no pumping machinery as yet in the country. Cold In the Stewart River. R. Q. MoOONNELL, l8bd-88. Extensive gravel benches of a more or less au- riferous character border the Stewart Biver in many places, and promise remunerative returns if worked on a large scale (hydraulic machinery required). ■i| «ii f«l1 TiMTtrloaa dMerilMd. Alaisa qnuiUty a< IwyliiC gravel thiown Mldr. 108 Placer Mlnlot In th* KlomlllM Couatty. WHtttn for tiM "EnginMrinf and Mlnln| Journal" by Iti SpMltl OorrMpondtnt, Ootobar 9th, 1887. Special oondiiiona call for apeoial methods to meet them, and this ia certainly true of placer mining in the Yukon gold bolt, and more oapeoially so in the Klondike district. With the ex^^eption of some plaoera in Siberia, nowhere elae have men undertaken to seek for gold above the line of constantly frozen ground. The work ia too arduous and forbidding, except for the short summer months when the heat ia almost unbearable and the mosquitoes worse. The ground below is frozen solid down to bedrock, almost as hard and even more difficult to excavate. The frozen earth and gravel can be blasted only with great difficulty, and the only method available bus been to thaw the groimd by fire, as is done in the Siberian mines. C ^ El Dorado Creek, which is the richest and best known of the tributaries of Bonanza Creek, the branch of the Klondike on which the first strike was made, the bedrock on which the rich pay-streak lies is found at a depth varying from 9 feet at the mouth to 20 feet and even 28 or 30 feet higher up. The top layer, from 1 to 6 feet thick, IS of muck composed of decaying vegetable matter and soil which in places is covered by long and thickly matted moss. The summer heat melts the surface where exposed to a depth of a few inches, making a very disagreeable footing. Under the muck come the several strata of gravel and sand shown in the illustration, which is a typicaljsection across the creek. The upper- most stratum of gravel varies in thickness in places, but is quite uniform as to the amount of gold carried to the cubic foot ; while those below are quite iiniform on all the claims along the creek in thickness as well as in amount of gold. Under different conditions or in any other diggings but the Yukon the upper layer of gravel would be carefully worked, and most likely will be in the future even there ; but to far the Elondykers have wasted but little time on it, only taking out so much as m^ * .. *^iO off^ooij 109 I V' « • r:.yt, ■•»'■•• r.T""'T f«,y.--,i>fV'».' »fl' -,>jl' V. '^ ■^'*' •'!7^' "■v^m^ifmfmr' '» 110 was necessary to reach the richer strata below, and hi most cases not even washing out the gold from what they did handle. Bow tiM ihAfti In sinking the shafts all the loose top stuff that can be out and scraped away is first removed, and then a good pile of wood cut from the adjoining hills is made and set on fire. By the time this has burnt out the ground below it is thawed to a depth of several inches. Pick and shovel are thee used to remove this over a space of from 8 to 12 feet square, and the shaft may be said to have been started. Alternate firing and digging in time carry it down through the muck and the thick upper layer of gravel to within some 7 or 8 feet of the bedrock. When the shaft becomes too deep to toss the dirt OQt with a nhovel, a windlass is rigged, and it is hoisted out by a rope and bucket, the latter generally made of a half barrel, with a rope handle pietssing through three holes near the top. When the poorer upper gravel has been passed the material, as far as loosened by the fire, is taken from the sides as well as a' the bottom of the shaft, and the dump for sluicing is begun. This is made with an eye to the most convenient and economical way of utilizing the supply of water which is to come when the snow on the hills thaws out in the spring. The work is then carried on down to bedrock, next above which, \7ith a depth of about 18 inches, lies the rich pay-streak. From this and the cracks and rifts in the shale rock underneath come most of the nuggets. This stuff is laid by itself on the dump and given special care in washing, as it abounds in dust and flaxseed gold as well as nuggets. Many men have been satisfied with one season's work on this rich deposit. On aU the deeper claims, after reaching bedrock only the pay-streak and the two strata above it are followed by drifting. The method is the same as in the vertical shaft, wood being piled at the end of the drift and biurned to thaw out the ground. While more men can find room to WiMNtbe onxgets come from i 1 Ill to ^ork the progress made is comparatively slow, as for m||]^*|^ lack of draught the fire boms slowly and the smoke froMacnvvL takes a longer time to clear out of the way, so as to allow the men to get at the work of digging and hoisting out. In thus going down to bedrock and then drifting on only the richest strata, the readiest and largest returns are secured tor the time and labour expended. This was the first object with the poorer Elondikers, to take the richest, make their pile and get out of the country, leaving the other 8tu£f to be worked by those stuff tinown who came after them, as it all will be when improved ^nr ^ion- conditions as to labour, supplies and proper machinery be wMhed orcr exist. So far it has not been found necessary to leave ^^°' pillars or put in supports for the roof of the drift. So firmly is the material frozen that it is as hard and strong as the bedrock below. From rim-rock to rim-rock the El Dorado Creek width of ba ttom of gold- bottom varies from 80 to 500 feet in width, and, as far as beuiog creeks, ascertained, the deposits are quite uniform over the whole with a length of about eight miles. The amount of gold yet to be handled on this creek alone must be very large. A large number of the nuggets taken out of this Quarts in th« creek have had quartz imbedded in the metal, showinR t^« newneM ot ,, ..,,., ,,-,•. 1 qnarti reefs. then: original home to be not far distant, but as yet no definite location has been made of any quartz ledges. As a matter of fact, few have turned their attention in that direction; the heavy covering of thick, matted moss that lies on the hills hides the rocks from sight, and makes prospecting extremely difficult. The more certain returns from the creek bottoms have so far been the more attractive to the miners. Although much has been written in regard to the erosion of these valleys, and the deposit of the gold by the action of glaciers, an inspection of a large quantity of nuggets from the several branches of the ^^^ dimiwM Klondike seem to show that they have never been J^^?*'^ subjected to the squeezing and grinding forces in oiwkter, not^Miers. "53 •'.^? « .^1 4„^^i^- r 0W ■'■rf •CIKT^''*''"^ ■■■ v.- cv.^Hf ■■»,'-y I'.w'-," Vfi.s'akJi 112 I VbttstaMofR pn^Mcting mimrwitb Um Next step— the "noker^'ot "endto." DeMriptlon otthe m.' Bloieing. '4;^ 'H'* evKfence on the terminal moraines to be found along any g;laoiers. They rathor show proot of gradual and gentle loosening from the original rock and of the after action of water, and that only to a limited degree. Prospecting with "Rocker" and Pan. When a miner " prospects " he washes a few panfuls of gravel or sand, and according to the number of specks of gold he sees in his pan after the dirt has been washed out he estimates the richness of it. The "rocker," which the miner uses in placer mining, is a box about three feet long and two feet wide, made in two parts, the top part being shallow, with a heav}' sheet -iron bottom which is punched full of quarter-inch holes. The other part of the box is fitted with an inclined shelf about midway in its depth, which is six or eight inches lower at its lower end than at its upper. Over this is placed a piece of heavy woollen blanket. The whole is then mounted on rockers and set in a convenient place near a good supply of water. The miner puts the gravel and sand he has collected into the shallow box on the top, and he rocks it gently while he ladles in water. The finer matter with the gold falls through the holes on to the blanket, which checks its progress and holds the fine particles of gold. The sand passes over it to the bottom of the box. Across the bottom of the box are fixed thin slats, behind wiiich some mercury is placed to catch particles of gold which may have escaped the blanket. Of course if there are any nuggets they are retained in the upper box. By 'sluicing, however, about three times as much dirt can be washed as by the rocker, and consequently sluicing in always the process employed when a good fall of water can be obtained. In Alaska many miners spend the winter in thawing the ground and collecting the dirt, which they heap in a pile till summer comes and water can be obtained. il I i:- ■V-^l: rvil , '-f-', • ' .< pf» | | » ■^jiioj^'*?' ^*" "" ': fif miv -e-'-^^- •^rvyn^/iijmmt'-'iT^ . 113 Section T. Furs, Ivory, &o. ! J-U 1 1 L. • General Summary from the Oommittea. The chief present 6dmmetcial prbduot of the country The great tu is its fors, which,' as the region in 'qtieBtion is the last wcS!^ °^ *^ great fur preserve of the World, ' are of ' very great present and prospective viJtl6, all' the finer furs of commerce being there found, and th6 salds' in London yearly amountirg to sdV6ral ifiillions of dollars. Evidence of the Rev. E. PETITOT. On the sea ' coast and the right bank (of the OavM oon- Mackenzie Biver), thd Esquimaux have told me that t^ed^nefinct there are oaves contaihlng fossilized bones of large ]£iSi^^" antediluvian aniihals, particularly of the mastodon, of vrhich they have shown bie pieces of tusks 'tof the finest ivory. Evidence of DONALD MoiVOR. Animals in Mackenzie Basin rxe : — red-deer, rein- ^^"^ ^ deer, cabre, musk ox (robes very valuable),, moose, elk. Basin. wild sheep and goats, lynx, Arctic fox, black fox (skins worth from £6 to £8 each), silver fox (skins nearly as valuable), cross fox, wolverine, otter, beaver, martin, mink, ermine, trout, pike, salmon, in fact, nearly every Fisb. kind most numerous. Fun of the N.W. Territories; 1888 Committee's Report. The Committee have found a great deal of difElculty in getting information regarding the quantity of furs exported from the N W. Territories. The following is incomplete, but is all the Committee could obtain. Quantity of furs offered for sale in London at the ^o^JSof Annual Auction Sale by the Hudson Bay Co., and Jn™°expS^ C. M. Lampbon & Co., in the year 1887, ~ Otter ••• .*• ... ••• ••• Xx,4oi7 8ea Otter ... ... ... ... 3,868 Fisher 7,192 Fox, Silver 1,967 Fox, Cross ... 6,785 -■4 ■1 4 '■'^ I from the N. W. TerritoclM. 114 ■•:>•> Fox, Bed Fox, White Fox, Blue ... ••• Fox, Eitt ..• ... Lynx .•• .*• ••• dkuuic *•• ••• ••• Marten.** ••• •*• Mink «.. .•• ••• Beaver... ... ... Mosquash Extra Blaok Mnsquagh woii ... ••• .». Wolverine Bear (all kiuds) Musk Ox Badger.M ... ... Ermine ... ... Dwan... .•« ... Babbit (American Hair Seal (dry) DftuXO ••• ••• ••• Fox, Grey 65.022 10,267 1,440 290 14,620 632,794 98,342 376,223 104,279 2,486,368 13,944 7,166 1,581 16,942 198 3,739 4,116 67 114,824 13,478 3,517 31,697 m and Food AaiBUlsin the VicMortb. Evidenoe of Mr. JAM£8 ANDERSON and hit father, the explorer (1888 Oommittee). The furs of the Mackenzie Biver are those of the beaver, marten, silver fox, lynx, otter, cross fox, blue fox, red fox, musquash (mnskrat), mink, bears, wolves, and wolverines. The food animals amongst these are the beaver and bear. Towards the Arctic Ocean are found the musk ox, and the reindeer, and all the fur-bearing animals are found along the coast. The food ianimals on the Mackenzie Biver oxe the moose, rabbit, wood partridge, white partridge geese of all kinds, cranes, waveys, and ducks of all kinds. Large and Exce|»tlonally Pine Specimen* of Ivory found. f Pftll Mali Gazette," 9th Ootober, 1887 (from the Speoiai Correepondent). As confirming what was said in a previous letter, Mr. Wilkinson, of Nanaimo, B. C, who returned from .-.Dit^fmtjti^ 115 the Klondike some time Oigo with 40,000 doUars, the result of but three months' labour, says that large and exceptionally fine speoimens of ivory were foimd lait season solidly embedded in the ioe grave!. Tusks of mastodons, weighing as muoh as 160 lbs., were found in an excellent state of preservation. While working hit claim, Wilkinson found a leg bone of a mastodon covered with flesh. He remarks that there are indications on ever^r hand to show that Alaska was once a tropical country, and rank tropical vegetation is seen preserved in ice. But it is nuggets, and not mastodons, that the miners want. •I -ft An Alaskan Plain Strewn with Ivory Tasks. The Sheffield " Daily Telegraph," August Zlit, 1897. Elondyke seems to be the home of ivory as well as Eioadyke tb* joi gold, according to the Pail Mall Gazette. ' -. ,■■■■■ • ■^. OHH 116 AplAln . , . MMtmd •mywiMn white and IdMmlng with was worth the reward. The miner saw what no white man had ever before witnessed. There, on this plain, frozen to the ground, were hundreds and himdreds of skeletons of gigantic beasts, and scattered everywhere wore tusks white and gleaming with frost. This was ondonbtedly a graveyard of mammoths, and the miner's fancy pictured it also as a battlefield, for in some instances the tusks of one animal were found buried in the skeleton of another." V»Tl8%tlon from Behring Btnltoto Moatti of the Mackeniie open tot three montba every you. Section 8. Steam Navigation from Vancouver via Beliring Straits to . Mackenzie Bay and tiirougii to Mackenzie River. General Summary of the 1888 Senate Oommittee. A reference to the valuable evidence obtained by your Committee will show that navigation from Behring Straits to the mouth of the Mackenzie Biver, and probably as far East as Wollaston Land, may be had for three months in each yea/r, the soundings given on the Admiralty Chart of that portion of the Arctic Sea revealing an average depth of about 20 fathoms. The western branch of the estuary of the Mackenzie is said to be the outlet which has the deepest waters. . . That with suitable steam crafts this river (the Mackenzie) and lake navigation may be connected with Victoria and Vancouver by way of the mouth of the Mackenzie, the Arctic Ocean and Behring Straits and Sea. (It is now connected on the south by 90 miles of waggon road between Athabasca Landing and Edmon-r |on, with navigable water in the Saskatchewan Biver.) I^fft: "^^^'^^'PP[W WI P >«Wy^*Wi«"».^ 117 Evidence of W. 0. BOM PAS, D.D., Biihop of Athabteoa. Regarding the object of placing steam on the Mackenzie SSSeifiil? **** .... it becomes a question how far it is oonHistent ^*^'^™ with the national honor and the glory of Her Majesty and Antie oomii. the British Empire to allow this magnificent stream to be navigated by only a few barges, when in the neigboor- ing territory of the United States most inconsiderable streams are traversed by steamers. The Mackenzie is navigable for steamers for about 1,300 miles from its mouth, and the channels at its mouth have been correctly laid down on the Admiralty Charts. It is said that Mr. Gordon Bennett of New York has Mr. aordon Bennett ex« sent his vessel to explore the Mouth of the Mackenzie, pioring ui« and its seems a pity that British vessels should be wholly uaokenaie. absent from that region. Evidenoe of J. B. HURLBERT, M.D., LLD. The American whalers made voyages every year to Thei^otio the Arctic Ocean off Mackenzie Biver a quarter of a iionOTr'*i^ibi!£^ century ago. Dr. Richardson inferred there was an open sea from the whales in great numbers being in the sea, as they must come constantly to the surface to breathe. Captain Collinson was 60 miles off the Mackenzie River. There is plenty of open water at the mouth of the Openwftteria Mackenzie Biver for five months in the year. for five montiu in the 7«ar. Evidence of DONALD MoiVOR. The average length of open water (in the Mackenzie Hsckeuie River) is from second week in May to first or second week in October. Excellent harbours (mouth of Mackenzie) and think From three to whaling or sealing vessels would have at least three iiBhingatttM to four months' fishing without being impeded by ice. ™ r •.nniwt-r-i'.:-' m \ 118 Otntral Summary from the OommittM. ^^ubtiM Arotio explorers had indeed traversed its (the N.W. ^^tom Territory) coast line and descended two of the rivers,, ^Hniyiniuia which, east of the Mackenzie, flow into the Arotio Sea, MiniUflMaiy but the object sought by them was one which had no relation to that of the present enquiry, and it is only incidentally that their records are now valuable. The knowledge of missionaries and the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company is chiefly to the water courses and the great lakes, while scientific exploration has not as yet extended north of Great Blave Lake. REPOET By Open WAtotto MMkmBle Bfty JotSm ontha tfggf taaaaet. the Hon. John Sohultz, Lieut. Governor of Manitoba J upon Whaling in Mackenzie Bayy and the Passage from Behring Straits to the Mouth of the Mackenzie Biver, GOTBBNICBNT EOUSB, WiMNiFEa, 3rd August, 1894. There is open water from Point Barrow to Cape Bathurst for quite threo months in the summer. . . . The Eskimo at the mouth of the river (Mackenzie) killed over 50 of ,the white whale last summer ; in fact the catch of whales last year by the whalers seems to have been phenomenal. Two of the vessels captured over 50 each (an average whale is worth £1,0U0 in oil and bone), which yielded an average of 1,800 lbs. of whale bone per head (quantity of oil not mentioned), which would mean an immense profit to someone. I understand that only the bone is taken, so that the oil is nearly all wasted. kBm/t»tan Seven vessels wintered at Herchel Island (in Mac- •kMdyTiaittiig kenzie Bay), and more are expected this year, I am afraid that a great deal of liquor finds its way amongst the poor Eskimo. I do not know that English or Canadian whalers would treat the Eskimo any better ■ T^*,-ip>tiy'-'' ■»»- entered through Behring Straits, which has always been considered an open route by everybody — I may give the following figures: — In 1880, there were 86 sailing craft, and 4 steamers. They produced— 35,000 lbs. of whalebone, valued at 860,000 dollars. 15,000 „ of ivory, „ 9,000 21,000 barrels of oil, „ 280,000 = an average of £5,700 per vessel, per year. Evidenoe of I B. HURLBERT, M.D., LLD. In 1837 Thomas Simpson, on his return from a voyage from the Mackenzie through the Arctic Ocean to Pt. Barrow, stated : — " The sea was dear and navigable by ships during the summer months. Beindeer, Arctio foxes, and seals were numerous. Many whales and seals were seen everywhere. The natives met with were well provided with whalebone and sealskins. They were well clothed in seal and reindeer skins." M ft Wliatoe, ■etdTAck Evidenoe of DONALD MolVOR. Whale, seal, wahrus are to be found in large numben in and about Mackenzie Bay. ,j^ ifinmr- **l 121 tn re Great tracts of valuable tin) ben along the Mac k e nul a •—chiefly pine, ipruoe, tamarao, poplar and birch. G«n«ral Summary of the 1888 CommittM. The following (fish) have been found on the Northern .... coast within the scope of the present enquiry, viz. : — Salmon. The capeling ii found on the coast of the Arctic Ocean .... thus implying the presence of ood upon banks near by, and the rook cod has been frequently taken. TLe Greenland, or harp seal and the grey square flipper seal .... are all found with the walrus and porpoise off the mouths and in the estuary of the Mackenzie Biver. The seas adjoining the great territory which yoor ^f^jSL^JlfL Ck)nunittee has had under investigation are frequented iMg BamNw^ by whales of different species, wabnisos, narwhiJs, and eoMt^oi a variety of seals. All these animals are valuable for their oil, but the large species of whales have heretofore been most sought for. Only a few years ago these animals had a much more extensive range than at the present time. Owing to improvements in navigation And methods of capture, th^y have, of late years, fallen an easier prey to their pursuers and have taker shelter in the less frequented seas of the northern coast of Canada. ^TC r^M Extrtots from letters from Dr. REEVES, Biihop Mackenzie River Distriot, to the Hon. JOHN SOHULTZ. Government Housb, WiNNiPBO, 18/A Sept., 1895. Mr. Hodgson is here (Selkirk) on furlough to pass ut. this winter with his aged parents from whom he had ^ been separated for many years, having spent twenty-one um. years in the Mackenzie Biver District, and was latterly and for some years in charge of Fort Maopherson, Ped Biver. of of 122 olloe looglMfaN Um MMAlOBf IbceoMlan In ImmediAle reference to the lubject of my letter of the 3rd nit., he says that four whaling shipn wintered Uit winter at Herohel Island harbour, leren thips the winter before, four shipi on the preTioos winter, aud four shipt before that again, bearing out the aocnraoy of information supplied to me and by me transmitted to yon for the past sereral yean. ww^^^^ Their principal reason for ayailing themselyes of iteak«iute Bay this most important Arotic Harbour is, ab I before statod, Sirtmr. because of its nearness to their principal whaling ground, whence they can proceed to their lucrative business a long time before these grounds can be reached from Behriug Straits (in time to catch the opening of Bay the season) and from the fact that the spring rush of water down the Mackensie River clears a large area near its various mouths long after the shore ice it firm far to the East and West. They do not, therefore, go there specially to trade with the Eskimo, but this being their only profitable occupation in Winter and very early Spring, they get large numbers of common and valuable fox skins and supply the Eskimo with goods in trade, even up to the vicinity and at the Peel Biver Fort (MacPherson), take beaver and other furs from the legitimate traders of that region. ''aluable Ivory Dftposita. Fr I. 4. 80HULTZ, Winnapeg, 4th January, 1886. cnen (date of last letter) at least one of V .nips, which, in the winter of 1893-94 wintered at Herohel Islam! had reached San Francisco and although I have ao more definite account of the value of the cargo sold by her owners at that point than the west coast newspapers give, it would seem that the trade in which she was engaged has been enormously lucrative, and should the vague Eskimo reports of prehistoric ice and mud-embedded deposits of ivory umilar to such on the Siberian coast, and that, I believe, of Alaska also, have any foundation other than of mere rumour, these profits might be, in the future, very TlM wlwlers vWtiac Mac. knul* Bay tnktojooda vlttiXaktmo banttra In tfOr Ikoin Bamltafto trIiaUijfIn B» enonno lyroeattva. iiQfy. ■n^f^Frnf-MK-^tf^ »m if »i '|wy w" 'w r ' n^ 'w urH ^ yi 'i t ^, ^ ' uiwy * "" 123 muuh enhiknoed Indeed, and add to the regret khat foreign yeMeU ihould have so complete a monopoly over a Canadian trMle apparently lo profitable, which it carried on indeed in violation of several ttatntory enact* menti and departmental reguiations. {See leports of ivory confirmed in accompanying evidence.) Blehratani from wlukUai Whaling, Ao^ Btatlitioa (Hon. J. 8GHULTZ). 1887 — Total catch by San Francisco whalers amounted to 2,000,000 dollars. 1888 — San Francisco fleet operating in the 3ehring Sea and Arotie Ocean : — 26 vessels, including tenders, landed products to the value of 627,346 dollarb ; average value of each vessel, 25,094 dollars. Eight of these were steamers — of a tonnage ranging from 2fi0 to 860 tons for each vessel — average value landed from these steamers was 46,820 dollars (£9,441). Nearly the whole of the whaling at the mouth of the Mackenzie is done by the steamers. Six of these vessels also landed 90 fox, 48 lynx, 2 bear, and 10 other skins, 6,000 lbs. wabus hides, and 1,310 lbs. walrus ivory. 1889 — Twenty-three vessels, including tender, landed products to the value of 868,935 dollars ; average value to each vessel, 16,606 dollars there were seven steamers, average value of products landed, 31,178 dollars. Each whale is worth 6,000 dollars, when both oil iBr«nnow and bone are utilized. wiudn. ex- Thaooly wh»Ianln tiM MMOn. . . . Our North coast whale fisheries are tremely valuable in the eyes of the Americans, for no 4^^*'" ^ others operate there .... The fishing season of the Arctic is usually from 2g^f°wSIStog about the first of May to the first of October . The vessels cruise South of Behring Strait until the ice breaks up sufficiently for them -to force their way through the Strait into the Arctic Ocean; This is generally about the first to the nxiddle of June. The whalers enter the Arctic about the first of the month. TIHialM eon> ouBtnte In MUekonata Bmj. 124 When the whales enter the Arctic they follow up the American shore into the North East as fast as the ice breaks up. They go, nobody knows where, but it is surmised into the great basin at the mouth of the Mackenzie Biver. Report of iMpeotop 0. OONSTANTINE, Commandant of Yukon Distrist, 20th November, 18g& •ttenttOT*"* "^^^ territory about the mouth of the Mackenzie d^tod tottae Biver and Herschel Island is one that the attention of ^eicpachof the Govemment is called to. Twelve whalers, steam the Uftokenilfl Biver. and sailing, wintered there last winter Mea deierting MMkemiis Bay whalers for the Klondike di/gingB. Short Journey and easy trarel- Ungtrom Mackeneie Bay to the Tokon Blver. Bf"^^ Many men desert from the whalers each season and having heard of the rich placer mines of the Yukon, make their way there These men come across country (from Mackenzie Bay) to Bampaxt House, on the Porcupine Biver, a distance of ten days' travel over a rolling country, and, for this territory, fairly easy travelling, thence down the Porcupine Biver to Fort Yukon, and from there up the river (the Yukon). One of these men by some means got word to the vessels, giving an account of tbe country here (Klondike), which induced a number more to leave, and many wished to, but were unable for various reasons. In some instances, where men heA succeeded in getting away for some distance, they were overtaken by the ship's officers, and stripped of all they had, hoping they would then return. ^' 1 Eencbel Iilandln Maokeniie Bay Herschel Island is in the Yukon (Police Administra- tion) district. • t « . . Pearl Cove is the harbour on the south side . * • . . about 80 miles from west mouth of the Mackenzie. The easterly mouth of the river is the main one, about 130 miles from the island. J , ,..J.Il.J. *.(.*.;. -fc^fj^ _ri(*-r»-'^i»-f J- -s;«fY .;*'»'*. ^i^i' ^^•;;M^''w^?^!^^^T^'TOK^"*'^"'*'*'^ 125 The loe at the island breaks op aboni the end of ^a^"*^ May and begins to form aboat Ist of September BiMk«uUB«r «aoh year. Wballog profits and particulars, ''The Morning Mercury," New Btdford, Mom^ 14th October, 1897. ■M It was m 1848 that the first whaleship passed ^^^ through Behrlng Straits, and since. that time the Arctic f^*"*? Ocean has been the principal field for the hunters of oil S^|^|^ and bone. The first steam vessel to engage in the whaling ^J^^J^iator- business was the "Mary and Helen/' built by Captain » great o»toii.' Wm. Lewes in 1880. During her first voyage this vessel captured a cargo of oil and bone valued at 100,000 dollars. She was sold to the United States Government and re-named the " Rogers," and Bent in search of the iU-fated exploring steamer *' Jeanette." Presumably the most remarkable whaling voyage ''^''^^ ever made in the old days, so far as profit is concerned, wbaiingToyais mads in ttw was that of the ** Envoy," which sailed from New oidOaT*. Bedford in 1848. She returned to Providence m 1847 from a whaling voyage and was there condenmed and sold to Wm. O. Brownell of New Bedford to be broken up. Mr. Brownell, however, concluded to fit her for another voyage, and did so, sending her to sea under the command of Captain W. T. Walker. Such was the condition of the vessel that the underwriters declined to insure her. The net profit of the voyage was 188,460 dollars. The "Envoy" was fitted at an expense of about 8,000 dollars. ■:f ^•'^^1^ If I '■,i|-''!''f^7rr 126 WiMlliig in the Arctic Ocean via Mackenzie River, ^ • » » - » Evidenw4ofthc Hon. Wm. CHRISTIE, late Inspecting Chief Factor of the Hudeon Bay Co., to 1888 Committee. llMSlMBile B«y BM of IM for Inumthi As to wbb.her whaling or sealing oraft if built at the headwaters of the Mackenzie Biver oould descend to coast early enongh, and ascend the river late enough to permit of some months' fishing near the mouth of the river, I would say, yes. I do not think there would be any difficulty in building oraft at the head of the Mackenzie to descend to the mouth of the river, remain there for some time, oxid return the same year, because, etc. . • « Seotion lO. Navigability, &o., of the Country's Seas, Rivers, and Lalies. OzMtaxtont of nnlHroken ii»Tlg«tton. Tbe PmI Rivet B (pdcl-beariog strsam. I* ■ i^ Qeneral Summary from the 1888 Committee. In referring again to the navigation of this regioUf all the evidence has agreed to the great extent of un- broken navigation (from the mouth of the Mackenzie Eiver). The steamer " Wrigley," of the Hudson's Bay Company, distributes stores (to the Company's various fur collecting poets) down to the mouth of the Mac- kenzie, just above the estuary, where the river is said to be six miles wide, and up the Peel River, which joins the Mackenzie near that point to Fort Macpherson, on that gold-bearing stream. y^^'^fi^ftff^n'^y'^^ 127 CvMmm of Hon. WILLIAM 0HRI8TIE, ex-nMrnlMr of th* N.W Gounoll, late Intpeotlng Ohief Faotor of the Hudeon Bay Go. " The Hadson Bay Go. have now a steamor on the ^'^^^|SS'^ Mackeuzie River, which last year (1887) ran from Fort w»ten. Simpson to the sea, and down the Peel Biver." The distances on the Mackenzie Biver and Lakes to the mouth — 100 miles (say) down Slave Biver from Fort Smith where there are hnpassable rapids, to Gt. Slave Lake. 250 miles across Gt. Slave Lake to Head of Mackenzie, that is, Big Ifiland or Fort Providence. 203 miles from Head of Mackenzie, i.e., Fort Provi* dence, to Fort Simpson. Fort Simpson to Fort Norman. Fort Norman to Port Separation. Port Separation to the sea. 1,887 miles, total distance navigable for light draught steamers from Fort Smith on Slave Biver to Mouth of Mackenzie. 271 434 129 It >f II II Evidence of Wgh* Rev. ISIDORE GLUT, Bishop of Arandale. Oi. Bivers in th« Steamers Maokenato Basio. The Mackenzie is the finest river in the world for NaTi«ftU« its length, its depth, and its size in summer leaving Fort Smith cross the Great Slave Lake, and can descend as far as the Arctic Ocean. They can also ascend the Feel Biver. -I Bay iou8 dao- dto oina ,on Evidence of GEO. W. DAWSON, LLO. It is a little difficult to separate the basin of the Mackenzie from the waters of the Yukon when you get west of the mountains, because these rivers interlock with each other in all directions. . • • In passing through the country last summer I formed the opinion that a large portion of that ooontry would be eventually settled. The Maekensi* and Tnkon riveni inter. lockeA by ■treama. TheTnkon* Maokeniie conntrjr will be erentaaUr •eUled. ,i.w«- r Ki Mackenxle DATlimbla by SM-gobig 128 Evidence of WILLIAM J. MoLEAN, Chief Trader of the Hudson Bay Oo^ I cannot speak of depth of water at the mouth of Mackenzie Biver, but believe that sea-going steamers would ascend its whole length. Evidence of DONALD MolVOR. ^oodedtanka The Mackenzie is extensively wooded on the banks, luttboan. has excellent harbours, and would be navigable for five months the in year by steamers of ordinary size. The Potenpina BlTor nsvl- (Able. " Rnancial Times," July 80th, 1897. *' By the treaty of Washington of 1871, the Yukon, the Porcupine (flowing into it from the east) and the Stikine were internationalised for navigation purposes at th6 suggestion of Sir Donald Smith, the present Canadian High Commissioner." v^.rf Distance between Mackenzie and Yukon Rivers. R. G. IMcCONNELL, 1888-89. Aout-trau The navigable waters of the Mackenzie are sepa- Tnkon and the rated from those on the Yukon in lat. 67^^ 20 N. by a distance of about 60 miles only. A cart trail was staked out some years ago by the Hudson's Bay Company across the interval separating these rivers, with the intention of supplying the Mackenzie Biver district with goods by way of the Yukon Biver ; but the project fell through, and the road was never built. P ; TbaMaolmule BiTwllfeet in OtpOL btppttant on- •splaredTilba- SoriMoftlia MtMkauie KiTCB. The Mackenzie River and Tdbutariea* WM. OOILVIE, 1887-88. Capt. Bell, of the steamer *' Wrigley," stated that the shallowest water found by him in any part of the Mackenzie was 11 feet. . • » From all the evidence I (Ogilvie) oould gather vessels drawing from 8 to 10 feet of water would find no difficulty in navigation as far as Great Slave Lake. A (^•■jj!y»»^yi»H>>w;^^ 129. fhort distance above the Bamparts (near Fort Good Hope) a river flows into the Mackenzie from the west. It appeared to be 200 yards wide at its mouth. All I ooold learn about it at the Fort was that it came from far up in the mountains. 6^ miles above Sans Sault Bapids and 328 miles from Fort Maopherson, on the Mackenzie, Garoagou Biver comes in from the west. It is a large river, being not less than 400 yards wide at its mouth. An Indian with me (Ogilvie) stated that this stream f^ SShtMove was very large and very long, the Indians having ^ «m^°°* ascended it for great distances through oiui mountains. It appeared to run parallel to ^he Mackenzie for some distance, then, turning shai^.y to the west, to enter the mountains. This river seems to be the largest tributary of the Mackenzie below the Llard. Q. M. DAWSON, 1887. The Mackenzie drains an area of 677,400 square miles. .1 See Section 11 for diatanees. J by igh, I that the Lther Id no A The Porcupine, Rat and Bell River«. Extracts from tho Report of Mr. WILLIAM OGILVIE, 1887-88. Writing of the excellence of his two Peterborough Canoes, Mr. Ogilvie writes : — In the Spring of 1888, they (the Canoes) descended Jonm«y from XI. . XX • i^i. T, .V X XL xu the Porouplae the latter river (the Forcupme) .... to the mouth to tbe month of of Bell's Biver, and up it to McDougall's Pass. They bitw. were then carried over the Pass to Poplar Biver, and ^ were used in going down the latter to the Peel Biver, and thence up Mackenzie Biver, 1,400 miles. R. G. McCONNELL, 1887. The Bat Biver for some miles from the Peel Biver BatBinv. winds through a flat alluvial plain then enters a lake is f mmmm K M if ? i i ■! i Tbe Head- wfttws of the Poronpine riTtt only 80 milMfKm the Yukon. The Ben Biveir. Vromthe month of the Maokensle Blrei to the Tokon. ISO region as the ourrent is nniform and easy. After this the mountains are reached. The Poronpine Biver rises only 80 miles from the Yukon, describes a great curve and joins the Yukon 150 miles further down. At its most easterly point it approaches within SO miles of the Mackenzie (and xiaturally much nearer the Peel Biver). Its length is 500 miles. The Bell Biver is through alluvial and quortzite country. Its upper part has not been explored. At the Fort (La Pierre's House) it is a small, sluggish stream, of 40 to 50 yards w'-'e ; banks low, and alluvial with wooded banks. It** length from La Pierre's House to the Porcupine is about 30 miles, with no rapids and navigable throughout. The Indians take seven days to do the heavy portage- boats, &c., from Fort Macpherson to La Pierre's House- exactly 60 miles. (This is the cross-country, portage. By way of the McDonald Pass the journey can be done almost the whole way by the waters of the Hat and Bell Bivers and a lake in the Pass). Evidence of the Hon. WM. CHRISTIE, late Inspecting Chief Factor of the Hudson Bay Co. For the trade on the Yukou we (the Hudson Bay Go.) used to take the goods down the Mackenzie and across the mountains to the Porcupine, thence down the Yukon. It is only a short distance across from the waters of the Mackenzie Biver. Peel's Biver (Fort Macpherson) is the lowest post on the Mackenzie (near the mouth). See Section 11 for distances. . R. Q. MoOONNELL, 1888-89. The Bat and Porcupine (which includes the Bell) nue faom 8 to Bivors oould casUy be navigated for three or four monthe ^montifleAtii ^| ^j^^ ^^^ j^y small steamers from La Pierre House down to the junction of the Porcupine and Yukon Bivers. Short route MTOMfrom tiie month of the Blaokenale to the ForoU' pine. Afetle ItecloB rlTera nan- •■f'ms^mmmiwmfrmf ' . ' ly mt' ^ Kiy!mmm'^?' ' v>i^ w m ^ 131 R. a MoCONNELL, 1888^. This river — the Poronpine— rises within 30 miles of ?>• vatmjAa» the Polly- Yukon River, Lat. 66° 80' N., and after ^^<^^»» *>>• describing a huge curve of about 500 miles joins the Yukon about 150 miles further down from the point nearest its head waters. From the Bell Biver to the Yukon short ripples are met with . . . but no rapids or other obstructions which would prevent the navigation of the stream by small steamers. The distance, by river, from La Pierre's House to Fort Yukon, where the Porcupine joins the Yukon, is 290 miles. See Section 11 for distances. Bell and Rat Rivers, and McDous:al'« Pass. WM. OQILVIE, 1887-88. About five miles above La Pierre's House, in an a country air line, but much more than that by the river, the Bat 8u»e. Biver joins from the East (this river flows into the Peel) .... the country around abounds with game. There are two routes — one for winter, and the Anoidnmto other for summer travel — between La Pierre's House the month^^ on the Bell Biver, and Fort Macpherson on the totbeYnkou. Peel. The distance between is said to be nearly fiO miles, and is done in three days. All the trading outfit for La Pierre's and Bampart House (on the Lower Porcupine) has to be brought this way in the winter months on dog sleighs, and the furs and meat received for it has to be taken to Fort Macpherson in the same way. From there the furs are sent out by the Mackenzie Biver. Shallow draught steamers dravdng not more than 2 feet 8 inches can navigate any place in the Bell jand Porcupine Bivers. ''$ E 2 ^if5SlP^JijV!B!lM^»¥*|■«?^fsi^^ 132 UoDoogall't JPWM. ArtMrtOB. A large soam otfoodcoaL Ouneln abnndanoe A good toad- mj potatble. By the Summer Boute viA McDougairB Pass the Bell Biver is navigable 21 miles (Ogilvie did this journey by water as early as 8th June). A shallow oreek about 8 miles in length takes one to the Pass, which is four miles across. Lakes on the top, when open, reduce this portage distance to less than half a mile. A oreek, 3^ miles long, on the other side taken one to Trout Biver — thence to the Peel, The Pass is wide and level, the valley being nearly a mile wide at tho bottom and very flat. It is almost treeless. The distance from Bell Biver to Trout Biver by this route is about li^ miles. The summit of the Pass is only 1,200 feet above sea level and not more than 200 feet above the level of Bell Biver. There are several veins of asbestos at the foot of the slope on the south side of the Trout Biver about four miles i'rom the Pass. lOi miles down the river I saw (quoting Ogilvie), what seemed to be a 3-fer ' aam of coal in the face of the cliff on the river edg«. It extended a quaxter of a mile along the whole length of the cliff. Mr. MoDougall told me that he had found the same seam, and had taken some of the coal to Fort Simpson, where it was tried and found to be a fair quality of coal. Mountain goats, big horn sheep, cariboo, and moose, abound in the hills around the Pass. £Vom the Pass to slack water in the level ground at the foot of the hills, is a distance of 24 miles by the Trout Biver. A roadway with a gradient of 55 feet to the mile might be made, reducing this distance to 20 miles. Bach a road was projected by Mr. McDougall. Trout Biver is called— locally — ^Poplar Biver from |he foot of the hills to Peel Biver. . ■.■-■i*iVW.- "i Ti^'-' rcrT?f'''W'fi''^*f'='^"'r "'^ ■ryr'\jryr-:.^**ry^:!^' ' - ' jn f^ ^". ' 9 ^' f t 9 ■ ' ^Mi-lg t mn 188 Fort MoPhewon is on the right bank of Peel Rivei*, SSMwr some 14 mileB above the point where it divides and joins y^y^gy*** the Mackenzie delta. The river at the fort is about half a mile wide. The growth of timber (in the district), is, for the latitude, very large and thick, many spruce from 12 to 16 inches diameter occurring along the Peel Biveri and along the Mackenzie for some miles np. {See Section 11 for dUtances), The Peel River. {See Section 11 for distances.) Extraota from the Report by R. Q. MoCONNELL, B.A., 1887. The Peel Biver winds through a low alluvial country for thirty miles from Fort MacPherson then enters the mountains and is 800 miles long. ■^1 R. Q. MoCONNELL, 1888-89. Of the other tributaries of the Mackenzie, Peel Kiver a ^tt is the only one that can be considered navigable. This naTigabie is ascended annually by the steamer Wrigley as far as the Fort Macpherson a distance of about 30 miles, and if necessary could be followed much farther, but the exact distance is not known. tribctarrof Mftckenito. W. A. K. ISBITER'S Journey down the Peel River, 18M. Isbiter, an employ^ of the Hudson's Bay C!ompany ^^« °^7 ^ made a boat journey down the Peel in the year 1844, uie Pe«iBiT«r from Fort Macpherson. Some distance up the river he abandoned his boats owing to the difficulty experienced in making way against the swift stream with his small party and large cumbersome boats. He took to canoes which further up he also abandoned owing to the in* creasing swiftness of the current. He mentions no serious impediments to steamer navigation of this river and gives its approximate length at 300 miles. \ ! *;»>'»., jij. f Aim dnUnad Vf the Yukon. MiVllftbillty of 134 D Th* Yukon. (See Section 11 /or distaneet.) Q. M. DAWSON. 1S8T. Tho Tnkon drains an area of 330,917 square miles, of which 16,768 miles are in Canadian and 180,144 square miles in United States territory. Q. M. DAWSON. 1887. The Yukon is navigable for small steamers from its mouth to Miles Cafion, thenoe, after an 11 'erruption of about three miles, to the head of Bennett Lake and to an additional distance by the waters extending south eastward from Tagish Lake. A trip np the Yukon. "Pall Mail Oazetta," 18th August, 1807. ▲ ^MMuit trip The trip to the gold-fields by the Yukon River route wM. ig pleasant for tourists during the summer months. They leave Seattle (or some other Pacific Coast Fort), on a well appointed ocean steamer, which proceeds up Puget Sound, passes Port Townsend and Victoria, and gets out through the Struts of San Juan del Fuoa, to the Pacific. From then on the voyage is an interrupted run of 2,000 miles to Dutch Harbour, the first stop. Dutch Harbour is a coaling station and a supply point for naval vessels and the Behring Sea fleets of sealers and whalers. After a short stop there the vessel proceeds on its way north through Behring Sea, past the Seal Island of St. George and St. Paul, and up through Norton Sound to Fort Get There, on St. Michael's Island, where is located the transfer and supply station for the Yukon River. Here the traveller finds a good many native Esquimos. Here passengers and freight are transferred to large and commodious river steamers, which proceed down the coast sixty miles to the north mouth of the Yukon, a river larger than the Mississippi, that can be navigated 185 with large steamen 2,300 miles without a break, and which abounds in fish, the salmon l)eing noted far and wide fur thoir fine flavour and large size. As one proceeds up the river one sees innumerable Indian villages and small settlements inhabited by traders, missionaries, and Indians, all of interest to the traveller. The first two or three hundred miles is through a low, flat country, after which the mountainous country is reached, and the constant change of magnificent scenery is beyond description. At old Fort Yukon, which is inside of the Arctic circle, during the months of June and July the sun is above the horizon without a break, and all along the river during these months one can read a paper at any time during the day or night without a lamp. It is continuous daylight during this time. After leaving here the next point of interest is Circle City, the metropolis of the Yukon country. Here is a large frontier town, the houses all built of logs, and while they have no pretensions to beauty they are warm and comfortable. Circle city has a population of nearly 2,000 people, and some of the best placer mines in the country are located near this place. From here the traveller proceeds up the river 240 miles farther, and finds Fort Cudahy at the mouth of Forty-Mile Creek. This is a thriving town, similar to Circle City, but not so large. It is the supply point for the mines in the fovty* mile district. Prosperous for the last four years, it haa turned out a great quantity of gold, this being the first important district where coarse gold was discovered. A little farther on is Dawson City and 66 miles over the hills are the Klondike placer mines. KaTffsMc hf Urce attMoan laro iiUlM wIthmUft iMMk. OOBStMl* OlUMUItOf inacnifloMil ■Muerj. CIrolaCltr •adWott DawMoOity ■adthapUMC The Klondike River. {Sec NotM No. 1 for pa/rtioula^s ot this Biver.) The Olobb of July 28th statea that the Klondike Biver it 800 mOee in length. If to— even 200 milea — it* head watert mutt extend to the navigabh waters of the Peel Biver, which joine the Mackentie at ita mouth. Thus, these rich quarte reefs eon be reached by river steamers firom Maehensie Bay. Mr. de Wmit fines 160 hhZm as the length of the Klondy1ce,—Ji.J.D. Lancihottlw Kkndika Btver ■'f*' ■nw.- , ^. ,,,,„ .y, „ .. , ,^.^ .^^ ,.^^^,yp|^ ^.j. 136 dune's JowriMTl lh*TBlionk> MMmoaUiof IksMMkwuto MPOM oountry Mid down tb* PoroapiM. * TImPmI Bivar iMAt the bMd- wftt«no(UM Ponmplna. teeeoontey ■adatattaci woodadaad Tb* Tatonduc. Porcupln* and PmI Rlv«r«. WM. OOILVIE, 1887 88. About 14 miles above the month (junotion of Tfttonduo and Yukon Biveri) the forks are reached. One branch comes from the S.B. and the other (down which Ogilvie .ravelled) from the S.E. The Indians state that the latter rises in a plateau three days, Indian travelling, away (about 40 miles), and in the same plateau a stream rises which flows to the north, probably into one of the head streams of the Peel River. The Bounlary Line between Alaska aud the N. W. Territories crosses the Tatonduc a short distance below the Fork! « . . * Leaving the river (about 40 miles from its mouth) and continuing about a mile up the valley of a small stream ooming from the uasb, we reached the top of a low ridge which formq the waterslied between the waters of the Tatonduc and those of the stream which the Indians assured me flows into the Peel. I had much difficulty in understanding this, as I could hardly believe that the watershed was so near the Yukon, and it was not until they had drawn many maps of the district and after much argument that I gave credit to their statements. I then proposed to go down -this stream to the Peel and to reach tho Mackenzie in that way, but they professed to be horrified and frightened . • . caused me to decide not to try it. It seemed improbable that this river ran as the Indians said, but I afterwards procured other evidence which proves that it does. The river has been named " Ogilvie River " by Mr. J. Johnson, Geographer to the Department of the Interior. !EVom evidence which I obtained from Mr. McDougal of tho Hudson's Bay Co. and others, I ascertained that this "Ogilvie River" joined the Peel about 60 miles above Fort Macpherson but that it was impassable in many places. There are mountains close to the headwaters of the Tatonduc River, but beyond the country is undulatiug, not rooky, and more or less wooded. ■^W»"»n 187 From the Tatondno to the Poronpine by the trkck I followed is 16^ milei. Of this Mttonoe 13 miles it drained by the river flowing into the Peel. Distributed over this 13 miles are 10 small creeks which unite 8 or 10 miles down the valley. I did not go down to the junction but could, from some places, seo the stream formed by the union, nnd although so near its head it appeared to be as large as the Tatonduc is about midway of its course. This plateau, except for the ravines in which the Fi»toe(uu^ extremely rich in auriferous quartz, and is likely before qaatts. j^^g ^^ como iuto prominence as a gold-bearing region. ' ' ' Thenavlga- blUty of the Stewart Klret, and the near- neu of its head waters to those of the Peel Biver. W. OQILVIE, 1888. While at the mouth (of the Stewart Biver) I was fortunate enough to meet a miner who had spent the whole of the summer of 1887 on the river and its branches, prospecting and exploring. He is a native of New Brunswick, Alexander McDonald by name, and has spent some years mining in other places, but was very reticent about what he had made or found« McDonald, speaJcing of his journey to the head waters of the Beaver Biver, states that he went to the head of this branch of the Stewart Biver, and found terraced 'W'-i^f' 141 gravel hills to the west and north : he crossed them to the north, and found a river flowing northward. On this he embarked on a raft, and floated down it for a day or two, thinking it would turn to the west and join the Stewart, but finding it still continuing north, and ac< quiring too much volume to be any of the branches he had seen while passing up the Stewart, he returned to the point of departure. . , . . It is probable that the river flowing northwards on Tbe Pe«iBim which he mads a journey and returned, was a branch of stowart neuiy the Feel Biver. . . . Judging from all I could learn nawgabi?. it is probable that a light draught steamboat could navi- gate nearly all the Stewart Biver and its Tributaries. R. G. MoCONNELL, 1888-89. Stewart Biver, the principal tributary of the Yukon, «... is reported to be navigable for a distance of nearly 200 miles above its mouth, but has not yet been ascended by the steamers plying on the Yukon. MacMlllan River. G. M. DAWSON, 1887. The MacMillan and Stewart Bivers are navigable for The Btowart '-' and MacMillan steamers for a considerable, though unknown, distance. S''?" n»'lK»- DIG for ft con- I (G. M. Dawson) met a couple of miners (Messrs. Monroe siderabie bat nnexplored and Langtry) who had ascended the MacMillan for several distance, days in a boat. They reported the distance of a large area of low land with good soil, and had met with no impediments to navigation as far as they had gone. The Porcupine Maclcenzie Route. G. M. DAWSON. 1887. One result of this journey (Campbell, 1860) was to ^^^^J^ to show that the route from Fort Selkirk, by way of the *^^°bi? • Porcupine Biver to the Mackenzie, was preferable to '^o^- that originally discovered. -A 1 ■ f^wwffv Tt'T'' mmmn LMUMMlJlilA I JI m m f^'M^mit» ' I 7- 14Q Fine gold has been found at the mouth of the Porou- pine, indicating the presence of gold-bearing bars or reefs on its upper reaches. {See Section 11 for distancei.) TlMPa _^ naTimble And told-MWlDg The Pelly River. Q. M. DAW80N» 1Q87. From the site of old Fort Selkirk the Pelly might be navigated by small steamers to within 60 miles of the site of old Fort Pelly Banks. Along the Upper Pelly there are large masses of quartz, quartz gravel and placer bars, no doubt gold bearing. {See Section 11 " Distances of Chief Eivers, etc.") The great WKtezwKjr from UieSoatiB;gold beating ti£a The Lewes River. • • a M. DAWSON, 1887. The Lewes is the chief branch, if not a oontinua« tion, of the Yukon which it joins at Fort Selkirk. It is the chief waterway by which miners enter the Yukon district from the South. It is referred to, in this respect, under section 10 — "Distances of Chief Bivers, &c." Gold is found in small quantities along almost its entire course, though chiefly on its tributaries. Dawson states (1887 Report), that "quartz vein-stu£F is much less important as a constituent of the river-gravels (of this river) than it is on the Upper Pelly, Upper Liard and other streams to the eastward. {See Section 11 for distances.) *rtaenppeeot, &c" atire bates less this and ind irvey ver) n a hof 143 the Nelson or East branch. The river above this place to the mouth of the Dease is generally very swift and dangerous, with numerous narrow cafions. The Devil's Portage is four miles long, over a moun- p^JtiSr*^' tain 1,0U0 foet high. This part of the river is navigable for boats only with great difficulty, and had always been accounted the most dangerous in the region. The south-west branch of the Liard, known as the Black Tumagain, or Mud Biver, is reported to have a moderate current, and may prove of use as a means of com- munication. Dease, and Theaitpcc TlieDeMe Biver Mid De»Mlj«k«i The Liard, above the mouth of the the Francis Biver, its main tributary, were ascended by Fiuioirnir«M. me in boats last summer. There is one bad canon just above the mouth of the Dease and two in the Francis Biver, and these streams could only be navigated for short lengths. The Dease Biver is about 140 miles in longth. There are several rapids, and it is scarcely navigable by steamers under the most favorable circumstances. It is already navigated by large flat-bottomed boats. At its head is Dease Lake, 26 miles in length, on which there is a small steamer. Francis Lake, at the head of the above-mentioned river of same name, has two arms running northwards, and has a total navigable length of M miles. {See Section 11 for distances.) The Liard River. {See Section 11 for distances.) R.Q.M0OONNELU 1888-89. The Liard is navigable from Fort Simpson — its Hdi q»to-tht worst DI6MC 00 mouth in the Mackenzie Biver to Fort Liard and thence tbe uud. on up the West branch as far as Hell Gate. Above Hell €^ate its navigation, owing to the numerous rapids and -canons, is exceedingly dl^cult and dangerous even with small boats. The Nlelson or East branch of the liard reported to be navigable by small steamers for 100 nxiles or 80 above its mouth. w ) k i lb .V)lwllf''iMI'MHP^Mf^lMMIiV^nrV*f4M'*MHR9^Mf^tfP^ W 1 TtacLUra rovtofollot tenon. 5' f^-^ #■ •ii-; 144 Dangen of t^e Liard Route. Mr. Warburton Pike in his work, "The Barren Qroundg of Northern Canada" (published 1892), says he would have preferred the Liard route from Foi-t Simpson to the Puciiio Coast, but — " the Liard itself ia 80 full of terrors even for the hardy voyageurs of the North " that he could not induce guides and boatmen to accompany him. Formerly the Hudson's Bay Co. had an ostablishment at Fort Halkett on the West Branch of the Liard, but the difficulties of conveying supplies, and the frequent occurrence of starvation made it a hard post to maintain ; finally a boat's crew were drowned by a capsize in on» of the worst rapids, and the fort was abandoned, III R. G. MoOONNELL, 1888-89. Th0 HodBon From its (Liard) junction with the Dease Biver to its vermnent has decided to develop the existing all* Canadian route to the new goldfields by way of tho Stikeen River. Arrangements aro being made with the Canadian Pacific Railway by which the company will proceed at the earliest possible period with the oonstruo- tion of a standard-gauge railway from Qlenora, on the Stikeen River, to the head of the navigable waters of the Yukon. Competent engineers have been ordered to proceed to the locality and make a survey of the country and report on the feasibility of constructing a railway connectiug the waters of the Stikeen with those of Teslin Lake and the Yukon. Upon receipt of their report the oonstruotion will be begun. The length of the line will be about 150 miles. The company will run a line of first-class steamers between Vancouver and Qlenora. ^ It is believed that the magnitude of the trade of the Yukon district demands such a service. Altered coa> .> < • tfl»' ■■*rV»nr-»Wt»»»H"lllrr 151 ditions in tnuitporl and faoilities for reMhing the Klondike goldfloldf by an aU-Britiih route will leoure to the ooaet cities of British rolumbia a Urge share of the trade of this northern ooui ry. « EVENING STANOARD," Ootobsr 7th, INT. fram its tpMitl OorrMpondant. Another route which is growing in favour, owing to the difficulties of the mountain Passes this Fall is the Btioheen River route, also known as the " All Canadian,' because it is confined to Canadian territory. It has the additional reooinmondation of boing approved by Dr. Dawson, Director of the Geological Survey, who travelled by way of Teslin Lake ten years ago, and advocated the building of a road in this direction. The head of navigation is still called Telegraph Creek, and this route is dignified on the map with the name of " Government Trail." Whether it exists anywhere but on the maps may be doubted, and the Government, of course, have accepted no responsibility beyond having the country explored. Still, people who have travelled f^^^l^J^j?^ by different routes claim that this is the best. An old the beat roau. prospector reports that the trail from Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lakes cannot be more than 116 or 120 miles long, and he describes the country as comparatively easy of travel. The trail is fairly level, and though some parts are swampy, there is plenty of timber to make ?JJJ*'' *■ corduroy, i.e.. to make a solid road over the bog by nrndponiibi* puttmg down brushwood and laying logs across it, a dUBooit. safe if not a very comfortable mode of travelling. Dr. Dawson says of this route : — " The river is navigable for the ordinary flat bottom boats from Bait Water to Telegraph Creek, a distance of 160 miles, from Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake is about another 160 miles through what is believed to be a flat and not very diQicult country, but very little is known about it. Mr. St. Cyr, a surveyor on the staff of the Department of the Interior, is making a survey of the country at the present time. He is expected to come out this Autumn, and when he does the practicability of the route will probably be settled. 1 a. ■1 .'I ■I I 152 A itretoh of uncertain narlgatlon on ttait BiiUeen. From Teslin Lake there is no difficulty whatever, there being navigation for stem-wheel steamers right down to the mouth of the Yukon. If this route proves practicable it will greatly facilitate ingress and egress to and from the Yukon country." There is a very general opinion as to the value of this route, and, besides the Government Surveyor, the chief engineer of the Kootenay division of the Canadian Pacific Bailway is investigating the locality with a view to the construction of a railway. . . . The Stikeen route involves a stretch of uncertain river navigation from Wrangell to Telegraph Creek, while the Taku Inlet has the advantage of a deep water terminus open all the year round. Notice of application for ma Act to iucorporate tbBaUway Company. The Stiklne Route Railway. The "Financial Post," October 11th. Messrs. Phillips, Wootton, and Barnard, of Vancouver, give notice that application will be made to the Legis- lative Assembly next session for an Act to incorporate a company with power to construct and operate a railway from the head of Stikeen Biver, via Teslin Lake to the north border of British Columbia. Also in a southerly direction to some point on the west coast at the head of Portland Canal. The construction and completion of these lines of railway would give ready access to the Yukon headwaters. Several fairly rich specimena of ore have been brought down here lately by miners from mineral ledges on th j Stikeen Eiver. We shall probably hear of good discoveries in those parts soon. The Stiklne lUilway reported officially to 'oe featiible. "Times," London, October 18th, 1897, through "Reuter's." Ottawa, October 17th. The Government Surveyors who have just traversed the route of the proposed railway to pass solely through British territory into the Yukon country, via the Stickeen River, report that the project of a boundary railway from Glenora on the Stickeen to Lake Tchu, from which point 163 there is nninterrupted navigation to Klondike, is quite ieasible. The distance is about 186 miles. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company this week sent two additional engineering staffs into the district. The work of con- struction will be begun next spring. Oold on the Stiklne. Placer gold mining has been carried on intermittently J^j^ ^S^J^ on the bars of this river since 1861, and a " rush " tcjk place in the following year. This was followed by exploration further into the country and the opening up of the Dease Lake District and the Cassiar country in 1873. In 1874 the output of gold was valued at 1,000,000 dollars. ^ ■, .n The TeA-lin-too (Hootallnqua) R|ver< {See Section 11 for distances.) Q. M. DAWSON. 1887. The Tes-lin-too is navigable for stem- wheel steamers The new chief for 150 miles or more from its mouth as far as Lake th^^'%. '^ Teslin, while the Takh-heena may probably be ascended by steamers of the same class for some ''Istance. This river (the Tes-lin-too) is no doubt destined to be the chief waterway from the South to the Lower Lewes on to the Yukon country. Payable gold-bearing bars are found r' )Dg its banks and tributaries where a number of miners are now wr- king. The Bis: Salmon River. Q. M. DAWSON, 1887. Big Salmon river may probably bo ascended by Animpoxtrnt steamers of the same class as the Tes-lin-too for some distance. Dawson reports this river as being much more important than uny other of the tributaries, joining the Lewes further down, being 347 feet wide with a depth of 5 feet, and might be navigated by stern-wheel shallow draught steamers for many miles. It nms into 151 " Island Lake." 190 miles from its jimotion with the Lewes. Though there is plenty of fine gold along this river there are no good payable bars. An old Indian lovto tcom tlie mUdne. Ki ; TheWUte prefemd to the Ctailkoot Pan by Damon. Anav American railway prospect— 390 miles. The Tahl-Tan River Q. M. DAWSON, 1887. About twelve miles above Telegraph Creek, and on the trail to Dease Lake, the Tahl-tan Biver enters the Stikine. It rises about 30 miles to the north, and occupies a portion of an important valley which, still further to the north westward, carries the upper branches of the Taku Biver, and the furthest sources of the Lewes Biver. The Indians travel along this valley, and ii; appears vorthy of attention as a route from the navi- gable waters of the Stikine to the Yukon basin. The Chilkoot (Talya) Pom. a M. DAWSON, 1887. The Chilkoot Pass is such that it would scarcely be possible to construct a useful trail across for pack animals, tut the White Pass appeal's to offer a better opportunity for making a trail or road. A Railway Line from Chiilcoot inlet to Port 5elldrk. " Financial News," October 2l8t, 1 897. According to news from San Francisco, a party of 12 engineers and surveyors has left that city for Seattle, where it will be reinforced by eight assistants and 50 others who will sail for Chilkoot Inlet in a steamer especially chartered for the trip. At Seattle 200 horses, 160 cattle, feed for six months, and 200 tons of general stores will be purchased for the party during the loi g drive from Klukwark, at the head of Chilkoot Inlet, to Fort Selkirk, the head of steam navigation on the Yukon, a distance of 300 miles, over a trail unfrequented during the winter. The expedition is to determine whether a railway can be built over this 300 mile trail. The engineers will also try to locate a new pass, believed to exist north of 155 the Chilkoot. The organisers of the expedition are from Boston, San Francisco, and Puget Sound, and have formed a company with a capital of 200,000 dollars to ms-^t necessary preliminary expenses. The members of the party expect to arrive in January at Fort Selkirk, where permanent headquarters for railway construction will be located. All the members of the party have been engaged for two years. (See Section 11 for distances, and Sections 18 and 27 for further particulars.) The Chllkat Pnas. Q. M. DAWSON, 1887. Prom the "West Branch of Lynn Canal, a distance ?!»« TaWi- *' tae«na Kiver of about 50 miles to the lake at the head of the Tahk- easy to navi- heena river, then down the river to Lake Labarge. The voyage down this river is said to be easier than by the main river, the rapids being less serious. {See Section 11 for distances, and Sections 18 and 27 for further particulars.) The White PaM. G. M. DAWSON, 1887. This Pass leaves the coast at the mouth of Shkagway TiMroittoof Biver, four miles south of the Head of Taiya Inlet, and Coinmbia De- runs parallel to Chilkoot Pass at no great distance iMcxsutioQ from it. The distance from the coast to the summit is about 17 miles. Ogilvie describes this route (1896) as commencing ^t^^*'' at Taiya Inlet, about 2 miles south of its north end ; it follows up the valley of the Shkagway Biver to its source, and thence down the valley of another river which Dr. Dawson says empties into Taku Arm of Tagish Lake. Capt. Moore (mistakingly — it is believed) describes this stream as emptying mto Windy Arm, which Ues between Tagish and Bennett Lakes. The route passes across the lakes and down the Lewes Biver. ■A t.i«iwn w.' i* M ? l W< i » >gi . l WW. ''''' " This, the Chil- koot PasR, is Kaid to be lin- paBsable for horBOS. A ronte that may possibly be foand the best from the Soatb. 156 First five miles is through level bottom— land thickly timbered. The next nine miles is in a canon-like valley, where heavy work 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 estimated at 2,600 feet. Beyond the sunmiit a wide valley is entered, and the descent to the first little lake is said to be not more than 100 feet. {See Section IX for distances, and Sections 18 and 27 for further particulars.) The Taiya Pass Route. (Ohileoot is the name by which the Pass on this route ia commonly known.) W. OQILVIE, 1896. This route is from Lynn Canal, Taiya Inlet and Taiya river over Taiya Pass to Lake Lindemau. The distance from the head of Taiya Inlet to the summit of the Pass is 15 miles and the whole length of the Pass to Lake Lindeman is 23 miles. Between Lake Lindeman and Lake Bennett there is only about three-quarters of a mile of river which is not more than 60 or 60 yards wide and about two to three feet deep and is so swift and rough that navigation is out of the question. {See Section 11 for distances, and Sections 18 and 27 for further jtartictdars.) W Taku Route to Lake Teslin-too. W. OQILVIE, 1896. Indians reported journeying down the Teslin-too Eiver to Teslin-too Lake, and by way of a stream whioh entered the lake from the East they reached TaJcu Eiver, and thence to salt-water on the Taku Inlet. The journey from the head of Canoe Navigation., on the Teslin-too to salt-water, on Taku Inlet, took the Indians four days if they had loads to carry, but only two days if their baggage was light. ■m 157 '■■V Many years ago, in 1867 I think, a man named Monroe prospected up the Taku, and learned from the Indians something of a large lake not far from that river. He crossed over and found it, and spent some time ix. prospecting, and then crossed to the sea. I (Ogilvie, Gudahy, June 10th, 1896) am thoroughly convinced that a road from the coast to some point on the head waters of the river (Yukon), preferably by the Taku, if ac all practicable, would convert all our part (the Upper Yukon) of the river into a hive of industry. A Significant Incident. W. OGILVIE, 1896. Great anxiety is felt here (Dawson City) about a An incident mail route and regular mail. Last winter three mails the Taku Biver route, 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 it likely to arrive for some time — may be never. The man in charge was badly frozen on the summit, and had to turn back An Indian brought the mail in by the Taku Biver and took the Slocan branch of it ^to Atlin Lake. From what I learned of this route while up there, it may be found to be an easier way than by Teslin Lake, but it has the disadvantage of landing on the head of the Lewes Biver instead of the Hootalinqua or Teslin, an''' so takes in the Canon and White Horse Bapids. G. M. DAWSON, 1887. Little is yet known of the Taku Biver, but the Ri,e/,^ig Indians ascend it in canoea to a point at a distance of li^io known as about 80 miles from the head of the Taku Inlet, and Indian trails lead S.E. from this vicinity to the Tahl-tan, Eastward to Teslin Lake, and N.E. to the lakey at the head of the Lewes. "Evening Standard," October 7th, 1897. From its Special Correepondent. The Yukon Trading and Transportation Company, The Taku , . , , . - ,-, , , , _~ . . •„ ,. route chosen which obtamed a Charter from the Dominion Parliament for a raiimy. last Ses'^ion, includicg the power to provide railway w 158 ^ OompantiTely a direct roate. oommunioation, has also done some surveying and fixed on a route. Two routes are available from the coast to Teslin Lake— one by the Stioheen Biver and Telegraph Creek, and the other further north from the Taku Inlet. The former involves a stretch of somewhat uncertain river navigation, from Wrangell to Telegraph Creek, while the latter has the advantage of a deej: water terminus open the year round. The Taku line has accordingly been selected, with a maximum grade of only three per cent. It is comparatively a direct route, being but one hundred and sixty-two miles from Salt Water to lake Teslin. It follows the Taku Eiver to the junction of Katuna Biver, thence up that river to Silver Salmon Eiver, and finally overland to the shores of Teslin. It is the intention of the Company to proceed as soon as possible with the work of construction. A trail will be built over the proposed route, and a saw* mill will be built on Teslin Lake, where the Company has a considerable area of fairly good timber. height and Taku and Windy Arms. Q. M. DAWSON, 1887. Points at which The mountains rapidly decrease in rontes froni the » i .1 » -nt, .. •« . -. Boi^meetuie abruptness after the summit of White Pass is passed, and the valley bifurcates, one branch leading to the head of Windy Arm of Tagish Lake, the other to Taku Arm of the same lake. 1: Importaijt livers bv which the N. West Large Rivers Plowing Into Hudson's Bay. Prof. R. BELL, M.D., LL.D., of the Qeologioal Survey of Canada. Evidence before the Senate Committee of 1888. The largest navigable river is the Attawapishkat. It enters James' Bay about 65 miles north of Fort Albany, ms7b2'!fpflnefl. and IS oontinuously navigable from the sea at high water Bou's^Bay. ^^ as far as it will afford width for steamers, which would be, perhaps, 250 to 300 miles. I came down the whole length of the river without once taking my canoe out of the water. Within 100 mUes or so of its source 169 there Is a large lake. We named it after Lord Lani- downe. It measures 13 miles in length, and over 10 in width. Just below it is another liJce nearly as large, called Attawapishkat Lake. Its general course is east- ward, but it makes some large bends. The Albany is next in point of length of navigable water. It is navigable for river steamers for about 250 miles at high water. The Doobaunt (Telzoa River of Tyrrell, 1893), flowing into Chesterfield Inlet is probably the next in point of size. Length not given. The inlet runs in about 260 miles from the sea. Lake Aberdeen aud other large lakes extend the deep navigable waters of the Inlet quite 250 miles further almost due west. A large river flowing in from the west probably extends the navigable waterway right on to Great Slave Lake. The great whaling ground of Hudson's Bay is opposite this Inlet. The Moose Biver and its branch the Missanabie would be navigable for about 120 miles from the sea at high water. The Eapishoow and Equan Rivers, also on the west coast of James' Bay, are navigable for a considerable distance by steamers, as also are the Hayes, Steel and Hill Bivers ; these three are all parts of one river, navig able 140 miles altogether from the sea. The Great Nelson Biver is only navigable for about 50 miles from its mouth ; again for 150 miles (with only one break) in the central part of its course, and also for about 40 miles from the outlet of Lake Winnipeg. (The Churchill Biver has a considerable length, but little of it is fit for steamer navigation.) {For further particulars oj routes afforded hy any of these rivers, see Sections 21, 22 and 26.) iJM»'- I. Hi- I I; 160 Section 11. Distances of Chief River, Sea, Lake, and Overland Routes. (For furtJier ]iarticulara of Oieae routes, see Sections 8, 10, 18, 21, 22, 26 md 27.) Routea from Liverpool to the Yukon Qoldfield*. ClCESTERFIEIiD InLBT BoUTB. Liverpool to Chesterfield Inlot Length of Chesterfield Inlet (navigable) Inlet t' ireat Slave Lake (over half of river navigation) Across Great Slave Lake (navigable) Great Slave Lake to McPherson Fort Fort MoPharson vifi Peel River to the region of headwaters of Stewart Biver (navigable) MILBS. 2,800 250 820 800 962 250 4,882 Canadian Pacific, via Ltnn Canal Boutb. (This route includes dangerous rapids and mountain passes.) Liverpool to Vancouver, vik Canadian Pacific Bailway 6,713 Vancouver to Klondike Biver, vi& Lynn Canal 1,600 7,313 f.''' ir" ■' r: Canadian Pacific, via St. Miohabl's Boutb. (This route is fairly comfortable, but very long and through American territory.) Liverpool to Vancouver, vi4 Canadian Paoifio Bailway Vancouver to ELlondike Biver, vi^ St. Michael's and the Yukon 6,713 4,850 10,063 161 W. Osilvie's Distances, 1896. Bt. Michael's Route. Ban FranciBoo to Dutch Harbour Seattle or Victoria to Dutch Harbour ... Dutch Harbour to St. Michael Bt. Michael to Cudahy (up the Yukon) . . . Victoria to Cudahy ... 4,350 BouTE VIA Taita (Ghilkoot) Pabs. Victoria to Taiya , Taiya to Cudahy Total BouTB VIA Stikinb Bivbb. Victoria to Wrangell (sea) Wrangell to Telegraph Greek (via Stikine Biver) Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake. (Overland) ... Teslin Lake to Cudahy Total 1,000 650 T650 750 150 150 650 1,700 it } Qovernment Map Measurements. BouTB VIA Behbinq Straits and Mouth of Mackenzie BivEB, TO the Peel, Pobcupinb and Yukon Bivebs. Approximate — Victoria to Mouth of Yukon ... 2,700 Thence to Mackenzie Bay ... 1,400 Mackenzie Bay to Fort Macpherson ... 100 4,200 i t ■r»»' •nv''^* . 162 Fort MAcruEiisoN to Dawson City. Fort to La Pierre's Xlouge (In summer this route can be done by water with less than one mile of portage through MoDougall's PasH). La Pierre's House to junction of Porcupine anJ Yukon Rivers (navigable by steamers) From this junction to Dawson City Total a 80 290 230 600 La Pierre's House to Dawson City, VIA UrPBE PoRCUriNE KlVER. La Pierre's House to Junction of Bell and Porcu- pine Rivers. (Navigable by steamers) Junction to Head Waters of the Porcupine Biver... (Navigable by steamers) . Near Head of Porcupine to the Tatonduc River ... (Overland.) Down the Tatonduc River to Junction with Yukon River. (Navigable by steamers) From Mouth of Tatonduc to Dawson City (Along the navigable Yukon.) 30 216 40 75 Total 377i Fort Macpherson to Heaowatbbs of the Peel River 300 (No impediments to navigation.) The distances, land and water, separating the Head- waters of the Peel from those of the MacMillan, Stewart and Klondike Rivers, are unknown, the country being quite undiscovered, but occasional travellers' reports and the lengths of the different rivers indicate that the Peel River runs very close to the last mentioned rivers, and is probably connected with them by inter^'ening lakes and navigable streams. {Sec reports on the MacMillan, Stewart and Klondike Bivers, Section 10.) ■ 168 Q. M. DAWSON, 1M7. Fort Selkirk to Lynn Canal ,, Chilkoot Pass ,, Ilotalinqu River „ Felly Banks It M »l „ Head of Pelly Lake (above " Pelly Banks ") 377 miles. 221 „ 294 „ 213 „ 276 .. The Upper Pelly. Q. M. DAWSON, 1887. Pelly Banks to Hoole Cafion Hoole Ca&on to Boss Biver Boss Biver to Glenlyon Bivcr Olenlyon Biver to MacMillan Biver*^ niver Btnixbt WindloRi. IJne. MILES. .. 60 31 23 82 91 16i 64 61 MacMillan to Lewes Biver (Fort Selkirk) ... 74 46 820 218i * Sea ander heading, " MacMillan River." Section H. From Fort Selkirk (mouth of the Lewes Biver) to the MacMillan Biver the Pelly is navigable for lai'ge sized stern wheel steamers, and right on to Hoole Canon for small stern wheel steamers. The Boss Biver is navigable for steamers at its mouth, but its upper part is quite unknown. Hoole Canon is quite impassable for a steamer of any kind, and 18 miles further on at the mouth of Hoole Biver it might prove difficult. Further on the Pelly is navigable for small steamers rif ht on to Pelly Banks, and possibly as far as the lakes. DawAon's Distances from Fort 5elklrk to Talya inlet. MlIiES. Fort Selkirk to Bink or Five Finger Bapid ... 55 Bink Bapid to Little Salmon Biver 53 (Coal beds found 5^ miles above Bink Bapid.) Little Salmon to Big Salmon Biver 34 (Numerous lignite-coal beds below Big Salmon Biver. ' Depth of B. S. Biver 5 feet ; width at mouth, 347 feet.) V M 2 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) <>.*^^^ 1.0 1.1 Ui|21 125 <>• lU 12.2 S u ^" S Its i2.0 '> ^7; y '^ '? -mivr- ,i^^B^ r T 164 f-; i: V:, A-; Miles. 81 Big Salmon to Tes-Iin-too Biyer (Tes-lin-too Biver. Width, 675 feet at mouth; depth, 18 feet. From the mouth of this river to the lake is about 100 miles. Teslin Lake is 100 miles in length. From near head of lake to Taku Biver is about 60 miles, a good trail. Indians travel up continuation of T. Biver from lake about 100 miles, and cross up West Fork to tributaries of the Upper Liard, and down that river to the Dease.) Tes-Iin-too Biver to Lake Labarge 27^ Lake Labarge, length 31 (This lake is reported to be so stormy as to detain miners in camp for several days.) Lake Labarge to Tahk-heena Biver 11} (Length of T. Biver 60 miles, easy navigation. Depth, 10 feet ; width at mouth, 237 feet.) Month of Tahkheena Biver to White Horse Bapids 18 White Horse Bapids to Miles Ga&on 2f (Usual to portage these Bapids ; too dangerous to navigate.) Miles Cafion to Lake Marsh 23 Lake Marsh 20 Biver from Marsh Lake to Tagish Lake 5 Tagish Lake 16*6 Lake Nares 2*7 Bennett Lake .,. ... , 26*8 Stream from Lake Bennett to Lake Lindeman f (Not navigable for heavily laden boats.) Lake Lindeman 6 Lake Lindeman to Tide Water of Taiya Inlet 23} m * Thif diitane* is over tho Ohilkoot or Taiya Pais. From Lake Lindanum to ■ununit of Paas 1b 8j| miles. The elevation of tiie Fms Is 3,603 feet. The travene of the Ohilkoot portage is itself a formidable obstaele. ^mf^im^i^ -i*' .w >» ng * t"f ! 'W !'Abbadie of DUXa Vv HiuKft 1 •«• •«• ••« ••• ••• II Little Salmon Biver of Miners. (Daly of Dull Wft^'^A J ••• **• 9f ••• II I^ve Finger Bapids (Bink Bapids of DOuwavkfii) tft ..•• ••• ••• ••• II Pelly Biver ,^, ... .... .«,.. ••• I, White Biver ..• •.• ,»,• ... ... II Stewvrt Biver , ,f, , „» ... ... I, Sixty Mile Creek „. ,»,. i» Dawson City (Klondike) .... .... . ... MJLn, 4-79 3012 4 2602 ■i 28-60 'i 34-88 4818 47-61 i 48-21 58-21 78-97 n ■■■-4 76-66 », ■J 93-87 98-27 ^ 117-88 1 14306 143-68 \ji 145-07 T ■ ; 145-46 .1 16004 17819 204-34 ' Sr 236-00 269-46 306-66 364-95 .;■ 423-41 • J 619-23 629.03 *55100 ♦59700 "■•■ WjBT'S •T. «^ ;Tr-)','"»'' Distances from Port Macpherson to Port Cblpewan. (WM. OQILVIE, INT-M.) Maokende Biver, Prop er • •• • « • • •• 821 BedBiver • • « • • t • • • • •• 60.1 A large river entering from the East (name unknown) • •• • • • 120-6 Loon Biver « « • • •• • • • 260-8 Hare Indian Biver • t* • •• • •• 2724 Fort Good Hope ... • •« • •• • •• 274-7 Bamparts • • • ■ •• • »• 283-6 Beaver Biver • •• • •# • •• 295-7 Sans Sault Bapids • •0 • •• • *• 822-7 Mountain Biver ^••» • •• • t* 828-3 Garoagou Biver ... . ••• • •• • •• 828-0 Great Bear Biver • •• • •• • •• 444-0 Fort Norman ... • •• • •• • •• 444-2 Gravel Biver » »• • •• • •• 509-3 Biver Le Yienx Grand Lac • •• • •• • •• 560-5 Fort Wrigley ... t •• • •• • •• • •• 624-5 Biver between two Mountains ... • •• • •• 6280 Willow Lake Biver • •9 • •• • •• 667-0 Ne-hauner Biver • •• • •• • •• 683-3 Fort Simpson ... ■ •• • •• • •• 768-5 Head of Tine ... ■ •• m\9 • •e 829-5 Yellow Knife Biver • •• • «• • •• 8666 Little Lake • #• • #• • •• 892-0 Fort Providenoe ... • • • • •• • •• 916*0 Oseat Slave Lake • •• «•• • •• 962-0 Hay Biver • •• • •• • •• 997-0 BofEalo Biver • k« • •• • t« 1.024-0 BnfEalo Greek ... • •• • •• • •• 1,071-0 Fort Bewlution ... • • • • •• «•• 1,068-0 f„ ir iWVWPW'JPW'!!!**''''^!^^ 167 Fort Smith Heftd of Bapids Peace Biver Fort Chipewan lULKS. 1.2785 1,8870 1,868-9 1.8900 EvMtnoe of Pivf. ROBERT BELL, M.D., LLD, de^ bafore the 8«lcot OofflmittM of th* Sanatt of Canada, 1888. The poaaible avennea of oommonioation with the Mackenzie Basin are :— MlLBS. From one of the eastern bays of Great Bear Lake to the nearest point on the Coppermine Biver the distance is 40 From Chesterfield Inlet to the head of the Great Slave Lake is 820 A large unknown river mentioned by Tyrrell, 1893, running into Aberdeen Lake at the head of this Inlet, along with the lakes, would lessen this overland distance consider- ably, if not cover it the whole way by a navigable waterway. The harbor at Churchill to the head of the Atha- basca Lake is 440 Prince Albert on the Saskatchewan to Fort McMurray, the junction of Clearwater and Athabasca — ^that point being ohosen because there is then between that and the sea Fort Pitt to Fort McMurray the distance is Edmonton to Fort McMurray Banff to Peace Biver Landing The Head of Little Slave Lake to Peace Biver * *T^'»"**"M ' - T ««« «•• ••• ••• ••» Head of Navigation on Stikine Biver to Fort Liard. the head of Navigation on the Liard X^lTCa ••• ••• ••• ••• •#• ••• Haselton, presumably the head of navigation on the Skeena Biver, to the big bend of the Peace Biver in the Booky Mountains 150 800 800 236 260 68 870 7 i mmmmmmm 'W'^jgi' TiMinkMtt olttcronM fmn BdiiiMi> Iwtottis nkonOoM- adasTtittie MMkmile film to 111 OKHltb. ( Sr 168 OlsUncM to polato on Peace River from Port Chippewyas OB Athabaaca Lake. {See part M, Section 10.) DUtaacea on the Uard, Deaae and Francia Rivera. (See part K, Section 10.) Athabaaca Landinf to Great Slave Lake. QEO. DAWSON and W. OGILVIE, 1888 Committee. (The distance from Edmonton, a terminus cf the Canadian Pacifio Railway, to Athabasca Landing is 90 miles — already covered by a good wagon road). The Athabasca Biver is navigable by steamers from the Landing to the First Bapids— distance 120 miles. These rapids can be navigated by steamers drawing two feet. A deeper channel could easily be constructed. The second rapid is 28 miles further on, and is more easily navigable, and by vessels of deeper draught. The Qrand Bapids are 23 miles further on, or 166 from the Landing, and are about two miles long. These rapids are not navigable. Bapids de Boches are 194 miles below the Landing. The passage is rough and stony, and is impassable for canoes. Large boats in passing have to be lowered b> ropes from the banks. Between Bapids de Boohes and the last rapid, 251 miles from Athabasca Landing, Ogilvie states that it is almost one long rapid. Fort McMurray is near this last rapid. From the last rapid, to Lake Athabasca, is a distance of about 170 mUes. In the evidence of Wm. Jas. MoLean, Chief Trader of the Hudson Bay Co., to the 1888 Committee, he stated that the Slave Biver is navigable from Lake Athabasca to the Bapids near Fort Smith, 80 miles (the rapids break the river for about 14 miles) and from Fort Smith to Great Slave Lake, a distance of about 150 miles. Total distance 246 miles, induding rapids. •>' .MJiiii ii u i!i i i Pii| i i|imijiii,Jimp^^ ^ 169 Lengths of «otne of the Chief L«ke«. Leaser Clave Lake, 90 miles in length. Ijake Athabftsca, 192 » Isle ft la Cross Lake is 3G ,, Clear Lake and Buffalo Lake with Isle a la CroM Lake give a navigable length of 74 miles. Lao la Biohe is 24 miles in length, Cree Lake, 40 „ Oreen Lake, 18 ,, Reindeer Ijake, 165 ,, Great Slave Lake, 800 „ Great Bear Lake is 190 (width 110). Wollaston or Hatchett Lake is 70 (same in width). Francis Lake, navigable length ... 64 miles. Dease Lake „ ,, ... 24^ ,, Finlayson Lake ,, ,, ... 9^ „ Lake Lansdowne (on Attawapishkat Biver) 13 „ Lake Attawapishkat 12 „ Lake Aberdeen (at the head of Chester- field Inlet), navigable length ... 60 ., (For the lengths of Lakes on the Lewes Biver route to the Yukon see Section 11.) Route from Athabasca Landing to the Peace River. Evidenoe of Wm. CHRISTIE to 1888 Oommittee. Miles. From the mouth of Little Slave Biver on the Athabasca Biver to Lesser Slave Lake (navigable) 100 Length of Lesser Slave Lake (navigable) ... ... 90 Portage from Lesser Slave Lake to the Peace Biver 80 Beotion X2« loe on Rivers and Lakes. Ice on Mackenzie and Tributarlea* R. Q. INoCONNELL, I888-88. The ice is dear in the Liard Biver about May 1st, ftt its mouth in the Mackenzie Biver about May 20th, in ■>P^ f '•'^ ^l i iiiy '^^'''^^^^ 170 '^ 1| I »1 1 I If » r- lb y t-j' Great Slave Lake towards the end of June, about which time the whole of the Mackenzie River if open. Ice begins to form again towards the end of October, and about the middle of November, the streams are frozen over. This gives about four months clear navigation. Ice breaks (sufficient for navigation by stout vessels) at Fort Norman 19th May, Fort Good Hope Sltt, near Fort Simpson let of June. Mr. Ogilvie states (1887) that ice doaei In at Fort Norman about let week in November, and at Fort Simpson it closes in about Srd week in November. The ice leaves the river at Fort Macpberson about Jane Ist. Mr. James Mackenzie states that his father — the explorer — always loft Fort Simpson and proceeded down the Mackenzie in May. (Committee report, 1888). Ice OB areat Slave Lake. R. a MoOONNELL, 1888-89. Ice forms in this lake between 20th and end of October, and is fast by the middle of November. The ice breaks about let July, and sometimes as early as 10th June. The channel between Owl Island and the North shore of the lake is said never to freeze; and Back's experience proved this to be the case during two winters. WM. OQILVIE, Itn-M. As a rule ice oleai» sufficiently for navigation on Great Olave Lake in tlie last days in June. On Lake Athabasca the ice goes a little earlier than on Great Slave Lake. Ice on the Jtlkiae. Q. M. DAWSON. 1887. The Stikine is generally op6n for navigation aboai the last week in April, and closes about the middle of November. »rk «• 171 IM oa D«aM Lak*. loe elMTf on DeMo Lake about first week In Jane and opene aboat lit Deoembw. Ice oa tfeo Uard* a. M 0AW80N, IMF. At the Jonetion of the Dease and Liard, the latter If free from ice, ae a role, from the firet wedc in May to aboat the first week in November. Ice on the Peace. Praf. MAOOUN, 1S88 GomraittM. . . . loe first found on the riyer first week in November, but the river does not close until about a month later. The tributaries close earlier. The river is open to navigation about the middle of April. Captahi Butler found it quite open on April 22nd, 1873. Ice on the Lewee* 0. M. DAWSON, 1807. The ioe on the rivers opens early in May. Loose ice begins to run on this rivers late in September, and freeses about two weeks later. The lakes, on the Lswei ue not open nntil early in June. Ice on tke Ynkoa* Mr. W. Sloan, a B. 0. merchant and Kiooessful Klondike miner, states in the Fmaneial Timti of 16th September, 1897, that in 1896 the ioe finally froze on the Yukon about Ootober 90tti| and the river opened on 16th May this year (1897). H. de Windt, 1 -The Yukon was blocked with loe in 1896 as early as September 28th. The Canadian Observatory Authorities state that fai 1896 the Yukon Biver froze up on Ootober 28th, and broke up on May 17th, 1897. i •ti .iS5«i^-i»f Ai^'i *»«^KSsKa!ep!Mfa?Wr«'««i«P«^«^'e!»t■.^ FTT "Mining Worid." London. 2lit August, 1807. litotenant Wilkerion, » member of the United BtAtee' engineering corps which has been in AUak* for the past three years . . . states, in answer to the question as to how long during the year the Yukon is open for navigation : — " Daring the months of July and Angosl only. During the remaining months of the year the ioe is from 15 to 80 feet thiok. During July and August tho ioe breaks up, and the river is a mass of floating ohonki of ioe. Those two months of the year are entirely too short to enable the transportation oompanies to carry up supplies for any large ncmber of people. • . . ." Ice on Lake Bennett* Mr. W. Bloan also states that last year (1896) Laka Bennett was not free for navigation until May 28th. Ice on the Churchill River. The Hon. W. Christie, late Chief Inspecting Taotor to the Hudson's Bay Company, states in his evidence before the 1888 Committee, that on the Biver Chorohill the ioa breaks np about June 28th. (Sm Seotion 11 for dutanont,) Saoiioii X3« Restpiotiona to large Foreign Joint-Stook Companies on the Britisli Yukon. From Mr. WM. OGILVIL GuDABT, 11th January, 1897. rich. Man cannot be got to work for love or money, and k^'gettiiiK devdqpment (on the Klondike) is consequontly slow; !!»P!JWK"fF"i Wi.ipiW 173 one-and>a-half doUara per hour is the wage paid ihe few men who have to work on hire and work ai many boon M they like. The Yukon mining regulations, iuued by the Canadian |_j^ Government in May this year, state that eaoh miner can nJpdiSioM. only— on personal application— take up a section 100 ft. by 600 ft. (Placer mining); that the Qovemment will reserve every alternate allotment and will charge 10 per cent, royalty on all gold yields up to 600 dollars per week, and 20 per cent, where the yield exceeds this amount. In the face of these restrictions there will be but poor .^^^ encouragement and little opportunity for heavy ^m^pj*". capitalised English Companies to take up valuable claims on any of the Yukon fields and pay good dividends after all expenses in high wages (at present 6s. per hour), stores, machinery, and from 6d. to Is. per lb. transport charges have been met. "His Pamphlet iMued by ths BritUh Dsvelopmsnt Auooiation, Umit«d,18»7,ttatH:— *' The claim must be. actually toorked by the owner. That is to say, no individual or company can take up claims in the names of nominees ; and this is very right and proper in the interests of genuine miners. . . . onlybcgxaBtod OBI b# woKBM by thsniMltrw. liowl«qt«iy wpiUllMd " Some companies formed with the object of taking itisftquMUoa np claims on the Klondike, have recently come before the public for subscription. It is by no means clear how any of these companies can take up more than one olaim, and the Government Authorities have expressed the strongest intention of preventing any evasion of the Mining Laws. Eaoh miner has to pay any an annual Government License of 15 dollars. takcnpaora olaiiBttluui Um nnmlMral thair rnwrt—mMtlr— ontlMfleU. ' 171 Bttotion 14. Olimate. Pi«. BELL, II.D, a 0^ QMlofiMi Survty, OwMda. StoJb&«»it ^^ evidence showing thai the loil in the Northern cbmS tufM*. Territory th»wed oat in Summer, and insUuioed eiperi- mentt made «! York FkMtory. 6»r ^1 SumiMpy of tiM IMt OommitlM. ^fciifliTiiiti ^^^ ^^ prevailing boath West Sommer windi of mi^SbKm ^* oonntry in qaeetion bring the warmth and moistnra whioh render poeiible the bur Northern ^ veal growth, and lentibly affect the climate of the region ander con- sideration as far North as the Arctic Circle and at ter East as the Eastern rim of the Mackensie Bann. CttMMlD Btf Extrsot fnm LMfltt iMusd by ttM OMsdian Psdfle Railway Oo. The olimate is healthy, the winters long and very cold, but so devoid of humidity that their intensity is not so keenly felt as would be imagined from the readings of the thermometer, and m\h a plentiful supply of suitable clothing can be made agreeable. The summers are short and pleasant with very few rahafalli. impMtor G0N8TANTINF8 Raport The oold is said not to be more intense ^ Mac- kensie Bay) than here (at Klondike). Daylight In the N.W. Territories (Actoal SmHtM). W. OGILVIE, IWr-M. Fort Macpherson, At Ottawa, hi m. h. m. Lat. 67* 26 ', May 1st, 17 80 Lat 45* 26', 14 06 June 1st, 24 00 10 16 „ 2l8t, 24 00 15 30 July Ist, 24 00 16 24 Aug. l8t, 19 24 „ 14 82 „ 81st, 14 44 „ 13 08 l Uf ! m i ^ iW^ill H I I I f |f.( >f i i i t i w i l l 175 Mms T«mp«ratur« at Port Pranklla, Qraat Bmt Ltk», Ut. 6|« ij'. OQiLviE, mn-rn. Baring May, 86* -9 Fah. „ Jona, 61* '4 „ „ July, 5a» -0 „ „ Ang., 50* -6 „ On two oooaaioni the thennomeker went to 76^ is the shade and ton timea to 70*. When I (Ogilvie) arriyed at Fort Maopheifon on QOth Jane the new buds on the treei were juat perosptible, and on the evening of the 22Dd the trees were almost fully in leaf. The mean minimmn temperature for month of Joly was 45* -4 F. •A, 5n.itll Snowfall on the Mackencle. The Hon. Wm. Christie stated in his evidence before the 1888 Committee that the snowfall on the Mackensia is not so deep. He stated that he foand the snowfall much greater in Ontario^as he approached Ottawa— than on the Mackenzie at Fort Simpson. The Open 5ea at th« Movth of the Mackeaile. Prof. MeOOUN'8 Evidsnos, UN OommittM. QtteBtion — Do you mention that (the drift of Mae* kenzie Biver waters to the eastward in the Arotio TkeiMtoviA Ocean) as evidence that there is open navigation from um iiMiMiiii* the mouth of the Mackenzie to Behring's Strait 7 B^og stmi Answer — I believe there is, and the reason is very simple. We can get the records from Point Barrow, where the Americans have an observatory for three years. The full reports from that observatory are published. The reason I thiok there is no obstruction, and that we have a dear ooast, is that the drift is to the eastward. . . . • > i •4 H^ lll i|lBl ll i lMlt« i|f l ty ,,, i| M |q^ kWn«q|Mii^HMtaM.4^riaMpMt w I il r Pmotiof K 1 long period of V op«a MA in the *:■' Afotto Ooean nocthottlM p MMkraai* BHtn Ttrrt- «< tory. i- » f I r I; The mlldneee of the N. W. TerrliorT olliBKte dae to the morement oUheMMnotta Pole ITMtWMd. 170 I am prepared to prove that the mild climate of the north-west is not an occasional or accidental thing, but that it is permanent, and that the drift of warm air from both HidtiB of the continent seems to come up the Mackenzie Biver. The isothermal lines show that. The rivers in which Sir John Biohardson found the timber coming down, were near the mouth of the Mackenzie Biver, so that I am quiiC sure mentally that the rush of heated air keeps the Arctic Sea open. We have hot air passing from the American desert to the mouth of the Mackenzie. The American desert is the source of the blizzards in Dakota — the source of the good climate we have in the north-west territories, and the bad climate they have in the States. Important Changes in the Climate. EvidsnM of Mr. JAMES ANDERSON. Quoting from the Diariai of his Father, the Explorer, before the 1888 Oommittee. Qneiithn : — Have not some voyageurs found out that when they get North of the Magnetic Pole tho cold is not more intense ? Answer: — I do not know that, but from these Diaries I find out that right up neai the Arctic Ocean in that new country that was explored there, a great deal of it was as mild as at Fort Simpson in 1862. Queation : — The cold is not stationary. It has been discovered that it has been gradually moving to the Westward (towards Alaska and Northern Siberia) ? Answer : — Yes ; that is the case. Question : — We (the Committee) »U know that the East \Joast of Greenland, within the memory of man, was fertile, and at one time the Queen of Norway used to get her supply of butter made there, though the climate has, since that time, become so cold that butter making has been abandoned. Would that not show that if the Magnetic Pole does move westward the climate chancres westward with it ? ' m •''*">•**">■"-'■* ••'*' •<,■ :-i/;i:i 177 Atuiver : — There is no doubt iiuA the climate ii « ohanging, and we have evidenee of it in the prairiei of Ihe North West. It is getting milder all the time. -1 flaotion XO« Indians and Esquimaux. The Indian popobtion is sparse, and the Indiann, ^"^i^Mn^ never having lived in large communities are peaceable, Md^^^ ftnd their general character and habits as given by nun* witnesses justify a hope that the development o! the country, as in the case of the Indians of British Columbia inay be aided by them ^: ' Extrtot from the Report by R. a MoOONNELL, B.A. Friendly Eskimo and Indians (Loncheux) in the neighbourhood of the mouth of the Maokenrie Biver. been the Employment off Indiana t their nnmbers. The Indians of the Lower Mackenzie are more MamiMnot industrious than those of the Upper Begion, and might lUq^^^ in be utilized with great advantage to themselves and *'^ **'**• ^• economy to the employer in opening up the coal and petroleum fields of the Territory. In his evidence to the 1888 Senate Committee, Bishop Glut stated that there were 20,000 Indians (not including Bsquimaux), in the Mackenzie Basin ; about 14,000 of these were Chipewyan Indians. The Esquimaux might number 1,000 but he ooold not say, nor, he believed, could anyone else. » ■'i : ' ll 1 ''•lllS^illllli"*. ff';?.'r'"^'-^W^» I 178 Trading with the IndlaiM. TlM bnriiuH otttMBodaon 8*7 Oompuy moob the Mine BOWlntlM N.W. T«rl- tovlM MintlM daya ot Ftinoe Riipatt. Mr. Caspar Whitney in his book On Snow-ahoet to ths Barren Orounds, published 1896 (p. 162) referring to the matter of trading with the Indians of the far north- west of Canada, states :— " There is, of coarse, no money In the country, a ' made beaver skin ' being the standard of value by which all trade is conducted — as, for example, a marten is worth from two to three beaver skins, and a bear-pelt about twenty beaver skins. A ' made beaver ' is a full grown dressed beaver skin, and its value on rough calculation is equal to about fifty cents, though it fluctuates through the country. (P. 11.) " Except that goods are now much cheaper and furs much dearer the fur-trading business of the Hudson's Bay Company is conducted at its inland posts on much the same lin^s tha^ prevailed when the company was first eetablished." Seotion • Fish (freshwater) and Game. Evidenoe of J. B. HURLBERT, M.D., LLD. The Arctic explorers found fowl so plentiful theiv i they say you co hitting a gooae or duck FOfwI ptontUal In M ^y ^y^ y nijf B«y that they say you could not throw a stone withoni '^•%(.?iif.fii'' ffi^ i m' vtj, ■ ' ' ■ J | |.'5 ' t PW) ^ tg» J^ 5!»>*?>iy w 4*-- ^ 179 EvktonM of DONALT' MolVOR. White and grey wavey, orane, flwan, geese and BMt. dnoka in great nambera. Feathers in great quantities turned out of this district every year by the Hudson Bay Company. Gflnaral Summary of the KM Oommlttas. Of the fresh water fishes of the region Back's ?f$t^^^ "Grayling" are excellent species not prevalent else- ^»mibutti» where, seems to be found everywhere in its rivers and even west of the Bocky Mountains, but the staple product cf its lakes and large rivers seems to be white fish of great weight, and trout often reaching 40 lbs. in weight, and evidence goes to show that the farther north the greater the yield of fish till the quantity becomes enormous. From tiM Hon. J. 8CHULTZ. . « « • . we have possessed north of the Tbeqnuittty isotherm mentioned perhaps the greatest extent of fresh ftradiwat«: water food fish .... of any country in the aozpsuedSi world .... the vast space between the isotherm *°''^ mentioned and our Canadian Arctic littoral is unsur- passed, not only by the quantity but the quality of its fresh water food fishes, and it will not be to you who have doubtless made the matter a study, a surprise, to find that the quantity increases ac we ^approach tho Arctic Coast. A ■ \ i -'■■'3 thei« IthoQt Canadian Paoiflo Railway Oomfian/s Lsaflel^ 189T. The Yukon basin is an incomparable game country, an important factor to the miners in a land were pro- visions naturally command high prices. The upper portion abounds in moose, cariboo, bear and sinall game, and the rivers and smaller streams are alive with salmon, whitefish, trout and other species. The lower country is the breeding ground of innumerable geese, ducks, swans and other fowL AgnMcam* oonntzf. Ouna,11iii Mid Fowl ta 3 ■m % ^ M 2 ! • t 'T«^:igj«f5Sjffr' 180 Evidanoe of Mr. FRANK OLIVER, Editor of the " Edmonton Qazettc," to Select Oommittae of 1888. w^Mfviri Waterfowl are plentiful beyond conception in the - ^d oonoap. northern lakes of the Mackenzie Lake and on the Arctic coast in the Summer season, and famish abundance oi food to the Indians while they remain. ilsh abound in all the lakes of running water, and the fisheries of Lake Athabasca, Lake Slave, and Great Bear Lake are at least as valuable as those of the Bt, Lawrence Chain, while thousands of smaller lakes, especially east of the Mackenzie, are stocked with fish , well. The available fish supply alone is more than jkofficient to supply ten times the present population of the Mackenzie region. > • « Section 17* Corn, Vegetables and Pasturage. {See also S&jtion 20.JI Evidanoe'of Bishop GLUT. ComttaHratt- Wheat, barley, and potatoes, grow well at Fort iS^^^ Simpson, Lat. 62^. Captain Smith, of steamer Antto ottoi* ,« wrigley," states that he saw barley, wheat, and potatoes, growing as far north as Fort Good Hope, on the Mackenzie, north of the Arctic Circle. Evidence of «|. B. HURLBERT, M.D., LLD. ^ggf„g,^g^ The entire area (of the Mackenzie valley) is fit for K i i ri w k wu i e. pasturage, as the native grasses grow over the whole country, even to the shores of the Hudson Bay and Arctic Qcean and down the Mackenzie to the sea. ■jm^i^tfmsii Fort and 181 Dr. DAWSON, lOth Augutt. 1887. . . i The Hudson's Bay Company many years ^SnSinmm ago ooonpied several forts or trading stations in the ^^^''^^ Yukon country and ascertained by experiment that mostttoiite barley oonld actually be grown at Fort Yukon within the Arctic Circle and some distance north o! the Klondike. (Barley and potatoes are also grown at Fort Qood Hope on the Mackensie). Professor Bell states in his evidence before the 1888 orawuioi Committee that wheat ripens well at Norway House iMriMrttrood and around Little Playgreen Lake. Barley ripens at Oxford House, as far north as Fort Providence, 4 . . and I have seen excellent wheat ripen at Lake la Biohe, where it is said to be a sure crop every year. Li the country I traversed between the North Saskatchewan and Lake la Biche the grasses were the most luxuriant T ever saw, being often six feet high. Six J. Bichardson places the northern limit of the profitable cultivation of wheat in the Mackenzie Valley at Fort Liard on the Liard Biver (lat. 60" &) while from trustworthy information obtained by Prof. Macoun it appears that even at Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie Biver in Lat. 61^ 51' wheat succeeds four times ont of five, and barley always ripens from the 12th to the 20th of August. In the region of the Peace Biver Valley there axe about 15,140,000 acres of cultivable land, capable ci producing over 300,000,000 bushels of wheat.- « 2 1 '4 I fit for I whole and ,"»r: 182 Hi i Tbatefoorito loalaMfu. NokpoMibto forhMTT tntto and Im- ifoc TToaacbonca tlwBkacwKy tlMfftYorite I \ tMKwndad bjr TCpwonflila KMto. Beotion X8. Difnouities of Routes from the South. (Se6 aUo Section 27.) From th« SpMltl Oorratpondent of th? " Pal* »-! ! Quatto." Tth Ootober, iMI. The favourite route so far has been by 4he Ghilcoot Pass, from Dyea Inlet, on the arm of the Paoifio, known as the Lynn Canal. Nine miles from the head of oanoe navigation, and 16 miles from salt water, this Pass reaches a height of 3,600 feet ; the grade of the last six miles is nearly 560 feet per mile, along a very rongh and rooky road, which is subject to heavy storms from the winds blowing up from the sea. On the other side the descent is not so abrupt, though it is steep. Although this Pass has been the most used up to the present, it cannot be made into a waggon road for bearing traffic, and is almost impassable for horses. The miners carry their outfit and supplies in packs on their backs. At Dyea, it may be remarkedi there is no harbour or anchorage. Vessds oannrt come near the shore, and are exposed to the violent w^adA that blow up the inlet. In case of storms they have to take refuge on the Bkagway Biver, three miles south, which is, therefore, gaining in favour as a landing place. At Bkagway there is a wharf and deep water, where cargo may be discharged at any stage of the tides. From this point the way Ues by the White Pass, which is thought easier than the Chilcoot, and is 2,600 feet high, as against 8,600. For six miles along the river flats there is a waggon road, and then there is a well marked trail to the summit, ascending by the canyon of the western fork of the Bkagway River. Three miles of it is through a box canyon, wiUi a precipice at the upper end, which must be ascended with the aid of ropes. The grade at the latter part of the ascent to the top of the Pass varies from 150 to 300 feet to the mile. BVom the Bommit the promoters of this route claim that there is »'»(*«w,i«««»M!iijB^*«*>ia./-«iin(*i«y^|ii ^M | jjiB* 'f> Jt l | ' '^^H'^ 183 A good road, bat this ia hardly borne out by the experi- ences of prospectors. Perhaps the most convincing eridence of the dangers of this route is that given by the experience of Assistant Commissioner M'lhree, of the Dominion Mounted Police, who was ordered to lead a detachment over the Pass to the Elondyke, to assist in preserving order. A private letter from one of the Mounted Police now FonrmflMia en route to the Yukon says, that it took nine days to vmb homM make four miles, that the boat building party were all d»y the iwm more or less sick and very thin, and had e mt back for r(ta/r^«Li. more medicine, as their stock had run out. They were wet all the time, and it rained steadily. 74 pack horses were killed the first day the Pass opened after repairs. At Bennett Lake the Chilcoot and Skagway routes nnite, but the pioneer is still over 500 miles from the Klondyke, most of which, however, can be done by oanoe or boat. The adventurer has to carry his oraft with him in sections, or hew down trees and build it when he reaches the lakes, which means a delay of several days, as suitable timber is not easy to obtain. A small stream connects Lakes Bennett and Tagish, and the voyagers are carried by a strong current down to the head of the latter very quickly. From Lake Tagish they drift down to another small lake, named Lake Marsh, a long shallow body of water. After this the real difficulties of tho journey by water begin. White Horse Bapids may, however, be avoided by portage — i. a., by carrying the boat overland till the fall is passed — ^bnt this is naturally a long and toilsomo business, as the rapids are three-quarters of a mile long. Lake La Barge, which is 85 miles long and 10 wide, is traversed without difficulty, and is oonneoted by Thirty* Bankm mile Biver with the Hootalinqua, a tributaiy of the tiMriTm Lewes, which at its junction with the Pelly Biver forms '*°**'*'"^ the Yukon. Thirty-mile Biver is very rapid, and has sunken boulders that make it dangerous if oaution is not tim hooi*- exercised. The Hootalinqua, too, at times, runs a mill TT«Mtobe hewn down and boatabnltt. '■:■( i ■V*. .4 "4 .i;J& ^'rn y^^ ^-vATy^^r^'" "^•^fP' "' "'^''^'^Wff'WW^ I 1 184 ■unuia npartono* wanUd In Biiiff raplda. A mnltttiida of Buiow etaan- nalataUof ddft. Wr- DftltOB'sfinQ the only poHiUe wlntKioata. race, and in ono day voyagers have drifted to within four miles of Rv6 Unger Bapids, a distuioe of 126 miles. Five Finger Bapids are said to be nioi'e dangerous than Miles Bapids described above, but they may lie ran by a practised haud. In ranning rapids everything depends npon skill and experience. Those without these gift* had better take to the more laborious method of portaging. After Five Finger Bapids are passed, the voyage offers no particular difficulty. The Yukon is one of the greatest rivers on the American continent. In many places it is more than five miles in width, and in others narrower, but deep, and flowing with a strong current. "Yon cannot by any means go to sleep, and let your boat drift," says the voyager whose experiences were last quoted. There are a multitude of islands, sometimes lour or five abreast of each other, and as many channels, some of which are very deep and clear of drift, while others are shallow or narrow and full of drift. Such channels must be avoided. After leaving the lakes, the curreni renders it easy to make a daily run of over 100 miles until Dftwson City is reached. It is, however, a question whether either the Ghilcooft Or White Pass will be open in the Winter. A Zubron pioneer, with considerable experience in passing to and fro, says, *' The only possible Winter route is by Dalton's Trail (Chilkat Pass), entailing an expense for a year's supplies of at least a 1,000 dollars." A great many pack horses are required for this trail, which probably accounts for its not being used instead of the Ghilcoot and White routes. It is said to be free from heavy ascents and easy to traverse, but only a few have attempted it, so that it cannot be said to have borne the test of experi- ence. The Lynn Canal is left by the Chilkat Inlet, a long and narrow arm of the sea. At the head of the inlet there is a small but good harbour, with shelter from the strong winds prevailing in this mountainous region, an exceptional advantage on this part of the Pacifio Coast. A mile north of the harbour the tidal flats of th« amvil!^^'-^^'--:v''^'-^*<(: »-\-.^^^^^ 'V r F'»»l ' <»'l' " "T.«~T-r-»-i- f '»lmj>l < »,i ■y»j^ffw>rtt--^iw m» '<| r \> 185 •Ghiloat Biver are enoonnterrd, luid SO oailes up the Indian villAge of Klukwaa ia reached, where the KlaheeU BiTer enters from the west. The Chxlkat and' KUheeU Are navigable for canoes, and a pack trail follows the Klaheela to its sonroe. Thenoe almost directly north to Fort SelUrk, where the PeJly and Lewis rivers onite to form the Tnkon ; or if it is desired to take advantage of water transportation at an earlier stage, the Lewes R'ver may be struck at Five Fingor Bapids mertioned above. Dalton, after whom the trail is reamed, gives the time required as "nine rUtys light, twelve to fourteen with a load ;" but prospectors who have used it more recently say three weeko. There is an Lidian trail from the €hilkat Pass, tiavershig the same country a little further east, but of U>ls little is known. Mr. STUART D. MULKIN'8 Evidcnoa. The Felly Biver is navigable from Houle Bapids ^Sb^tiM 126 miles from Felly Banks Post to its junction (under ortmSSS the name of the Tukon), with the Porcupine Biver, g^^l"*^ 1,000 miles without a break ; while on the other hand the Lewes Biver, down which the miners from the West Ooast must travel. Is broken by numerous rapids and three lakes, oat of which the ice does not move until July* WMtmlneisr Qszttts," July 27th, 1897. }on, :ifio th« '* The canoe journey up the Stickine (the overland :x>ute from the South) is no child's play' The incessant xtaun keep the river booming, and make the numerous rapids that it boasts terribly dangerous. In spite of the skill of the Indian boatmen many an adventurer has been drowned in its chilly flood. When the rapids are quite impracticable there is nothing for it but to make a portage. Everything must be unloaded and packed with infinite toil over the slippery traiL" dUBoottiMOl iiMBtie Sooto. "TT- 186 * MIy Tctognph," July 29th. 1897. " Under the most favourable oonditions, and fap- posing that •keamboaks, oanoea, and food rappUet were all ready and ayailable, the journey would take from Ato to eight weeks, and the traveller would reaoh the gold- diggings just as winter was closing in and mining was, lo a great extent, stopped." (5m alto Section 37.) rtor tath* MwHiy :1) Beotion lOr Canadian aub- Arctic Travelling In Winter. From the "Wettminitar Gazette," 27*8-97. Will the Canadians be content to still struggle on with dogs and men harnessed as draught animals to the sledges on which supplies must be distributed in that barren and desolate region, or will they be wise in time and make use of the animal which nature has adapted to the aone of frost and snow exactly as she has adapted the camel to the torrid wastes of burning sand ? The tame reindeer has long been the ship of the dese^ for the fjelds of Northern Norway, and the tundras of Siberia. He should become that of the Arctic wastes of North America. There should be no real difficulty about it. The wild cariboo of North America is none other than the reindeer of the Eur-Asiatic Continent. The countless herds ot cariboo on which the Indians of the Hudson Bay Territory chiefly rely for a subsistenoe, afford proof positive that the country contains abundant ■opplies of the reindeer's natural food. What rmnaina is to introduce the tame variety of the species, whether from Lapland or Siberia, and to make use of it for food •nd for transport, exactly as is done and has been done from time immemorial by the Lapps and by the "ST"!'' 187 Samoyedea. Th« greftt objeolion to in«n and dogs u draagbi animals if nol that they do not poll well. The diffioalty is that neither men nor dogs can live on moes and twigs. Their food mast bo hauled (or them, or rather they must haul it (or themselves. An average dog requires a pound o( meat biscuit or o( pemmioan a day, and an average man fully two pounds weight of equally concentrated (ood. In a (ew weeks either the one or the other is bound to consume all that he has been able to bring with him from the starting-point. But the reindeer is all right i( only he can find lichen ^[^ and browse. His native home is in the great bne land, where men and dogs alike must starve if they cannot carry with them or kill enough to keep them alive. That bold explorer Mr. Frederick Jackson was so struck by the advantages o( the reindeer employed by the Bamoyedes when he wintered in the Yalmal peninsular, that he has taken them with him to £Van8*Jose( Land. -Dsily Newt," 80th kuguit, 1897:- There is a new field also, it seems, (or the reindeer. H^^^'^'** A writer in the New York Nation states the interesting AiMka.^^^ fact that five hundred have been imported from Siberia mKSa. into the Lower Yukon region, and with them a number of Lapland families to care for them. Already the number has been doubled in the natural manner, and an experiment is being made of using them for transporta- tion in the mining country. Should these be successful the future of the dog in these regions will, it is to be fearod, be more or less behind him. Unlike the dog the reindeer needs no food carried for him. After an eighty mile drive he can be turned loose to forage for himself upon the abundant reindeer moss which covers all the Alaskan fields. ^ When it is necessary to kill him, he furnishes better meat than the dog and more of it, and every portion of him is of value. " The reindeer express Man Ami tiuui op the Yukon will be," says the same authcnrity, " almost mSStSStSt as fleet and more sure than the steam-cars could be during the inclemency of an Alaskan winter." 1 i ^'J fiWv ^ 1 I I 1S8 Doff-TralM for tiM Yokoa. "Pall Mall OASirra," Oetob$r9th, 1897. Fram Itt Spteial OoitMpoadMt tt VtnoMiv«p, Hth 8«p(Mnb«r, llff . With the dog-trains the CaiiMlian OoTemment hopes io keep oommnnloation open all the Winter between t)yea and Daweon. The dogs, as we see them here, are no ordinary animals. They have 'been bred and trained tor the especial purpose of hauling supplies through a rough oonntry. They weigh on an average 80 lbs., and ^5i% Sy ^^^ ^^^^ ^^' ^^^ '"^ harnessed to a toboggan sleigh •Mb 00 inUM in single file, usually four to a sleigh. One such team iMib'«MBiiy. will draw a load of 600 lbs. over the roughest oonntry; and, if oonditioQS are at all favorable, will make 00 milM ft day. ••CvMitng atftiMiani," ITIh Ootobsr, I8B7. iVom Bpboial Gobbbspomdbmt, MontrMl, Oetohir 6th, 1897. The Hon. Clifford Sifton, Canadian Minister of the Interior, has reached the Pacific Coast on his way to the Yukon country. He is accompanied by . . . and Major Walsh commanding a detachment of 90 of the N.W. Mounted Police. These, with Indian runners and aledge-drivem with 120 dogs will make the journey from Lake Tagish to Dawson City (600 miles) along the frozen lakes and rivers of the route. dr»' Prices and Particular* of Dogs. «* NtwoMtle WMkly Uader," 4th Ssptembsr, 1897. Dogs are to much used for transporting supplies to ininera that in Washington and Oregon they have Actually become more valuable than horses. . . . lor At Juneau then: value is double what it is at Taooma, and on the Yukon a good dog brings from £25 to £40. Up to May, when the ice breaks up, dog-teams slide over the smooth surface of the frozen lakes with sur- S^tti ^ prising rapidity considering the loads they carry. Dora bowJlf bOMM. Their food oonsisU principally of fish OAUght in the Tokon by the natiyei. An ordinary dog will eat daily Iwo pounda of dried lalmon, which equals MTen pounda of freah fish. At Forty- Mile last winter (1896) dried salmon sold ftl fron lOd. to 2s. por pound, and bacon, that was only fit for dogs to eat, sold for Is. 7d. per pound. A good dog weighs between 80 and 90 pounds. In some of the larger Yukon camps dogs' boarding- houses house and feed dogs at from 26s. to £3 per month according to the season and pric>v of fish. Buckskin mocassins, after the pattern of a child's MotMiiiMMa stocking, are often provided to keep the animal's feet rori from being worn raw by the ice and snow. Pack-saddles for dogs, so arranged that dogs can carry from 10 to 20 pounds each as well as draw a sled, are coming into use. Dogs will be needed on the Yukon in large numbers lor years to come. .5 River Travol In Winter. In ihe Strand Maganne for October, 1897, Mr. Harry de Windt supplies a photograph of a team of dogs draw- ing a sleigh along the ice of a frozen river, which appears very level, with a few inches of snow upon it. He represents this method as the means by which the rivers are traversed in Alaska in Winter. Reindeer Transport. " Oanadian Gazette," Ootober 7th, 1807. Secretary Bliss is, says a Washington item, taking Bcindewfor ft great deal of interest in different propositions to extend mnt, aid to the miners in the Yukon regions who are apt to ■offer this winter from lack of food. He directed the Commissioner of Education, on September 81st, to send instructions to the Teller '<^indeer Station to have all •g b: ummv > 9m\-^^ff^mwm3 190 the reindeer, which are trained to draw sledges, sent tc St. Michael. Here they will be kept during the winter, and if occasion should arise they can be utilised to trans- port provisions to the Klondike. Beindeer will draw SOO pounds of food, and travel from 50 to 100 miles a day. . ip.' 1 1 ■■:^S,y CbMifal pZOSMCt tnTMling •longfioaen rtrenOOand 70 degrees below sero. River Travelling on the Yukon. "Tablet," October »th, 1887. The following extract is taken from a long interview, in the Baltimore Sun, with the celebrated Father Bamum, who, for some years, has been engaged in missionary work in North-West Alaska. " He was at St. Michael getting his winter supplies when I arrived, and spoke as cheerfully of 60 and 70 degrees below zero, and travelling by a dog-sledge over icy rivers from one district to another, as a man who contemplated some pleasant scene." '*■■■• Travendng the highw»a of theN.W. Tenltoclet. Mr. Gasper Whitney, in his work On Snow-shoes to the Barren Grounds (p. 803), states that — " Waterways are the highways in the country for canoes in summer and for snow-shoes and sledges in winter." 1^ Section 20^ Population of the Future. Dr. DAWSON, 16th August, 1897. ^^•J^^* A considerable population will become resident in norabeiwgeiy the Yukon district, and railways will be provided to connect it with the Canadian system. ... It BaOways from required only the discovery of these rich far northern goldfields to induce the miners to investigate the whole territory, and this will now follow very rapidly. VA»^.ll^ ' lj' ' 'J ' iy^ WI|f i-BPI«!PiW|J i | P -^^^^^ %. W' A ■ Wg p nf «',l » >!> t < V ! H a w W» i 191 Briefly 8iat«d, I should Bay that the plaoer mining now fairly began on the Klondike ii likely to continue for a number of years, the maximum output being attained next year or the year after. Meanwhile the whole country will be filled with prospectors The very general distribution of fine gold along the rivers of the whole district, with the geological structure of the country so far as this is known, go to show that other rich placer mining districts will undoubtedly be discovered. Each of these will have a similar history, but in the meantime quartz will be discovered. Tha wlMto eoantry wfll bt Oiled irttb Fcofpeoton • < . . nMImmbI irlll beoouM IwimaiMnt OOTWy of qn*rt« mU, ■in I i ■a: *;■■ .4 "Financial Guide," 9th Auguit, 1897. " In a few years time, in all human probability, the Tha Mimt» country that is now ice and snow will be transformed mow win tw by the magic influence of gold. There is no reason to tammtfonud. doubt — nay, it is almost an absolute certainty — that the history of the past in California, in Australia, and in South Africa, will be the history of the future in British Columbia. One difference is sure to be noted, which is that the Yukon district may be expected to prove far richer than any goldfield in Califomia, or Australia, or 8outh Africa." New Yorl( Oorrespondent of the " Daily Mail," states :— "Mr. John W. Mackay, the Bonanza King, and The Bonus* King itaeciesfhe lulng president of the Commercial Cable Company, says : — pr^hecie * I am sure the Klondike goldfields are enormously rich. ap_oraM Capital will fly there and open up the country, and enable vast fortunes to be made.' " eoontry. ■■s Evidenoe of the Hon. WM. CHRISTIE to 1888 Senate Gommittee. Question : — ^I suppose the Peace Biver country is a Agriooitue oonsiderable size — in fact there is enough land there to Biret. make a new Province ? Answer: — ^Yes, I sometime hear the opinion ex- pressed that our country may ere long become over populated, but there is not the slightest danger of that. '■'■f Aijn'Bw'f jv ■ li ' 9w*i<^— LoMDOM, Daily Ohsokiglb, IBth Sept., 1897. One of the Trails via Edmonton. This is the route taken by the Hudson Bay C!ompany'8 men. It follows the Peace Biver eventually into the Mackensie and thenoe there is a earry of about 70 miles to the waters of the Poioupine Biver The route is down the Porcupine to its junction with the Yukon. But this is 300 miles below Dawson, with a stiff current against one. The intention is to turn to the southward, and by a trail to be cut of not more than 125 miles, to strike the headwaters of the Klondike. Edmonton Route, via the Mackenzie River. •'Evening Standard" Gotober 7th, 1M7. From its Speoial Correspondent. Still another route, which is claimed to be easier, though it is a long way round, is from the Canadian Pacific Bailroad station at Edmonton, in the North- West Territories, by way of the Mackenzie Biver and Fort Macphertion. Bishop Glut, of Mackenzie Biver, strongly recommends it. "It may take longer," he says, " but the difficulties the prospectors wiU have to overcome will be certainly very much less than in going through the Passes from Dyea on the Pacific coast." The McDougall Pass, by which the mountains are crossed, is only twelve hundred feet high, and almost the whole of the rest of the distance can be done by oanoo. The half-breeds of St. Albert have formed an association of competent guides, and several prospectors have taken this route, in view of the high prices charged for transportation of supplies over tho passes from Dyea inlet. From Edmonton the adventurers travel ninety miles by waggon-road to Athabasca Landing, then by canoe down the Athabasca Biver to Grand Bapids, one hundred and forty-five miles. Several small rapids which are encouniiered in succession are easily portaged, and Fort McMurray, on Athabasca Lake, is reached ¥■■■ ' I!*' ' '*■*;'» ^afe:%'i5*^*ri'/ijs the adventurers proceed down the Peel Biver, fifteen *""' miles to Bat Biver, where a suocession of portages will be made with the aid of Indian guides. The Porcupine Biver is then descended to the Yukon Biver, three himdred miles from Fort Maopherson. They then ascend the Yukon two hundred and sixty miles co DtitauM Dawson City; the distance traversed from Edmonton pJi^'^^uimy is two thousand four hundred and fifty-eight miles, two ^mmnS^ thousand one hundred and eighty-two of which is down stream. The Government are surveying this route, but there seems no doubt of its practioabiUty. It has been frequently used by hunters and traders, and Mr. Ogilvie, of the Dominion Survey, who knows more of the Elondyke than any other man, travelled by it soma years ago. {See Section 11 for distances, and Sections 10, 12, 14, 19 and 22 for description and other par- ticulars. See also Boute No. 14 further on.) NoTB. — It is more than likely that some of the large rivers running into the Mackenzie from the West, notably the Peace, Idard and, par- ticularly, the Gacajou, will be utilised as waterways into the goldbearing regions of the Far NorUi West in the near future. 6. The Pbacb Btver Boutb. {See Section 11 for distances, And SecUon 10, part M, for particulars). 9. Thb Liabd Bivbb Boutb. {See Section 11 for distances on the Pel?y after leaving the Liard Biver, and Seotion 10, part K, O 2 in 196 for description and diatanoes on the Liard, Frances Lake and Overland to the Pelly). Tbb Stikinb Bivbr Bouts via Tesun Lakk. {See Section 11 for distances after leaving Teslin Lake, and Section 10, part N. for distances on. Lower Stikine, and descriptive particulars.) 11. Thk Taku BtvEB BouTK via Teslim Lake. {See Section 11 for distances from Teslin Lake, and Section 10, part W, for distances from Inlet to Lake, and other particulars.) 12. Bound's Ovebland Boute. Across Ghilkat Pass to the Lewes Biver at Five Finger Bapids. It is to the east of Dalton's trail, and about 180 miles from Pass to Bapids. This trail is, also, said to extend to Link Bapids,. on the Yukon. It is reported to be an easy route for horses in the Summer season. 18. Dalton's Ovbbland Boute. From Chilkat Pass to the mouth of the Norden* skiold Biver on the Lewes ; distance about 170 miles. Though this distance is taken from the Pass, Dalton's actual trail begins at Ghilkat Inlet, passes to the west of Chilkat Pass, and while occasionally touching the river at the point above-mentioned, it passes at no great distance from the Lewes right on to Fort Selkirk. Dalton will not permit anyone ta accompany him on this route. 14. Thb Edmonton Boutes. There are at least three routes proposed from Edmonton to which place there is a branch of the Canadian Pacific Bailway. They are — (a) The route mentioned in this Section, Ist paragraph under the heading — " Mackenzie Biver Boute," Boute 7. (6) A proposed Branch of the Canadian Pacific Bailway from Edmonton to the Athabasca- ^M'fm mfi ^ mim ^}: m rr, x ?> "U ' if".-. , The flnt link from the Paolflo lUOwayto tha South End of Hudson's Bay. HUDSON'5 BAY TO KLONDIKE SCHEME. New Scheme, Aupported by Toronto influence, for a connection with the Canadian Pacific. " Finanoial News," London, July 30th, 1897. The greatest interest is taken at Toronto in the ambitious project of establishing rail and water com- munication between the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway North of Sault Ste. Marie and the mining regions on the Yukon River. The first link in the pro- posed route is a railway line northward from Sault Ste. Marie, crossing the Canadian Pacific at Missanabie, reach- ing James Bay (the southern extension of Hudson's Bay), at the mouth of Moose Biver, the distance being about 400 miles. Along Hudson Bay, in a north-westerly direction, the stretch of open salt water to Chesterfield Inlet is 1,1)00 miles. Fix>m the head of navigable water on Chesteifield Inlet, it is estimated by the Government *,n!; ■f^r^fi--:.-T^'nem>f ^) '"'WPW|W!^|l''i'!HI| i 211 in the maps that *17fi miles of railway will connect with the Qreat Slave Lake. Along that lake and down the Mac- kenzie lUver to the delta, at its mouth in the Arctic Ocean, there is a stretch of navigable water f 1,400 miles in length. | Fifty miles of railway would connect the Mackenzie Delta with the Porcupine Biver, a tributary of the Yukon. Down these confluent rivers there are 1,500 miles of navigable water to Behring Sea. This is a route about 4,826 miles in length — 4,200 miles of navigable water, and 625 miles of railway. With the additional navigable section of the Yukon reached, thei-e would be an available stretch of transportation facilities about 6,500 miles in length. "If thought advisable," the Toronto Globe says, " connection could be made with Athabasca Lake and Biver by the construction of a few miles of railway, thus connecting about 1,200 miles more of navigable water. This is, of course, independent of the Atlantic route to Liverpool by way of Hudson Bay, a feature considered by the promoters. The intention of the promoters is to commence with the section between Mis8anabie,on the Canadian Pacific Bailway, and Hudson Bay, the route along the valley of the Moose Biver being 240 miles. This, it is claimed, will bring the fishing trade of Hudson Bay, and the mineral and timber wealth along the route, into direct communication with the markets of Ontario." ThaChMter* field Inlet rovtetoopen up all the NorUi-Weflt interior The flshiac, timber uia mineral indoBtriet. The link between Saott Ste. Marie and Missanabie — 160 miles — will perfect this part of the system. The connection with older 'Ontario and the fish and other trade of the Hudson Bay region are regarded as more available for profitable development than the British ^j^ grain trade contemplated in the earlier projected route between Winnipeg and Fort Churchill. *A lofg* hut unea^lortd rivtr covtrt the greater part, and ftrhofpt tht whciU of this dUtanee. t Thii diitOHce ia ineorrtct; U thoutd b€ 1,280 mUea. \JH$ummer this diitanet can be covered by boats the whole loay, laupting an eaay holf-mUe portage in McDougdll's Past. [E. J. D.] p 2 i 1 ;i.i!¥"'w»r' ■•: •vn*«-;-7-«f:t^rr.rr.»';5'"'?""« ■•■■'"■-' -■*<"■ "•m^r V' ll I' I i" •• DlfflcnltT of •ooMa tothe Tnkon Ooia- fields the great olMtMle. " Will not mlnlnc •ntemlM eomplete whM the HadeonB»y Co.'a Offloers oommeiuMdio weU? The difference between those days and these. The one all- imiwrtant qnestion (since (uuweied). 212 TRADE ROUTES FROM THE EA5T TO YUKON. "Financial Tlmei," 16th August, 1W7, In a pamphlet recently issued by the Canadian Department of the Interior regarding the Yukon district, of which there has been so much talis lately, oooors this succinct statement, laid down as a sort of first principle : — '*The great obstacle to the development of the district is the difficulty of access." . . . Yet that the country is far from inaccessible is shown by the fact that nearly 60 years ago it was not unkno\m to Hudson's Bay Company's servants, while the brigades of boats of that Company penetrated every season the waterways of the "barren lands" to the east of the Yukon district, a region quite as forbidding as the new goldfields. Some of the books of the late B. M. Ballantyne, who was once in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, give a vivid picture of life in the far North- West in the early days, and of the manner in which the great continuous water- ways were utilised for trade purposes. Indeed, the Hudson's Bay Company had a well-established trading post at the junction of the Yukon and Porcupine Bivers as early as 1847, which must have been regularly com- municated with by way of the Mackenzie Biver, since all supplies were brought from the headquarters of the Company on Hudson's Bay. If, therefore, the Hudson's Bay men could take in supplies and bring out furs from as far West as Fort YuJcon in the early days, when they had to be guided by the reports of roving Indians, and had to give a name to every stream they traversed, the difficulty of establishing well-defined trade routes and using them in this day of maps, surveys and exhaustive reports, should not bo insuperable The one all-important question is: Is the game worth the candle? And that question has not yet been satisfactorily answered* though it doubtless will be before long. The country appears, from pretty reliable reports, to be rich both in alluvial and quartz gold ; and if this prove to be true, it will certainly afford a valuable new market for British goods, and a profitable field for the efforts of British traders, since it can produce little but minerals. Thia '■.'♦v»<"»*'**r r''f y»iii !v fi^ ' ..> i ^ ' wy ' : ioaU Iran Urwpool •uthaTakoo I b; rim iMMm. 214 head of which oteamera can go right to the delta of the Great Mackenzie. Another short railway line (6U miles) over the height of land is said, by explorers, to be practicable, when a further great stretch of navigable water on the Porcupine is reached. But after reaching the Mackenzie there is a shorter routu which Mr. Ogilvie reports practicable, namely, up the Liard River, a tribu> tary, and the Dease, also navigable for small steamers, to Lake Teslin, thus striking both the Yukon and northern British Columbia goldfields. The Hudson's Bay people used the Liard, which passes through a break in the Bockies, and the Upper Pelly, but on the latter river there are dangerous rapids which cannot be passed by steamers. At the other end of the route, from Chester* field Inlet, direct connection may be had, 'during summer, with Liverpool, which is about 2,800 miles away. Thoa by Eea, rail and river, a route might be had direct from England to the Klondyke, just about equal in length to that from San Francisco by way of Fort St. Michael and the Yukon Biver. It should also be a quicker route, a fact which, joined with the advantage in tariff rates enjoyed by the British trader, shoxild give him a Btrong advantage. AaufnUlMB* souto • psoflt- ■MeTsntim. This last scheme is an ambitious — even a magni- ficent one, but we are quite willing that anyone who oares to take it up should benefit by our idea If the Yukon field do not peter out the establishment of the rail and water line we have mentioned might be a yery profitable venture, even if gold or coal were not found East of the Bockies, or the Manitoba wheat traffic tapped immediately ; but it all rests on the future of the Yukon district as a gold field However, we may say that we think two or three hundred pounds invested in a trading company, in whose promoters a reasonable amount of confidence may be placed, is likely to give quite as good returns as if invested in a ticket to Klondyke, aminer'skit and a " grub-stake," withinfinitely less discomfort to the investor. ; '«f»'' »ni'V *"■ w v»*» ■■ • 14 #', ..v < ii^ y4;i> »tn wjy: A noble ■tiMun, broAd and deap. :i4 TheOrMtFisb Kirer only two days' Journey away totlM Wert. -;;:.-^i .1 I I A moat tin- pnrUuit rlT«r |«0lMblT oonnMunc Onni Rlava lAkawtth ctaMUrteld InlatbT amftgMa WAlan. BohnltalAk* ■tone The eurpriging and mofit delightful fealnre of tho locality was that upon the shores there was strewn an abundance of driftwood. At first sight its ocourreno'3 was unaccountable, but the mystery was readily solved however by finding thai we had reached the confluence of another large river flowing in from the uett. Much of the driftwood was of large size, and judging from the slightly battered condition one would infer that it had come no very great distance, or at any rate through very few rapids. From the confluence, the course of the river bore to the north and then to the eastward and ere long brought us to the entrance of a great lake— Lake Aberdeen 60 miles in length. (Mr. Tyrrell mentions himself and companions as the first white men who had ever been on this lake.) On the morning of August 29th we entered the river leading into Schultz Lake, or a few miles distant, lat. 34<' 45^. CftlBM Ol of ox. I' I I jof iha The river leading from Lake Schultz is wellformed and deep. Two rapids were met with but they were not difficult and were easily run. The current was strong and we sped along at the rate of 8 miles an hour. The river continued deep and flowing in a south-eastorly direction. Shortly before the river empties into Baker Lake, we came upon another Esquimo camp, and about ten miles further on we came upon another large camp. One of the first objects that attracted my attention was a " topick " tent (or "wigwam") constructed of no less than the most bsautiful musk-ox robes. At first I felt almost inclined to doubt my own eyes. It seemed such a waste of luxury Next my attention was drawn to a pile of skins lying on the rodES, which with the exception of a few white wolf and fox skins consisted of musk-ox robes We soon found that we (this Esquimaux camp) were at the mouth of our great river and we passed into the broad delta and gazed over the blue limitless waters ... of Baker Lake, about 70 miles long and perhaps 30 wide. Ki'tr%V7'^'y^''V''^'^^^ ■*'/■-■'-■■.-■,' ---■■• ■■■'■ tr- ■ 'I- ^.i*'-> ■'',-'-)'^ 218 I i |! I plentiful ; swans, geese and partridges ; killed three musk oxen. He gives the following list of animals west of Hudson Bay in the barren grounds : — Foxes plentiful, of various colours which prey upon rabbits, mice and partridges ; lynx, polar bear, black and grizzly boar and wolverine as far north as Coppermine Biver. Otters plentiful to latitude 62, north of Churchill. Jackash, the lesser otter; common marten, ermine or stole, muskrat, porcupine, hares, numerous to latitude 72, Heame names rabbits in another place. Squirrel plen> tiful in wooded parts. Ground squurrels plentiful to latitude 71, and large as the American grey squirrel. Mice, frogs and insects in ^eat plenty. In Hudson and Arctic Sea are walrus or sea horse ; the whole coast of the Hudson Bay beiog alive with them. Seals more to the north, sea unicorns in the straits. Black whale, white whale and salmon numerous, some seasons, and kepling, shell fish; birds numerous. Eagles, several kinds, hawks of various sizes and plumage : owls, white, grey and mottled, ravens, American crows. Wood- peckers, grouse, buffalo grouse, sharp tailed grouse, wood partridge, willow partridge, rock partridge, red breasted thrush, grosbeak, snow bunting, lapland finch, larks, titmouse, Hudson Bay black cap, swallows and martens, whooping crane, brown crane, bitterns, curlews, to latitude 72, jacksnipes, red godwits, spotted godwits, sandpipers, plovers, hawk eye, sea pigeons, northern divers, black throated divers, white, grey and black gulls, black heads (gulls), pelicans, goosanders, shell ducks, swans, geese (ten varieties), horned wavies, laughing geese, eider ducks, dunter goose and ducks of various kinds. Pf'PH f ) Vegetables. — Gooseberries, cranberries, heath berries, currants, red and black, juniper berries, strawberries, eye berries, blueberries, partridge berries. Mosses, grasses of several kinds, Trees : pine, juniper, poplar, creeping birch, willow (dwarf) ; birch plentiful ; pines» larch and poplar. Birch grow to great size further westward. Alder. Sir John Richardson says stumps |''ii^ ». ''f w 'W W T?*-;^-ii' ■ » . «^ .. f ' i",y7 ; " ' ^ ii i lf f t ! /!- I < "Wl»»n«' 219 of large trees are found and he saw large forests in the SJ^^JSTST* distanoe, but conld not at that late season torn aside to ^^''*''*°' examine them. The committee can judge from these statements whether the name " barren ground" is not a misnomer. It should at least be qualified. I know of no region of equal extent in any part of the globe simi- larly situated which is such a land of desolation as that part of the Dominion has been represented. Interview by the Correepondent of the "Pall Mall Gazette" with the Hon. 0. H. MA0KINT08H, Ueut-Governor of the N • W • T6mt0n68* "Pall Mall Qazbttb," 16th September, 1897. . . . It is a big subject, the North West Terri- gmw-w. tones — a miUion and a half square miles. But one thing traMura-taMue . '■ ° of th« Empln. I can say about the country is, that the Territories are an undeveloped treasure-house of the Empire, and when it has been exploited, well 1 the rest of the world will rub its eyes and wish it had a share in it. . . . Give us a year— or, perhaps, two — and we will astonish the dear old mother country, and make the nations outside the Empire green with envy. Les» les, pes, lar, Us» ler ipa An Important Un-Mapped River. Mr. JAMES ANDERSON'S Evidence. Quoting his Father, the Explorer, before the 1888 Committee. The Big Hula Dessi, or J^'*onnu Biver, rises near Great Bear Lake, and flows into the Arctic Ocean, one branch into Liverpool Bay and the other a little to the Eastward of Esquimaux Bay. Several rivers fall into it. Where it divides to form the two branches it is as broad as the Mackenzie, at Fort Simpson. The waters are very clear and deep, and it is navigable from the source to the mouth. Birch and pine of good size at the forks. On the banks of the river marten, otter, foxes, bear, wolves and wolverines abound ; also moose, reindeer, musk oxen, the latter all over the country. Fish abound in the river and adjacent lakes. Meuu of ope>- ing up the F«r North W«st by meanaofwater- w»7t ftom the Arctic Ocean. Beaoarcesof the Territory. ij^^m^Msummm- m ': V ■■, .'.,!':i?!f"'7frri.' ^mm 220 The ice is said to break on this river earlier even than the Mackenzie. Enters the sea about Long. 120" ; Lat. of its source about 64 or 65. Tar and sulphur springs abound. Veins of fine white earth at the forks and along the river. fe;. lit:. r'w ■ npoi notei from the dlaxy of aa •xplorar. WngniM f er. >fthe Teixl- tlUtvofthe ».W, tories. Extracts from the Explorer Anderson's Diary. Evidence of Mr. JAMES ANDERSON, speaking chiefly from ths Diary of his Father, who was appointed by the Home Government in 1855 to go in search of Sir John Franltlin. This diary mentions gooseberry trees in blossom and strawberry plants in flower at Great Slave Lake during the first week in June. Potatoes, barley and turnips — potatoes as good as any in Canada — grown at Fort Simpson, lat. 62°. Ice left the Mackenzie Biver between Fort Good Hope and Great Slave Lake about the middle of May. The severity of the clitaate is not worse than at St. Petersburg, which is on Lat 60°. The diary mentions Mr. Anderson, Sen., finding large pieces of coal on the Mackenzie Biver, and seeing plumbago from the Yukon. The Hudson's Bay Company had cows and oxen at Fort Simpson. In winter, there are only two or three hours of day- light at Fort Simpson, but in summer one can scarcely tell the difference between night and day. Produce is grown all along the Churchill Biver. Agriculture on the verge of the Barren Qrounds. Evidence of MALCOLM McLECD, Esq., Q.C., Ex-Judge, to 1888 Senate Committee. There was plenty of good open ground for cul- tivation at Norway House, but everyone was so busy at more urgent work that no one even tried it. At Oxford House, nearly 150 miles further east, and colder on the height of land— the summit of the Laurentian Bange~- •"."'rT^T v'^"'''^ " :iP»i^ T.V~r7' 221 there was a fine garden, growing potatoes abundantly, and whereof, en passant, I did eat. Here in 1832 forty head of cattle were kept, and a large gang of men supplied from the place while making a winter road between Norway House and York Factory. At York Factory, on a shore we may call Arctic, I saw nice little gardens with turnips, radishes and flowers, many and beautiful. My old friend, Peter Warren Dease, of Arctic fame, and whose son-in-law Bell was for many years in charge of the most northerly Mackenzie Biver coasts, used to tell me of his (the old gentleman's) fine and successful gardening in the far north. He had a taste in that way, as shown in his ever well trimmed and highly cultivated grounds. To him, as a perfectly reliable authority, I owe much if not most of my very strong conceptions as to the singular fertility of the Mackenzie Biver Valley. -'^ 1 ■i The Chesterfleld Inlet Country. Mr. Warburton Pike mentions in his work, " The a luge but on. Barren Grounds of Northern Canada" (p. 904), that ""^^p*^"'"- when he arrived at Artillery Lake, on the Lookart Biver, he met an Indian named *' Pierre the Fool " (one of the most intelligent Indians in the territory), who gave a great deal of information about the territory East of Clinton Golden Lake, and said that three days' titivel East of the Lake there was a large river running in a ^ thort tonto Southerly direction, and once when he had pushed oMm^iu' out further than usual Eastward, he uame upon an Lidw'^tnnT* Esquimaux camp. The Esquimaux had been cutting up pine wood for their sleighs. Mr. Pike states that — " from the fact of his having seen the pine trees, which are said not to extend far from the salt water of Hudson's Bay, he must have been within a short distance of the (Hudson's Bay) Coast." B fl i ■ i' t i.»»';>:;V,7.v--; -.i'^nf^ if,Ti•,■.^,i^:■^'■"•" S'r^ -;r'n'*"'^' "-rT ;''-\?^'"''r.''nr''i.'W~'TX"r"''7rTy •'*"?*' Str M^ i f:. ^^. t: i i ! „ '^t!!- v.. W' ■- HalteltTol MM month of llMlfMkeiuie ■BditoTend- torytotho Wlitte8«»and tbaoonntry ■bout Aroo> ^■■' *r<.. ■. ii?. 7',' Dr. Davaon'i V' aohemeto mftke tbe month of the f Mackennle 1^ ■erve the N. W ■t ■ Tttrritoriea Ml 1- th« Whits Bm Mrres North RoMto. Exports and Prodncts of Rossia abont th« White Sea. 222 Beotion 2IS« Important Comparison with North Russia. Evidenoa of Q. M. DAWSON, Director of the Qeologioat Survey of Canada to 1888 Senate Committee. I have a few notes here worth considering while we are dealing with the question of this Northern country, particularly the Yukon. I looked up the circumstances of the Northern Provinces of Russia, and I found, taking the Province of Bussia, which seemed to compare most nearly with that shown on this map, both its relation in Bussia to the Atlantic corresponding to the relation of this Country with the Pacific and its latitude, that is the Province of Vologda. That Province has a total area of 155,498 square miles, and it is chiefly drained to the North, like the country shown here. It lies between Lat. 68 and 65. It is about 760 miles in greatest length, and 300 miles greatest width. It is drained by the Dwina Biver chiefly. Its products are carried by this river to Archangel, and exported thence in vessels by the White Sea, in the same way that we hope this Northern country of ours may be served by the Mac- kenzie and the Arctic Sea. The mouth of the Dwina is in Lat. 65°, only a little South of the latitude of the mouth of the Mackenzie. The climate of the two countries is very similar. The winters are severe and the summers warm. There is no very heavy rainfall, such as we find near the Western coasts bordering on the Atlantic and on the Pacific. The exports from that Province of Vologda are oats, rye, barley, hemp, flax and pulse. The mineral products are salt, copper, iron and marble. Horses and cattle are reared, and the skins of various wild animals, pitch and turpentine are exported. This Province supports a population of 1,161,000 inhabitants. Some Particulars of Archanfel. Archangel is on the White Sea, about Lat. 64° 30/' corresponding with that of the Elondyke Biver. Poaitionol Archansel ooneanondinc Klondike. harbour is only free from ice from July to September* The '"TWTf^ ifvtvKr^ .■ n I i« t n r |i.i W|i '^^ Mff ^ f'^.lf ' ^ : 223 •,•* yet it is a thriving and rising city, with a population of about 26,000. The British Consul's Beport for 1896 states that over 25,000 people are engaged in fishing in the liilstrict, and 4,500 men employed in the saw-mills. This year, 1896 (the Consul states), Archangel will probably be in telegraphic communication with the whole of the White Sea country or the Lapland Coast of Norway, while the railway from Vologda to Arch- angel, with a length of 136 miles, will most probably be finished. Ratlwftyt of ArohugaL In 1896, 172 steam and 151 sailing vessels entered j|^*"!?J2? Jj Archangel. 0' t he steamers 127 were British. The WhiteiSNL Consular Beport states that the White Sea shipping is fast ' 3veloping, the number for 1896 being 418 foreign and 309 B>issian, exclusive of 1,132 coasters. Imports are also increasing. There are 1,946 miles of railways already con- stancted in Finland. «IM ron the are of Populous towns in Sub-Arctic Europe and Asia. "Birmingham Gazette," 81st August, 1897. Although Klondyke is called a desolate region, it must not be assumed that it is quite as hopeless as some of the papers paint it. As a matter of fact, the climate of the Yukon Valley is much the same as that of the Bussian province, in Europe, of Vologva, which has a population of a million and a-half , and enormous mining and smelting industries, and also grows a great deal of rye. There are great towns, like Archangel, Eem, TAtgepoimioin Mezen, and Yakutsk, which flourish, although their food further ncHc«h^ and means of transport are no better than those of Dawson City will be a couple of years hence. It is also a fact apparently unknown in England that the gold- mines south-west of Lake Baikal, are worked under conditions similar to those that prevail in Klondyke, but in a far more severe climate. Erom these mines the Czar receives an income of two and a-half millions a thwi Klondyka. iMiMSii ft ■ "'.'k'-WI III •' 224 year. There is, however, an amazing degree of ignorance in this country concerning Russia and the East. For instance, as late as three years ago one of the leading papers had never heard of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and confounded it with the Trans-Caspian Railway. i I f I It <%■ . The possibilities of tlie Maclcenzle— Yukon Country. " F ritish Review," July 31 st, 1897. Aa eiunpl* of what miibt b« In the palmy days of the narwhal fishery, the ^ ^*g ~ ^ Arctic port of " Smeerenburg" on the Spitzbergen coast «^wUo«***^on at times contained a floating population of ten thousand of the souls. Here, rough streets of wooden huts gave the hardy followers of the right whale indifferent shelter from the icy blasts, the vilest of spirits to drink, and even the refined society of a large number of ladies from the pur- lieus of the Dutch and Scandinavian seaports. In these matters the whalers were better off than the fur-traders who have held their little out-posts for commerce in the northern solitudes for three centuries. Starting in the comparative civilisation of Manitoba and Winnipeg, the chain of Hudson Bay Company's forts has extended right up the Mackenzie River to within a short distance of the Polar Ocean and that "North-West Passage " which was not worth discovering. In these isolated block-houses a few hardy Scotch factors contrived to support existence even at a time when it took three years and a-half for goods and letters to reach them from England. But the fur- traders were not settlers or colonists. They were simply sentries or vedettes thrown out by the army of commerce, with instructions to fall back upon the main body when their work was done. The North to them was only the hunting ground for pelts, and the land very much as the sea on which the whaiers chased the narwhal to his death. TheTokor OoM diaooreries aujr open np thaiLXotio North to gKftt yoMtUlltiM. But the gold discoveries of the Yukon region, of which so much has been heard during the last few days, may open another chapter in the history of the sub-Polar world. If the deposits are as rich, or only half or a raaoe For ading ilway, try. y, the Q coast ousand ^ve the er from ff&a tbe he pur- n these r-traders e in the y in the peg, the led right 36 of the lioh was LOuses a sxistence half for But the ley were army of Le mala to them [and very narwlial legion, of 3W days, lub-Polar or a 225 quarter as rich as they are represented to be, there will speedily be a great population in the nei^^hbourhood of the Klondike and Dawson City. If that happens, we shall be in face of an interesting, though it may be a rather painful, experiment. For the first time almost in its recorded history, mankind will have tried to hive a large population of civilised human beings under conditions so extraordinarily difficult and trying as those to be found in the glacial regions. There are, of course, towns as far north as the new jMrf^ towDs camps of the Yukon. Many a cheap tripper from Aber- deen or Newcastle has been a good deal nearer the Pole, BO far as actual latitude is concerned ; for the Norwegian towns, Hammerfest, Tromsd, and Yardo, are in fact further north than Kiondike. (The large uity of Archangel on the White Sea ia on the same latitude as Dawson City.) in Earop* farther north than Klondike. Section Hudson's Bay and its Territory. Extent and Resources of the Territory. From the Pamphlet of the Chartsred Hudson's Bay and Paoiflo Railway Company. Prepared by Col. J. HARRIS, F.R.Q.8. The country at present under local government J^-^^' comprises the Province of Manitoba, covering an area of local goTem- 64,000 square miles, with Winnipeg as its capital, and the three territories of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, covering an area of 303,000 square miles, with Bcgina as their capital. The whole of this vast region, extending from about twenty-five miles West from Lake ,* -^ a 1 1 1 if' rft- An* of the Badaon Day ■frkniltanu twritoij. Aftrionlturftl ntnma V«Ia« of lira- Rlook, grain, and dairy prodnoe in Canada. Territory under GalUration. 296 Superior to the Rocky Mountains, a distance of 1,860 miles, and from the forty-ninth parallel of latitude North, to the water-shed of the Saskatchewan Biver, an average distance of 850 miles, embraces an area of 462,500 square miles, or 269,000,000 acres, two-thirds of which has l)een proved to be capable of producing the finest wheat, and the rest admirably adapted for stock raising and dairy farming. The whole of this region, including a great portion of the States of Minnesota and North Dakota, in the United States, is drained by the lakcu and tributary streams of the Nelson Biver, into Hudson's Bay, in latitude 53 North. It comprises the richest and most extensive undeveloped wheat-producing lands in the world, and access to which, from the United Kingdom, by ordinary steamers vid Hudson's Bay can be reached within eight days. Dominion Government Betums of 1895 give these figures for the Province of Manitoba :— Product. Wheat . Oats Barley . Potatoes. Pease Flax Bye During 1892 there was imported into the United Kingdom from Canada 101,426 heads of cattle, besides a large number of horses and sheep, and, including grain and dairy produce, was valued at 10,000,000 sterling. The shipment of cattle bred on the ranches of Alberta to Great Britain continues to increase, and the superior quality of these animals has excited the most favourable comments of buyers in England, and more than two- thirds of the total increase in the shipment of live stock took place from the North- West Territories. •' During 1891 there were under cultivation in the Province of Manitoba, and the thiea territories of Acreage. BnHhels. Average yield. 1,140,276 ... 31,776,038 ... 27-8 bushels 482,658 ... 22,655,733 .. 46-7 „ 153,839 ... 5,645,036 . .. 36-7 „ 16,716 ... 4,042,562 ..243-6 „ 28,229 ... — 82,668 ... 1,281,354 ... — — 81,082 -%vr>'^'».,v*««iinp'" — vtr '.TV' 227 Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, 1,300,000 aoree, which produced twenty-five million bushels of wheat and thirty million bushels of barley and oats, whilst the number of cattle was estimated at about 600,000 head." these le "United [besides a ling graii^ a sterling. 1 Alberta to [e superior 1 favourable Ithan two- live stock ition in the ritorieB of COBt of whMl expQrtatlon ; MTini by • Hudt>on Bay route. Exportokl prMentr*. ■trictedby diftance. THE HUDSON'S BAY SEA ROUTE. Exports and Cost of T*'ansport. The present cost of transporting wheat to the seaporta tit Montreal, Boston, or New York, from the centre of this region is about thirty-five cents per bushel, whilst the same charge per mile to Port Churchill would not exceed fifteen cents, and to the ports further north in the Bay — Chesterfield Inlet for example— the charge would be proportionately less, and the saving in the carriage of live stock, as stated by Admiral Markham, -would be fully equal to £3 per head. One of the most important questions of the day is the importation of live stock into the United Kingdom. Here is a country capable of raising millions of heads of cattle, absolutely free from every kind of disease, owing to the remarkable healthfulness of the climate ; but the present export is prohibited, owing to their having to pass for more than 1,000 miles through the Eastern portion of Canada to a port of shipment. The opening , of a Hudson's Bay route would remedy all this, and would enable the cattle to be shipped in prims condition at half the present cost by way of Montreal. Hudsoa Bay. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, October, 1881, on the Commercial Importance of Hudson's Bay, with Remarks on Recent Surveys and Investigations, by ROBERT BELL, M.D., F.Q.8.1 Assistant Director of the Geological Survey of Canada. I beg leave to offer to the Boyal Geographical Society Dr. BeU'i « few remarks on the great Mediterranean Sea of North Hyson's bL/, America, in regard to which there appears to be a general want of correct information. Before piooeeding to do «o, it may be proper for me t^ state that I have con- Q 2 ^mm^'immmi^mt ^jtfflflflft'Ml^riiiV'v, smukimIII m 1^ s 228 siderable personal knowledge of HudHon Bay and the surrounding regions. As an ofllcer of tho Geological Survey of Canada, I have spent six seasons uinoe 1869 in explorations around the bay itself or in its yioinity, while the remaining summers of this interval have been devoted mostly to surveying and exploring portions of the Hudson's Bay territory at greater or less distances inland In the popular mind, Hudson's Bay is apt to be associated with the Polar Regions, yel no part of it comes within the Arctic circle, and the Southern extremity is South of tho latitude of London. Including its Southern prolongation of James' Bay, it (Hudson's Bay) measures about 1,000 miles in length, and it is more than 600 miles in width at its Northern part. I. i iim HadiWa Bay andBtnUU teoutftebly tra* fKHB otatnwttaoa. TbaBar ■nUonnim dmthand •JiordiDg good •nchoncM near cbmv. NarifaUoo of rivata flowing into Benson's Day. Navigation of the Bay. . , . . Both the bay and straits are remarkably free from rocks and shoals which might interfere with their free navigation. The groups of islands near the east side of the bay are surrounded by deep water, and a wide channel leads up the centre of James's Bay. Fortunately the main body of the bay, which is the portion likely to be hereafter frequented by shipping, is entirely without shoals, reefs, or islands. The depth is very uniform over most of the bay, and nowhere does it present any great irregularities. It averages about 70 fathoms throughout, deepening to 100 and upwards in approaching the outlet of Hudson's Strait ; while in the strait itself the sound- ings along the centre vary from about 150 to upwards of 300 fathoms. The bottom appears to consist almoal everywhere of boulder clay and mud. Near the shores a stiff clay, affording good holding ground for anchors, is almost invariably met with on both sides. Few of the rivers of Hudson's Bay afford uninter- rupted navigation for large vessels to any great distance from the coast. During the season of high water, shallow-draft steamers might ascend the Moose river and two of its branches for upwards of 100 miles. Hayes 229 nd the ilogioal a 1869 ioinity, e been ioDB of ntanoes udson'8 ma, yet ind the indon. 83* Bay, [ length, [orthern narkably vith their east side a wide tunately ikely to without orm over iny great oughoat, le outlet Bound- wards of almook le shores anchors, uninter- distance I water, ose river Hayea river and two of its branches might apparently ba navigated by such craft in the spring to points about 140 miles inland, and the Albany for nearly 260 miles ; while large steamers might ascend the Nelson for seventy or eighty miles from the open sea. The Churchill, which is the second largest river of HudHon's Bay, is a beautiful dear-water stream, somewhat larger than the Bhine. It is remarkable for having at its mouth a splendid harbour with deep water and every natural convenienoe for the purposes of modem commerce. {See part Y, section 10, for further re/erencti to these rivers, atid to the Chesterfield Iniet.) Resources of the Hudson's Bay Territory. The resources of Hudson's Bay and the country immediately around it are varied and numerous, although as yet few of them nre at all developed. The fur tra e is the principal and best known business which has hitherto been carried on in these regions, but a large amount of oil, derived from the larger whales, the porpoises, walruses, white bears, and the various species of seals which frequent the northern parts of the bay, has been carried to New England, and small quantities, principally of porpoise and seal oil, have from time to time been brought to London by the Hudson's Bay Company. The other exports from the bay have been as ye: but trifling. They embrace whalebone, feathers* quills, castoioim, lead ore, sawn lumber, ivory, tallow, isinglass, and skins of seals and porpoises. The fisheries proper, speaking of Hudson's Bay, have not yet been investigated. Both the Indians and Eskimo find a variety of fish for their own use, and fine salmon abound in the rivers of Hudson's Strait ; and from one or two of them a considerable number of barrels, in a salted oondi* tion, are exported every year. Waterfowl are very numerous on both sides of the bay, and larger game on the " barren grounds " in the northern parts, so that the natives, with prudence, may always have a plentiful supply of food. TtatreionroM of Hodaon's i<»y «ad Tertf. tory Ttttod and BMridMoOuii fanottMC •ipottcur* whalebone, feftttien,qaUlL oMtomm, laM on,aftwii lumber, Ivoty, taUow,iBiiiKt«is and ikins, beeideaMtted ialmoB. •M '4 .-'-1 ■'i '^^ m^ 1 I »vi Tha uioat la- »ortaatolUM ■nrfwDlopMl ■MoafcMw* UaHoaiiabw «« : W I Wo ObClMlM totbcwm- ■trMtioa of K 230 But perhaps the mont important of the undereloped reaoiiroes of the country oi-ound tlie bay are ika soil, timber, and minerals. To tho south and west of James's Bi%y, in the latitude of Devonshire and Comv.^^U, there is a large tract, in which much of the land is good and the climate sufficiently favourable for the successful proseou« tion of stock amd dairy farming. A strip of country along the cast side of James's Bay may also prove avail- able for these purposes. To the south-west of the wide part of the bay the country is well wooded, and although little or no rock comes to tho surface over an immense area, still neither the soil nor tho climate is suitable for carrying on agriculture as a principal occupation until wo have passed over more than half the distance to Lake Winnipeg. This region, however, offers no engineering difficulties to the construction of a railway from the sea- ooast to the better country beyond, and this, at present, is the most important point in reference to it. Some of the timber found in the country which sends its waters into James's Bay may prove to be of value for export. Among the kinds which it produces may be mentioned white, red, and pitch pinu, black and white spruce, balsam, larch, white cedar, and white birch. The numerous rivers converging towards the head of James's Bay offer facilities of " driving " timber to points at which it may be shipped by sea-going vessels. MlneralA In the Hudson's Bay Territory. Miaani to b« Minerals may, however, become in the future the rmoScMottb* greatest of the resources of Hudson's Bay. Little direct *"*■ search has as yet been made for the valuable minerals of these regions. I have, however, found a large deposit of rich ironstone on the Mottagami river, inexhaustible supplies of good manganiferons iron ore on the islands near the Eastmain coast, and promising quantities of galena around Richmond Gulf and also near Little Whale Biver, where a small amount had previously been known to exist. I have likewise noted traces of gold, silver, SSSoTBdMiaia. molybdenum, and copper. Lignite is met with on the •H ■ ^ ■• '• >■ •■"■ -l-T ■ »■ ■ rtr*-' '•H*' -«• * -(^[y^**" 281 MiHtinftbe, gypsum on the Moose, and petroIeam>beftring limeetone on the Abittihi river. Small quantities of anthracite and various ornamental stones, and rare minerals, have been met with in the course of my explorations. B'>ap8tono is abundant not far from Mosquito Bay, on tlie east side, and iron pyrites between Churchill and Marble Island, on the west. Good building stones, clays, and limestones exist on both sides of the bay. A cargo of mica is said to have been taken from Chesterfield Inlet to Now York, and valuable deposits of plumbago are reported to occur on the north side of Hudson's Strait. Some capitalists have applied to the Canadian Government for mining rights in the latter region. The New Importance of Hudson's Bay. Situated in the heart of North America, and possess- ing a seaport in the very centre of the continent, 1,500 miles nearer than Quebec to the fertile lands of the North-West Territories, Hudson's Bay now begins to possess a new interest, not only to the Canadians, but also to the people of Great Britain, from the fact that the future highway between the great North-West of the Dominion and Europe may pass through it. The possi- bility of this route being adopted for trade is not a new idea, and it bus frequently been suggested by far-seeing men in past years, and occasionally referred to in the newspapers. (The discovery of the extensive and enor- mously rich Goldfields m the Yukon basin adds a new and important interest to Hudson Bay as providing an almost direct route from England to the fai' North-west. B. J. D.) Sir J. H. Lefroy, t^resident of the Geographical Section of the British Association, in the able address which he delivered at the Swansea meeting (1880), said : " Hudson Bay itself cannot fail at no distant day to challenge more attention. York Factory, wiiioh is nearer Liverpool than New York, has been happily called by Professor H. Y. Hind the Archangel of the West." 1 HnANoo'i Pay now boglni'to fiOiiaAM » n«w ntcrHHt . . . tholiitiirehlgb- way bolwean the Groat North- Weak •nd Knropo ;<3 '■TlwAroIuuiMl ot the WmUr I '., j S ! 1'' i 1 ii 1^ North- Wi'Rt rapablo of bocciiniii,'; the creutost wheat- ueld in the world. The city of WlnnireR 800 miles nearer Liverpool vii Hodson'ri Uay thui by the St. lAwxenoe. A great and important saving to be effeetedby a Badson Bay route. A HudBon Bay loate to open up the fanning liuidaof the STW. Tenl- 232 Agricultural PosslbllitlM. It has been shown that the Canadian North-West Territorios, embracing hundreds of millions of acres of fine land, are capable of becoming the greatest wheatfield in the world. Tlie centre of this immense agricultural region lies to the north of the Saskatchewan. If we look at the map of the northern hemisphere we shall seo at e glance that the shortest route between these territories and England is through Hudson's Bay. Mr. Lindsay Bussell, the Surveyor- General of Canada, has recently made a close calculation of relative distances, and found that even the city of Winnipeg, which is near the south-eastern extremity of thesd territories, is at least 800 miles nearer to Liverpool by the Hudson's Bay route than by the St. Lawrence, while the difference in favour of the former will be increased continually as we advance northward into the interior. Advantage In Distance of the Hudson's Bay Route. The route from the North - West Territories to England, via Hudson's Bay, saves the whole distance between Winnipeg and Montreal. The distance to Liverpool by way of New York is still greater. The advantages of this short route over all others are so numerous that only a few of them can be referred to in this short paper. The grcf.t saving in distance represents an important economy in time and money, or in freight and passenger rates. If the grain, cattle, and other pro- ductions of the North- West Territories could reach an European market, only through Ontario and Quebec, or by way of New York, a large proportion of their value would necessarily be consumed by the long land carriage ; whereas, if they find an outlet at Churchill, there will be an average saving of 1,291 miles as compared with Montreal, and of upwards of 1,700 miles as compared with New York, and this without any increase in the length of the sea voyage. In effect, this will place a great part of the farming lands of our North- West Territories in as good a position in reg.iid to a seaport as i,i}«*,r.''i--' T 234 British Islands and our great and valuable territories in the interior of North America ; and it is very desirable » on national grounds, that it should be opened up. I I i R?-:"' n» IdM of ice AeatraetiTo to the n»Tlga'ioD of Hadson'i B»y dMtlued toprore ^*hfaiinifi>li Hudson's Bay open all th« yew. The adTftntaga n< • Hndson Bay sea-port over the St. Xtawxeooe. No Obstructions to Navigation. An impression has long prevailed that Hudson's Bay and Strait could not be navigated for the ordinary purposes of commerce on account of ice, but this idea is probably destined to prove chimerical. The occasion for testing the point has not hitherto arisen, and the fact that these waters have been successfully navigated by ordinary sailing vessels for 200 years, in order to secure what little trade the country afforded, indicates what may be expected from properly equipped steamships, so soon as the larger business of the future may require their services in this direction. The conditions of the sea-borne commerce of the North West, in relation to Hudson's Bay, will probably turn out to be similar to those of the rest of Canada with reference to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In both cases, everything must be done during the «ummer. Yet Hudson's Bay is, of course, open all the year round. No one would be likely to suppose that a sea of such extent, in the latitude of the British Islands, would ever freeze across. The Lower St. La\vrence is also partly open even in the middle of winter. But the difficulty in both cases is the impossibility of getting into harbours. A harbour such as that of Churchill on Hudson's Bay would have the advantage over Quebec or Montreal of communicating directly with the open sea, and hence in the autumn vessels would not be liable to be frozen in, as occasionally happens in the St. Lawrence. Hndsen's Bay ports open to BaTigation from middle of Joa* to end of Oetobwerery Period of Open Navigation in tlie Bay and Rivers. There has been some discussion as t'^ the length of time during which Hudson's Straii and Bay might be navigated each year, but there does not seem to be much evidence that the strait, any more than the bay, is closed ''"«■■ ' " — ■'•■^ ■ .w*'-'t'fl»rw,^ff(^>~" -"~ — ' i^ '"( 235 At any season. Its great width, depth, and strenf^th of the tides probably keep it open all winter. My own experience and that of many others lead me to believe that the climate generally of Hudson's Bay is much better than some writers have represented it to be. From all that I could learn or observe, it appears that the strait and bay may be navigated and the land approached by steamers daring an average of four and a half months each year, or from the middle of Juno to the end of October. The strait and bay could probably be navigated by steam vessels earlier than the middle of June, but nothing would be gained, except perhaps by whalers, in going in before an open harbour can be reached. I have a record of the principal phenomena of the ^'ll?'?^ seasons at Martin's Falls, on the Albany, extending op«inaT^»- through a period of fifty years, and from it I find that some of the the nver is open there on an average for six months of Kiveia. the year. I have also a record of dates of the opening and closing of Hayes Biver at York Factory, extending over more than fifty years, from which it appears to enjoy an average of fully six months of open water. The Nelson Biver is open for a longer period. I think, with these facts before us, we need not despair of successfully navigating Hudson|s Bay, as far as the length of the season is concerned. Even were the time of open navigation shorter than it is known to be, the very great benefits which the North-West and Canada generally would derive from possessing an outlet in that direction are sufficient to make it well worth an effort to open it. Economic Advantages of this Route to Europe. The freedom of Hudson's Strait and Bay from rocks, Narigatton of shoals, and other impediments to navigation will exempt exempt from vessels in that quarter of the globe from the heavy hoiueiiAud expenses for pilots, lighthouses, &c., which burden ° "••'■'•^ shipping by the St. Lawrence, and are even more onerous in some other parts of the world. The delays from drifting ice in the strait, which have occasionally occurred to sailing vessels, would not be experienced by steamships. ii -'Hi -ij.'isfc' ■■.*!"**■ ' i r I. TlMliienMAln laodTAfaiMln tteN.W.TeRi- lariMbyttw dMtlMfoatfl to Buope for nodoeUTU Bndtoii'iBaj. 236 We have seen that in proportion as we deoreaie the cost of transportation to a foreign market, we increase the home value of all kinds of farm produce, and conse- quently of the farm itself. Now, considering the vast extent of fine land to be affected by the opening of the route above referred to, if the value of each acre of it were enhanced in this way by only a few shillings, the aggregate increase would amount to more than a hundred million of dollars. Such a gam as this, together with the various other great advantages which, as we have seen, may be derived from the opening of this new ocean route, will, I think, sufficiently illustrate the oommeroial importance of Hudson's Bay. -^ It! t ! BnOMD't Bay Oo. bftTe been iMTitatlag«he TMOS. Anuurralloui fMOVdl Record off Wrecks In Hudson's Bay; Only One In 374 Years. Dr. Bobert Bell obtained from the Company's officeSi in London, a record, which, printed in his report, shows the date of airiving and sailing of their vessels at York Factory for 93 years, and at Moose Fort for 147 years. !these lists show that in some years several vessels were sent in charge of British men-of-war, and there have been almost every year during the past two centuries ships of various classes and sizes, navigating the strait without loss, and it seems almost incredible that such a number of voyages could be made, extending over 874 years, without the loss of over one, or, as is claimed by some writers, two small sailing vessels. I ^ Important Evidence of the Bay's Navigation. Extracts from the Hudson Bay Committe«'s Report of 1884. No evidence has been given that goes to prove that Hudson's Strait and Bay proper ever freeze over, or tibat the ice met with in those waters is sufficient to prevent navigation at any time of the year. That, consequently, the period of navigation is defined by the time during which the ports, harbours, or roadsteads on the shores of the bay can be entered by vessels of a suitable description for such navigation. ,WW^iW«*»7*^ff!WJ5^/^'- v to ^nV 'i f" " I " '■" i ,.(W>. '' iVP J" 237 That, from the evidence adduced, it appears that hMboS?oi such ports or harbours are open, on an average, from SS^^ShPio four and a half to five months in each year to ordinary ^^ month* i vessels. That Hudson's Bay and Btrait appear, from all evidence taken, to be singularly free from obstruction to navigation in the shape of shoals or reefs ; and, during the period of open yreAet, from storms or fogs. .«» Section 27* Dangers of the Chilkati Taiya Chilkoot, and White Passes. W. OQILVIE, 1896. It is said by those familiar with the locality that the storms, which rage in the upper altitudes of the coast range during the gireater part of the time, from October to March are terrific. A man caught in one of them runs the risk of losing his life, unless he can reach shelter in a short time. During the summer there is nearly always a wind blowing from the sea up Chatham Strait {uxd Lynn Canal, which lie in almost a straight line with each other, and at the head of Lynn Canal are Chilkad and Chilkoot inlets. The distance from the coast down these channels to the open sea is about 380 miles. The mountains on each side of the water confine the currents of air, and deflect inclined currents in the direction of the axis of the channel, so that there is nearly always a strong wind blowing up the channel. Coming from the sea, this wind is heavily charged with moisture which IS precipitated when the air ciurent strikes the mountains and the fall of rain and snow is consequently very heavy. Tarrlflo ■tomu raminttw reiioBOf lh«M PMMf. %»!,4s.'j?r*?-*ti*?»^s^«'»^ 288 ;»^.tt»»J"*** In Chilkat Inlet there is not much shelter from the ttm south wind, which renders it nnsftte for ships oalung there. Captain Hunter told me that he would niber visit any other part of the coast than Ghilkat. In the summer months there is nearly always a wind blowing in from the coast; it blows down the lakes (Ldndeman, Bennett, etc.,) and produces quite a heavy swell. Extracts from Mr. H. de WINDT'8 Letter in the "Timet" of 28rd July, 1897. " The Chilkoot Pass is difficult, even dangerous, to those not possessed of steady nerves. Towards the summit there is a sheer ascent of 1,000 feet, where a slip would certainly be fatal. At this point a dense mist overtook us, but we reached Lake Lindemann — the first of a series of five lakes —in safety after a fatiguing tramp of fourteen consecutive hours through half-melted snow. Here we had to build our own boat, first felling the timber for the purpose. The journey down the lakes occupied ten days, four of which were passed in camp on Lake Bennett during a voilent storm which raised a heavy sea. The rapids followed. One of these latter, * The Grand Cauon,' is a mile long, and dashes through walls of rock from 60 feet to 100 feet high ; six miles below are the ' White Horse Bapids,' a name which many fatal accidents have converted into the ' Miner's Grave.' But snags and rocks are everywhere a fruitful source of danger on this river, and from this rapid, downward, scarcely a day passed that one did not see some cairn or woodon cross marking the last rest resting- place of some drowned pilgrim to the land of gold. " There is, however, •«. brighter side to this gloomy picture, for there are fortunately other approaches to the Yukon Valley besides the dreaded Chilkoot. The chain of mountains of which the latter forms a part Is cut by three other passes — ^The Taku, the Chilkat, and 1: 1. 1 The Chilkoot condenme4 lijrMr.de Windt, the ezploier. r IJ^: i'" ■ ■ Mr. d« Windt's oplaloiB of the Tuanmte is notsh«ndl>T Mr.OgUTle- fiMSMtlon9, PwtW. ' miMiipiiiam mpip mt "1 "" l i W w u i yiwun n HW ' > i j*' 'f . 'i f «< i"i »«T'i »V" ' »r<' i »>;■• 239 the White Pass. Of these the two former may be dis- missed as being, on account of their length and other difficulties, almost as impracticable as the Chilkoot, over which it would be quite impossible to lay a bridle path ; but the White Pass ofifors no serious obstacles to the construction of a railway. The White Pass is at least 1,000 feet lower than the Chilkoot, and, unUke the latter, is timbered the entire length. The salt water terminus of this pass is in Skagway Bay, 85 miles from Juneau. Here ocean steamers can ran up at all times to a wharf which has been constructed in a sheltered position, and there is an excellent town site with pro- tection from storms. The pass lies through a box canon surrounded by high granite peaks and is comparatively easy. It has already been used by miners who report very favourably upon the trail, and when it is con- sidered that the adoption of this route obviates the dangers and expenses of the Chilkoot, avoids Lakes Lindemann and Bennett (the stormiest and most perilous of the whole chain), shortens and greatly diminishes the expense of the journey to the Yukon Valley, and, above all, can be used throughout the year (the interior of Alaska is now completely cut oflf from ^^fff ^'°** the world for nine months in the year), there can be white i-mb. little reasonable doubt that the White Pass is the best rind most prajtioable route to the Yukon goldfields." 1' Interview with Mr. HARRY DE WINDT, "Strand Magazine," October, 1807. • " The tramp from Dyea to Sheep Camp, at the foot of the pass, can be avoided by riding, but the trail is terribly rough. At Sheep Camp we stopped fovir days, the Indians having struck for higher wages, which we were compelled to give them. Here we passed three parties of miners who were returning to Juneau, having failed through lack of provisions to reach the Lakes. A stiff dimb of two hours from Sheep Camp brought us to Stone House, the limit of the tree line ; and from here the hard work commenced in grim earnest. For the first mn^ 240 li. t few hourB, tho way lay over a suocession of snowy 'plateaus,' which, broken away beneath by numberless water-courses, formed a kind of crust 15 feet to 20 feel above the ground. The travelling here was extremely dangerous. There was absolutely no path or trail to guide one ; and huge crevasses, where the snow bad fallen in upon some roaring torrent, appeared here and there. There are seven or eight of these 'plateaus,' which increased in steepness until, midway up the lasi one, we were scrambling painfully up the slippery ice* slope on our hands and knees. Here a dense mist overtook us, and we lay shivering (at a very uncom* fortable angle) for three hours, until it cleared away and disclosed the rocky precipitous peak of the Chilkoot towering another thousand feet above us. The cold was intense, and we were not sorry to resume our journey. The last part of the ascent was terribly hard — in places literally perpendicular. There is no path of any kind, nor would it be possible to make one, for the rocks are loose and insecure, and the passage of a man will often dislodge a huge boulder, and send it crashing down, to the deadly peril of those below. The ascent of the peak occupied nearly three hours. There were two or three places where a slip must have meant certain death, notably one about thirty yards &om the summit, which we reached at about 5 a.m. " I have roughed it," said the explorer to me^ " for the past fifteen years in Siberia, in Borneo, and in Chinese Tartary, but I can safely describe that climb over the Chiluoot ac the severest physical experience of my life. A blinding snowstorm barred our way for nearly an hour, and we then descended a steep ice-slope of about 500 feet, which brought us to Crater Lake. From here, at 7 a.m., began an exhausting tramp through deep snow-drifts, gradually thawing to half* frozen slush, knee-deep, as we gained the lower ground. A rocky ridge of hills and three small streams were then crossed. One of the latter, swollen by recent rains, carried one of our party off his feet, but he was, with 11 -«-«»»r»r,4W !•«*■• 241 fome difBoulty, rescued. From 10 a.m. till midday, heavy and inoessant rain fell, but by 2 p.m. vre stood dead-beat, bleeding and exhausted (but safe), on the shores of Lake Lindemann, the journey having occupied nearly fifteen hours. Then we had to wait ten hours longer, drenched with rain and perspiration, and sick frith hunger, until the Indians came up with provisions." The head of Lake Lindemann, the first of a chain of five lakes, is about nine miles from the summit of the pass. If you think that, having regard to what you have already endured, all will now be plain sailing, you are greviously mistaken. Tou must build a boat here, eapable of carrying yourself and your stores hundreds of mUes across lakes and through rapids. It doesn't matter if you know nothing of boat-building; you mtut build Bome sort of boat or raft, or else turn back over the ftwful Chilcoot. " Where is the wood ? " you ask, in dismay. You have to fell the trees for it — aye, and travel miles to find a tree, so disafforested has this spot been by hundreds of eager gold-seekers. In your bag- gage should be not merely the tools for tree-felling and plank-sawing, but even the very pitch which is to caulk the seams of your crazy craft. Leaving the Lakes on June 26th, we entered tho Ijewes Biver, and next day reached the Grand Canon £apid, which is nearly a mile long, and dashes through perpendicular walls of rock from 50 feet to 100 feet high. The fall is 100 feet wide, and so swift, that the stream is 4 feet higher in the centre than at the sides t " Next we dashed down a perfect mill-race for six miles to the White Horse Bapids — a place so fatal as to hftve received the name of the ' Miner's Grave.' Not a day passed that we did not see a cairn, or a rude wooden eross, marking the last resting-place of some drowned pilgrim to the land of gold. At Fort Selkirk, the Lewes Biver down which we journeyed from the Lakes unites with the Felly, and the t'vo together form the giant Yukon, which has a cour<:e ot 2,0^4 miles. £ , ?l 242 "On the twenty-fifth day out from Junean W0 reaobed Forty Mile City." . Wto«' on General. UMtooxm known cf thla tarritorTttwn ofCentrnl Ao»> iMlUuid f I: t r 1 ■ , .■J ' ■ ■ I 1^ Extraot from the Summtpy of the Oommittee eppclnted to enquira into the reeouroee for the Qreat Mackenzie Buin. Your Committee (of the Senate of the Dominion), deairing to refer briefly to the evidence upon which they have based these conclusions, may explain that very f/arly in their investigations they became convinced that very little more was known of the Northern and Eastern portion of area committed to them for investi- gatiob than was known of the interior of Africa and Australia. A Yukon Outfit. FuoM Lugbin's Publication issued fbom the Offios OF THE AqENT-QeNEBAL FOB B.C., LONDON. 8 Sacks FIoui 160 lbs. Bacon 150 lbs. Split Peas 100 lbs. Beans 25 lbs. Evaporated Apples So lbs. Evaporated Peaches 25 lbs. Apricots 25 lbs. Butter 100 lbs. Granulated Sugar 1} doz. Condensed Milk 15 lbs. Cofiee 10 lbs. lea 1 lb. Pepper 10 lbs. Salt 8 lbs. Baking Powder 40 lbs. Boiled Oats or Oatmeal 2 doz. Yeast Cakes ( doz. 4 oz. Beef Extract 6 bars Castile Soap 6 bars Tar Soap 1 tin Matches 1 gal. Vinegar 1 box Candles 2o lbs. Evaporated Potatoes «-^!'' we uirt ion), they very that and resti- > and moB 243 ned 90 Ibi. Rio« 86 CknvM SMki 1 WMb B«iln 1 Medicine Gheit 1 Rubber Sheet 1 Mt Pftok Btmpt IPiok 1 Handle 1 Drift Plot 1 Hand'9 1 Sh0T*>l lOoldPaa 1 Axe 1 Whip Saw 1 Hand Saw 1 Jack Plane 1 Brace 4 Biti, assorted, 8/16 (o 1 in. 1 8-in. Mill File 1 6-ln. Mill File 1 Broad Hatohet 1 2-qt. Galv'd CoQee Fol 1 Fry Pan 1 Package Bivets 1 Draw Knife 8 Cov'd Pails, 4, 6, 8-qt. Qranite 1 Pi« PlaU 1 Knife and Fork 1 Granite Gap 1 each Tea and Table Spoon 1 14-in. Oranite Spoon 1 Tape Measure 1 Ifin. Cliisel 10 lbs. Oakum 10 lbs. Pitch 6 lbs. 90d. NaUs 5 lbs. lOd. Nails 6 lbs. 6d. Nails 900 feet g-in. Bop« 1 Single Block 1 Solder Outfit 1 Pair Rowlocks 1 14.qt. Oalvanized Pail 1 Granite Saucepan 8 lbs. Candle Wiok 1 Compass 1 Cwdle Stick 6 Towels 1 Axe Handle 1 Axe Stone 1 Emery Stone 1 Sheet-Iron Btove Some of the foregoitig articles are omitted by tomt miners, but the Dealers of Victoria or Vancouver may be safely trusted to advise intending travellers in the matter of outfits in all cases. Joe Ladtte*s food outfit for la montha. Mr. Joe Ladue (the pioneer and founder of Dawson •City) states in MeClure's Magazine for September, 1897:— " A year's supply of • grub,' which can be bought JiSSSSa' as cheaply in Juneau as anywhere, I think, is : 100 sacks ^^^^!i^» ot flour, 150 lbs. sugar, 100 lbs. bacon, 30 lbs. coffee, B 2 -c ''<« I % "i1 t ,1 i "M '■ ■•^'f f 'V --ne^rj'rti-.; •|.«f 244 lOlbi. teft, 100 lbs. beans, 60 lbs. oatmeal, 100 lbs. mixed traits, 20 lbs. salt, about 10 dollars wortb of apices and kniok-knacks, an«l some quinine to break up oolds. «< Tho total cost of this outfit is about 200 dollars, VO Bu ibonld Mtotta* ^th»n4ioo but no man should start with loss than 000 dollars, and " 'i?*'*'**"* twice that is ten times as good." Klondike Market Price*. July, 1897. u 1 .Vr rpiic OBtha Kloudrka dnrlngllM ■anun«tal Here is a list of prices which obtain at Elondyke just now : — Flour, per 100 lb. ... £2 10s. to £24 Beof, per lb. ... ... • • • 48. to 8s. Bacon, per lb. ... • • • Ss. 3d. Moose Hams, each ... • •• £6. Moose Hams, per lb ... • • • 6f. Bice, per lb. ... ... • • • 88. Tea, per lb. ... • •• 128. Coffee, per lb. ... ... • •• 9s. Butter, per lb. •>. • •• 10s. Eggs, per lb. ... ... • •• 128. Potatoes, per lb. ... • •• 10a. Tobacco, per lb. ... • • • 8e. Canned fruit, per oar I • •• 98. Coal oil, per gallon • •• ..• 10s. Lemons, each • • • ■ •• U. Oranges, each • • • • •• 9s. Liquors, per drink • • • • •• as. Miners' picks, each • •• • •• £18s. Shovels, each • • • £3 8s. to £3 12s. Shoes, per pair • • « £1 to £1 128. Bubber boots, per pair £2 88. to £3 128. ^ 248 .« Another TabU of Piic««. Here is another table which shows what it will oott £9*^.^^^ iraTtlliiic to reach the sold fields from New York : — JipantM. Fare from New York to Seattle via Northern Pacific, SSm oJ? **^ £iG 6b. s,"as*"^*" Kloadyk*i Fee for Pullman sleeper, £4 Ss. Fee for tourist sleeper, run only west of St. Paul, £1. Meals served in dining car for entire trip, £3 48. Meals are served at stations along the route a la carte. Distance from New York to Seattle, 8,290 milei. Days required to make the journey, about six. Fare for steamer from Seattle to Juneau, including cabin and meals, £?■ Days, Seattle to Juneau, about five. Number of miles from Seattle to Juneau, 730. Cost of living in Juneau, about 128. per day. Distance up Lynn Canal to Healey's Store, steam- boat, 76 miles. Number of days New York to Healey's Store, 13. Cost of complete outfit for overland journey, aboni £30. Cost of provisions for one year, about £40. Cost of dogs, sledge, and outfit, about £30. Steamer leaves Seattle once a week. Best time to start is early in the spring. Total cost of trip. New York to Elondyke, about £133 2s. Number of days required ior journey. New York to Elondyke, 36 to 40. Total distance, via Juneau, to the mines at ElondykOi 4,650 miles. 4 •■4 ■' "f \«! ■^ I 246 »■■' m «;:■• in eld modmk' '•outfit A Ught Weight Outfit. From "The Review of Reviews," IStii September, 1897. Joaqoin Miller, who may be regarded as an expert capable of reduoing his impedimenta to an irreducible minimum, carried with him the followmg kit :— " I have twenty pounds of bacon, twelve pounds of hard tack, half pound of tea. I have a heavy pah: of blankets, the heaviest; socks, underclothing, boots, a rubber blanket, a macintosh, a pound of assorted nails, one hundred feet of small rope, a sail and an axe. My pack is forty pounds all told. I have a pocket-knife and an iron cup, a thermometer and about 100 dollars. "I hope to build a raft, carry my own pack over all the places, and travel hastily on ahead and alone. You see, I have spent years alone in the mountains, and have been in almost all the * stampedes' for the last forty years, and know what I am about." If that be the minimum equipment for a forced march, here is what may be regarded as adequate provision for a well-to-do miner for twelve months in Elondyke. It is an interesting table of the needs of the civilised human when encamped on the rim of the Arctic Circle. The total cost of the outfit only comes to £41 : — It * I I r-. 1^ A twelve moattas* Ovtfit Pbovisions. — 75 pouiids granulated sugar, 1 dozen packages of beef extract, 10 pounds evaporated onions, 60 pounds evaporated potatoes, 50 pounds evaporated peaches, 10 pounds evaporated currants, 25 pounds salt, 25 pounds rcUed oats, 60 pounds oommeal, 200 pounds breakfast bacon, 50 pounds rice, 1 pound cayenne pepper, 1 pound black pepper, 1 caso condensed milk, 10 sacks flour, 1 bottle vinegar, 15 pounds dried beef, 1 case baking powder, 1 pound mustard, 1 1 )x candles, 1 can matches, 20 bars soap, crackers, Castile soap, 1 dozen small cheeses, 25 pounds spaghrvti, 15 poui^ds cofifee, 3 pounds tea, 100 pounds beans, 25 pounds of pitter* plums. Total cost of provisions at Seattle, £21. •247 "^?;*^r;' Clothino. — Three suits underwear, one undershirt, one Yukon blanket, one summer blanket, one dozen pairs socks, two pairs mittens, one cap, one bag, two overshirts, one jumper, one pair gum boot socks, two pairs rubber boots, two pairs leather shoes, hobnaileu. Total £15 6s. 4d. Tools and Cooking Utensils. — 40 pounds wire nails, 6 pounds pitch (for caulking boat), 1 whip saw, 1 caulking chisel, 2 pounds tallow (for caulking boat), 2 wedges, 1 handsaw, 250 feet |-inoh manilla rope, 1 compass, 1 knife and sheath, 1 pack strap, 1 brace, 1 Bhovei, 1 pick and handle, 2 buckets, 1 coffee-pot, hooks and lines, 1 stove, 1 piece sheet-iron, 1 revolver, belt and cartridges, 1 gold pan. Total £8 6s. Besides th^se supplies each traveller has a case of medicine that costs 38s. To get to Elondyke with supplies for a year it is estimated the miner should have a capital of from £200 to £250. ■..*a Fares and Time, Liverpool to the Klondyke. Time. — Liverpool to Montreal, about 10 days, Mon- ixeal to Victoria, 6 .days. Fabes. — Liverpool to Victoria (steam and rail), Ist, £24 12s. 7d. ; 2nd, £17 18s. 9d. ; 8rd, £15 IBs. 9d. The Canadian Pacific Navigation Company, bock passengers from Victoria (B.C.) right through to the gold-fields, via St. Miohaers, for £30 16s. 6d. Total cost, cheapest fare from Liverpool to Dawson City, £46 15s. 3d. Next year, 1898, fares from Victoria to the gold- fields will probably be much cheaper. The time from Victoria (B.C.) to the Yukon varies according to circumstances, 2 to 3 weeks. If by Bt. Michael's and the Yukon, according to delays at porta and on the river, and obstructions on the latter ; if over- land and by the Lewes Biver, according to luck and the individual. {See Sections 10, 18 and 27.) m 248 1 Row to obtain a clear title to a claim on the Klondyke. How a Miner "peg's out" on the Yukon. Mr. Joe Ladue states in McClure's Magazine tat September, 1897 :— This is how a miner is enabled to " read his titltf dear " to the patch of auriferous soil which he wishes to claim :— Claims have to be staked out, of course, according to the Canadian laws, which I think are clear and faix. The only fault I find with thorn is that they recognise no agreements that are not in writing. . . . All you have to do is to find gold, to which you must swear, then mark off about five hundred feet along the bed of the creek where no one has laid a claim, and stick up your stakes with your name on them, one at each corner of your land. Across the ends you blaze the trees. This r-one, you go to the registrar of claims, pay fifteen dollars, and, after a while, the surveyor will come along and make ift exact. 8i»KW»y, Brttlah or Amedoan? If I- TlM Aaglo-Bnnian omTMflon of UK. The BrltUh Columbia Boundary Queatlon. CapKalist, 2l8t October, 1897. It is contended on the British side that the head of the canal and the ports of Dyea and Skagway are in British territory, and this is stoutly denied by the Wash* ington Government. The United States purchased Alaska from Bussia in 1867, and the purchase, amongst other things, was sabjeot to the provisions of a boundary con- vention between Great Britain and Bussia made in 1825. The boundary between British and Bussian territory was then described as follows : Whenever the summits of the i;nountains, which extends parallel with the coast from 66 deg. N. latitude to the point of intersection of 141 deg. W. longitude, shall prove to be at a distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between ihe British possessions and the line of coast which is to belong to Bussia shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast, and which shall never exceed ten marine leagues therefrom. piUilf 1 1 1 iinnaMwy 249 If land The Interpretation of this danse is the nnt to be ^tracked between the two Govemments seventy-two years after the treaty was made. The Lynn ohannel is said to commence at least twenty leagues from the ocean. The United States claim the inlet to be the ocean, as it is borSSSnf npoa tidal salt water accessible without hindrance from the ^nSl&f*"''* sea. In pursuance of this contention the States have esttiblished custom houses at D>ea and Skagway, which on the other side are claimed to be in British territory because the Lynn channel cannot be considered as ocean at all. The United States have secured possession, which is held to be equal to nine points of the law, and from the point of view of to-day there is the prospect of a haggling for compromise. Important, concemlng OutfltA. Mr. Boger Pocock, in writing from Victoria (B.C.), io Lloyd's Weekly of 7th November, 1897, states : — I do know something, at least, about outfitting for Alaska, British Columbia, and the Territories, having travelled for years in these regions, gaining experience which may be useful to next year's crop of viotiiFS. If yon are going to the Yukon do not outfit in Lon- don. A few things you may get there which will be osefnl: — Pocket medicine case full of concentrated drugs and JDStnmients of minor surgery. " The Ship Captain's Medical Ouide." Three-cornered needles — ** surgeon's," *• glover's," ■** sailmaker's " ; sheath knife, flexible with wooden handle, patent buttons, wax end, wax, thread, &o., underdo thss, and toilet-gear. For salmon — a gaff head. £'or trout — common tackle. Western fish despise lancy flies. For meat — a rifle, '45 calibre. Weapons are not carried on the Klondike. ■■^& ■■S. ■M •^ 4 "3 ■'ir*'**^!!'^** ■' 250 .V' It is in Canada, and the Mounted Police ran that- department. Winter clothes get in Winnipeg. Gloves are dangerous. Use mitts, and have a pair or two of guantlet wrists flexible to sew on to them. Mitts and foot gear should be of ample size, and the supply generous. Snow goggles are necessary in spring. A fur coat should have an eight-inch collar, and not reach below the knee. The parka of the Esquimaux and the fur trowsers might be got in London, and are both ex- cellent. A fur cap and a large light fur robe for bedding will be useful. All very expensive. Pur boots are the best foot gear, but take also Canadian mocassins and shoe- packs. Snowshoes should be narrow — Pacific coast or Arctic pattern. Summer gear.— The English oilskin suit and sou'- wester — seaman's pattern — is best ; do not get officers' oilskin coats, which are too long. For the rest the dealers in Victoria, B.C., are old miners of large experience, and their advice is worth- taking. Long-legged rubber boots are for river work, but be- ware of those with linings, which are useless. In wearing them put on dry socks after every meal, which will save your feet from getting tender. Hang the boots by the tops at night to dry. I prefer myself a long-legged leather boot, well oiled, because it does not wear out in a week at the ankles. The tops should be of rather light leather, narrow at the ankles, close up the leg, the sole broad with nails, the heel very low and large, the counter built up stiff, and fitting exactly over the heel. The Bussian nr.cional boot is best of all ; the English makes are useless, and pitifully bad ; the American fair. The English hobnailed highlow is good for mountain work,, but bad in the wet climate of the Upper Yukon. . "1^0^'' 251 The best clothes are Americ.i.n duok overalls, but a suit of Mackinaw, as used by lumbermen, should be taken also. The hat should shelter the eyes. Take the best mosquito netting, and plenty of it, also long-wristed gloves. The Yukon and Lapland are the worst mosquito countries known. Get large grey double blankets and a waterproof sheet to roll them in; an oil canvas sack for clothes. Leave all linen and fine apparel behind. "Weight from 100 lbs. ; cost, without furs, from £20. Camp outfit for a party, buy in Canada. An "A" tent, waterproof and strong, but light, col- lapsible sheet-iron stove, with telescope pipe, frying pans, camp kettles, buckets, &o., table ware of galvanised iron. Weight from 30 lbs. ; cost from £5. MiMma Outfit. — Canadian axe, with spare helves, long-handled shovel, pick, and steel gold pan. Boat Buildinq Outfit. — Five pound 2-in. and 4-in. wire nails, 5 lb. pitch, 3 lb. oakum, two large files, hammer, brace and bit, large whipsaw, 50 ft. f-in rope, draw knife, chisel, sail canvas, sail needles, wax-end, a block or two. Total weight, 701b. ; cost £10. Provisions. — Under current conditions no man is allowed to enter the countrj- without a supply for one year. Add 1 lb. citric acid as a light substitute for lime juice (five grains dissolved in water makes a most refresh- ing drink), and 100 lb. dried fruit and vegetables. Scurvy is prevalent from bad living. Matches should be in tin with waterproof wrapping. All perishable goods shonld be in oilskin sacks. Bags are easier to handle than boxes. -1 £30. Weight of year's supply, 1,500 lb. ; cost in Canada, 1 J! • 0% 2o2 HlnU to the Mining Novice. Here — says the Calgary Herald oi September 16th (1897)— are a few hints for the tenderfoot who does not know dolomite from a mule tract, and who may go prospecting in the Yukon. This practical advice will be valuable to some and interesting to many. The great majority of the men rushing to the Clondike are tenderfeet. They have never seen a gold mine, and their comprehension of what is a gold mine is derived from a perusal of the flotsam and jetsam of the daily press, says the Vaticouver World. Few of them go prepared to buy claims already opened, and must locate claims for themselves. Brainladen with absurd ideas as to the origin of the gold, and ignorant of the natural laws of its distribution, confronted in the country with the severest physical conditions under which gold mining is followed anywhere, it is impossible but that there should be many disappointments before a sufQcient number of successes shall have come to accumulate the needed experience. On the ground, and presuming all of the possible ground of the Clondike placers already appropriated, the attention of the miner should be first given to unproven possible ground in the valleys of streams adjacent to those in which gold has already been found and to the valleys and streams which head in the same hills or mountains as do those known gold-bearing streams. It is possible for the lode system which has enriched one stream to have been cut by the drainage basin of another, so that it has enriched them as well. In the Yukon, as elsewhere, the mountain uplifts have resulted in forming fissured and fractured zones in rooks which have filled with gold ores. These, if on one side of a mountain, are apt to be duplicated on the other, ant* though neither can be seen, both can be inferred fron. the discovery of gold on one side of the drainage. It is justified to look on the other side as well. 253 Ab an additional guide, the gravel rook fragments in the gold-bearing stream should be compared with that being prospected. If the two contain identical rocks, and particularly if they both contain quartz, diorite, diabase or porphyry pebbles, it is worth the chance to extend the prospecting even if the first efforts discloso no gold. When gold is found in several claims in the same valley, the direction of the line of deposit should be noted and the first prospecting should be done in that line as being the most probable one for the placer. ;.f The gold produced by the several claims going up stream should be compared, both in total quantity and size of grains. With the data of this comparison it is possible to reason out the locus of the richest ground, and also to know when the lode source of the gold is being approached. Coarse gold, gold with attached quartz fragments and rough gold, all indicate that the source is comparatively close at hand — that a point is being reached boyond which there will bo no placer. The Bussians, in their mining of the Siberian placers, failed generally to recognise the lode source of the gold, and in many instances carried their prospecting for placers miles up stream beyond the lodes from which the gold came. There. is no reason for Canadian miners making the same mistake. Another indication of nearness to lodes is the presence of rough fragments of pyrite, chalcopyrite or galena. Even if these last do not lead to gold bearing lodes, they may lead to valuable lodes of copper or lead. Generally, anything heavy that is found in the mining should be determined. Silver, quicksilver, tin and nickel ores and platinum are all worth considering, even in the Yukon. The possibility of their occurrence should not be lost sight of, the more particularly as the discovery is only to be made by following up the stream indications. The covering of snow over the surface for seven months of the year, the covering of moss for the other i ■ * 4 '4 " y^^t I 2o4 five months, precludes the possibility of prospecting by the ordinary surface methods. Where it is necessary to prospect without the guide of disoo/eries already made adjacent, almost total dependence must be made on the character of the pebbles in the gravels uncovered in prospecting. If much quartz, he found, even though no gold at first, it is advisable to cover the possible ground for a placer pretty thoroughly before abandoning it finally. As a general proposition, it will prove very advan- tageous for a dozen or more miners to oo>operate in making a systematic exploration of unknown ground. Work can be done cheaper, faster and surer than by the same men acting independently. Go-operation admits of increasing the tool outfit by a blacksmith shop and drill outfit. Powder can be used and the prospect holes sunk through the frozen ground much faster than by fire. Prospecting can be spread over a much larger area by co-operation than by the same men acting each for himself. Co-operating, once the gold is found, the whole company are in a position to intelligently secure a valuable claim for each member and to get the claims so connected that they can be economically exploited as one property. It must be remembered that the present cumbersome method of exploitation will soon be replaced by quicker and better ones, admitting of the profitable working of the ground now left unworked, and distinctly advan- tageous to large claims, compared with small ones. Condeiuied Poods for the Par N.W. Territories. Now, what is wanted — says the Calgary Herald, of September 16th (1897) — is food in such a condensed form that the equivalent in nourishment to 1,800 pounds in bulk may be so reduced in weight that a man can carry it on his back. >1[SIIJ)5J!|Wf?7' 255 Boienoe has done a great deal towards accomplishing this. The armies of the United States, England, France, and Germany, in thehr "emergency rations," have accomplished marvels in the matter of condensation. The U. S. War Department has proved it possible to condense a loaf of bread into a space no larger than a pack of fire crackers, a pound of beef into a hard chunk an inch or 80 square, a cup of coffee into a cough lozenge and a quart of soup into an oblong package of about two cubic inches. The food is all there, all its nutritive elements preserved. Here is a partial list of thmgs that might interest the Glondiker, and which Calgary merchants should carry in stock : — Saccharine, a coal tar product put up in tiny tablets, 200 times as sweet as sugar. Pemmioan, a mixture of dried beef, fat and salt half a pound of which goes a long way. Dried mixed vegetables, a French preparation of cabbages, turnips, beets and other things. One-tenth the original weight. Dessioated beef blocks, one ounce equal to five ounces of fresh beef. Dessicated soup, three ounces solid to a quart of water, with salt included. Beef tablets, two ounce size, containing most of the valuable elements of a pound of beef. Coffee lozenges, a half cup each, sugar included; tea ditto. Kola put up with chocolate in cakes is stimulating rather than nourishing. Malted nuts, a highly concentrated form of food, made digestible or said to be. -I t! *rt t 250 Lemon and Lime tablets, one, vest button size, to » glass of water. Fruit tablets of various other ~ U less valuable to the miner. • Celery tablets, an appetizer a man who digs for gold will hardly take except as a luxury. Strawberry tablets, useful mainly for flavouring. Dessicatod apples, poaches, pears, potatoes, turnips, onions, and other things — generally al)out one-tentlt weight. Olives, stoned and dessicatod, very nutritious, a recent Californian arrangement. Peanut meal, very light and nutritive, useful as a soup ingredient. Bean and pea soup packages, a compressed form of the most nutritive vegetables known, combined with soup stock. There are milk tablets which can be used, generally designed for convalescent diet, but available for general purposes, — the lactopeptines, or milk and pepsin in combination ; and the melted milk tablets which are already used as condensed luncheons by a few New York men — gold miners in the Wall Street canyon. A tin can about two and a half inches high and two inches and a quarter across contains the equivalent of several meals, if allowed to dissolve on iae tongue slowly. The British sailor is called a " Lime- juicer," because lime juice is served out to him on long cruises to prevent scurvy. This disease is the bane of Arctic explorers and the bugbear of Arctic miners. The Clondike man wants plenty of lime and lemon tablets. The Clondike man will do well to ctdtivate a sweet tooth, if he has it not, Sugar is one of the most conden- sible of foods, and is almost entirely a fuel, food and cheater of the cold. He wants oil also. He may think he doesn't, but he does. Just at this season oil doesn't appeal to a jaded palate, but the Clondike has a Bussian i f 267 ollmate, and in Bagsian towns poor people used to shin up tho lamp posts and drink all tho oil designod for lighting the Btreets, until the disoovery of petroleum enabled hard-hearted muuicipalitios to substitute a brand of illuminating fluid loss favoured by connoisseurs as a beverage. Nowadays, poor Russians vith long memories look wistfully up at the gas lumps, shaVe their heads, sigh, and curse the Government. The miner who wants to carry his own pack will have to live on nourishing soups and savoury stews a good deal of the time after reaching the Glondike. Most concentrated foods lose their fibre. There is nothing to chew on. Almost everything comes as a powder or a paste, and needs nothing but boiling water and an appetite to make a meal. One way to get along in the Glondike region with less food is to keep warm. This is generally managed by building one's t'abin right over his claim, and digging down through the frozen ground underneath. Here, in a great pit, sheltered from the wind, the miner works in a degree of discomfort, perhaps not greater than that of the Gonadian lumberman out of doors. It is a useful pointer that the lumberman's favorite diet is pork and beans, and that pea soup comes next in flavour. Th* Table off a Year's Pood. The accompanying table of a year's food, which may be carried into Glondike on a man's back, is based partly on Prof. W. O. Atwater's tables of food values and food T^ecuB, and upon the supposed strength of the various tablets and extracts. It is based also, in part, upon the U. S. Army Ration and other standard dietaries. It is not "guaranteed to give satisfaction," but it includes nothing that is not easily possible, and nothing which will not be one of the commonplaces of. modem life within a few years. Its total weight equivalent in ordinary food is only a little over 500 lbs., but the ingredients are carefully chosen to avoid waste. 8 ^ ^ ^ *-^'^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) Si ^ 4^ 1.0 I.I I 1.25 ut iL2 12.2 £ Itf 12.0 Ian ^1^ A '4<(V iff ^ f I 258 TiM CloBdik* Food Pmek. A Tear's ProTisions to be earned on Onmer's bMk. ARTICLE. War Bread .. B«ui and Pm TableU Weight Ibi. .. IS U Bm! , DeMioated U Poteloee and Mix«d YegeUblee ) .q DeMicated and Condensed ) Baooharine ^ MUkTableto t Coffee Tablets and Bacohanae . . 1 T "v Tablets with Saccharine 1 PMaaed Olives, stonelees, dessioatcd 8 Lemon and Lime Tablets, almost \ ^ pnteaoid / Malted Nuts and Nut Meal Celery Tablets Desslcated Fratti 8 Bait, included in most of the ) VbodTablete ( Total EQUIVALENT IN ORDBXABY FOOD. Bread 100 ( Dried Beans and Peas.. «. S5 ( Meat Soap Stook, *e 90 NedK of Beef, Boneless •• 80 Fresh Vegetables .. .. 100 Bogar SO ( Not an axaot agidT|^ent ot- 1 ^ .. 10 4 dinary canned Milk . . Coffee Tea Ordinary Olive M Lemons and Joioe In bottlM, . 00 Ordinary Nut Meats Celery . . Canned Fraitfl .. 10 If .. 09} Total .« 810 These tablets with the new silk rubber suit of clothing, invented by a man in Eokomo, Ind., which is as light as air and warm as buffalo robes, simplify the problem of the argonauts. This new garment is said to be quite impervious to wind and water ; to be so firm of texture that it will never wear out ; and to render the conventional suit of clothes necessary only as a concession to established custom. Termination of the Hudson Bay Company's Charter. Thus the Company's privileges {the Hudson Bay Company) remained unchallenged till the year 1869, when the monopoly was declared illegal. But there still remained certain rights, or at least claims and vested interests, which, however, were all surrendered in 1869 to the newly constituted Dominion of Canada. On this occasion a very profitable arrangement was made, by which the company gave up all its shadowy privileges in return for an indemnity of about £300,000, and an abscrfote grant of 7,000,000 acres in the most fertile part of tke territory. It was also agreed that tiiev should retain possession of all their " forts," or trading stations, . with a space of 60 acres round each enclosure. By these negotiations all danger of future litigation was avoided, widle hundreds of millions of acres of magcMcent aral>1e land (Muritoba, AssinSboia, 9to.) were immediately thrown open for free trade and settlement, and «re now traversed by the Canadian Pacific trunk line of railway. (The Early Chartered Companies, by Causton Si Keane, p. 190.) ibiiok. SQIillY FOOD. Ibi. .. 100 I.. .. 86 .. 90 >• .. 80 •• .. 100 • •60 • • 10 • • • • 4 • • M botUM.. 60 10 I •* Sll ling, invented >rm as buffalo »w garment is nn of texture itional suit of om. rter. •y Company) lonopoly was i, or at least irrendered in a made, by n return for of 7,000,000 agreed (hat ing stations, . ne^tiations of millions , *o.) were nd are now (The Early APPENDIX. The 1896 CMm 6tli) Report of the Ontario Qureau ef Mlaes. As the Ziondon Market is said to be preparing f >* a Canadian boom In the Spring, a short vaferenoe to this report should not he inappropriate. The most prominent feature in the matter of statistics is that which illustrates the progiess which gold-miniiig i» malting in tlie Provinoa. The statiflties for the past five years are as follows :— BCHXDULS. 1893. 1898. 1894. 1895. 1896. Mines worked . . 9 16 4 8 8 Men above gronnd 86 ua 40 IM 158 Mon under ground 40 66 53 Ul 86 Ore Treated (tons) 8,710 6.560 2,438 6.500 13,292 Gold product (os.) a • 1,695 8,032 8,080 7,154 Oold value (f ) . . 86,900 32,960 82,T76 60,781 121,848 Wagespaidforlaboor (I) 22,760 49,027 38,082 56,384 91,210 A oorious feature of the above table (the " Finanoial 27ews " points out) is that with 46 additional men employed in 1686 the gold output considerably more than doubled in value. At the name time, 337 men in 1806 oost la wages 191,810, although 189 in 1895 only oost 156,234 — which appears to indicate that wages are ou au aiMsending scale. The average product of the ore was 99.16 per ton, as nraoh ** lean " ore was treated, owing to lack of development work. The Mikado, of Shoal Lake, is stated to have given the best results yet obtained m the lake of the Woods region, being an average of 3.26 oz., or 148.94 per ton from a run of 297 tons treated at the reduction works at Bat Portage. This is a very handsome yield, but the report does not state whether the ore was picked or sent at random. The total number of stamps in operation last I ear was 45, but with new mills in course of construction puv additions to one or two of the old ones, it was believed that 130 stamps would be dropping ttefore the end of 1897. The foregoing table takes no acoonn^ of development work going on at mines which are not yet at the crushing stage ; but it appears that muoh capital and labour have been expended ou this proving and developing of gold properties. Until raoently very few oompanies had beaa organised in the Province of Ontario to carry on mining operations. SooM were working under foreign charters, but of these the amnbar aetually S 'i . I 41 H i 260 !?W" li engaged in tho industry did not exoeod bftlf-a-doaen. In 1894— the flrat year \vLirh mining corporationR wore ompowerod to boU stock at any fixed price above or bolow par (issuing shares at a discount in this country is illegal)— only five cliarters were granted under the Ontario Joint-Stock Companies Acts, and the aggregate o their authorised Capital was only 92,170,000. Under the same Act, in 1896 the number formed was 22, with an authorised capital of $12,775,000 and uhe charters to 12 of theue, representing an aggregate capital of 99,475,000 were granted during the months of November and December. In the first quarter of 1807 howovert th( record of 1806 has been far surpassed, 33 mining companies having been organiiMsd and chartered, with a total authorised capital of 922,666,000. These facts furnish clear evidence of tha advance that has been made in the mining affairs of the province and of preparation for greater activity in the near future. Dis:e5t of that portion referring to Mineral Wealth of tho i8th Annual Report (1896-97) of the British Columbia Board of Trade. Though the Yukon Qold discoveries have diverted attention from the Mines of British Columbia, the facts brought forward in this report prove that those who ignore the mining prospects of this Province for those wider afield and less certain will doubtless have occasion to remember the imprudence of forsaking the substance for the shadow. Take, for instance, tho great and increasing value of the mineral production since 1890, carefully prepared by the very competent Mineralogist of this richly- endowed province: — 1894 94,226,717 1896 95,666,803 1896 97.146,425 1890 92,608,608 1891 93,546,702 1892 93,071,971 1898 93,588,413 The output of the mines in Kootenay during 1896 nearly doubled that of the previous year. In the Trail sub-division over 175 claims are being worked, and five have developed into mines from which regular shipments of ore are made. Some fifty mines are also in constant operation in the Slocan district, these yielding a galena containing on the average 117 ounces of silver per ton, and 62 per cent, of load. The mines, it is computed, yielded the owners a net profit in 1896 of 975 per ton. In the districts of Bossland, Kootenay, and Cariboo large sums are being expended in mining works, principally hydraulic ; but though these districts furnish evidence of great mineral wealth, the veins carrying either silver-galena or copper-gold ores, the great ojst of transportation, sixty or more miles by waggon, has retardec* their development. I ^ 261 It doM not tppMr Uut BriU«h ColumbU u rich In alluvial goU, tb« IgoAiions b«ijif invariably maUUio lod«« with imelting ON*, in wUoh gold is aawoiated with copper and ailv«r with IohJ. Onat eflortt, hower^r, are being made to reach the bottom of deep channels of creeks, the nurfaoe of which were worked some thirty years since. The bottomH are now being reached by shafts and tunnels. Bedrock in the channel is ascertained to be 100 ft. from the surface of the ground, but in ordci to reach it it ban been found nocoRsary to sink and run about 1,500 ft. of shafts and tonneliu A theory has latoly boon evolved that the earlier waterways of Cariboo were different from those which now exist. TUa has led to prospecting in what are believed to be dry beds of former rivers and creeks, and it is reported that immense quantities of gold-bearing gravel have been located. Inuoediately north of Cariboo is the district of Oassiar, an immense country, very little prospected. Several of the water- ways have afforded rich placer diggings. The Columbian Board of Trade also calls attention to the great value of the iron deposits of British Columbia. The output of coal during 1896 was 846,a'l5 tons; 1,666 tons of coke were produced additional. Another New Qold-field in BritUh Columbia. ^ " The Standard " (London) of January Ist, this year, contains % lengthy report of a remarkably rich and extensive discovery of gold-bearing country in the Omenioa district in the extreme north- west of the Province. The discovery was made by Mr. G. D. Wells, Mining Recorder for thd Omenioa division of the Oassiar district, along with two companions, Messrs. May and Lyon. " The Standard" Correspondent obtained the news directly from Mr. Wells, who states that Omenica will surpass the great placers of the Yukon. At present the returns run from 11 to 11^ to the pan. There is a depth of 8 ft. of looso gravel, which pays about 120 a day per man. The gold is veiy coarse, nuggets going in many oases as high as 120 in value. Mr. Wells says that the dirt will yield |4| dollars per cubic yard. *'Thare is gold everywhere," Mr. Wells said to "The Stsndard" Correspondent. " We found traces of it in every creek along every gully and hollow. It runs in a broad belt all the way from the Kootenays in the South, right through British Columbia, the Maokensie and Yukon Basins , to the Arctic Ocean. Bosides the rich placer I have found a rich lode of free milling quarts. At Kisangaa, Omenioa, several enormously rich strikes have been made, tome numing aa high as 1120 to the ton; every creek in the oountty bears gold in paying quantities, some that will yield rich fortunes to the luchy miners. Over on Vital Greek Het rommer. 262 « Chinese 0>inpAay took out #10,000 worth of pure gold by th« moat primitiTO methods of washing (Chmese are debarred by law in the Dominion from operating in underground workings). Vital Ctook lii on^y IU5 miles from Hanxlton, on the Skeena River, a port cf call for all Hteamera from Victoria." Mr. Wells produced rich sampHes of gold-studded quarts, and alno samploH of asbestos, of which, he stated, t.he country is very rich. The Omenloa is a wild, rugged, forbidding region— & sea of mountains. Travelling iv extremely difficult, owing to the dens* forests and roughness of the mountain ranges. The climate is sub- arctic, in winter registering 5<) to 60 degrees below eero. The routes to the district are along the Skeena, or up th« Eraser (on to the Parsnip) Rivers from tlie west coast or along the Peace River from Kdmonton in the south-east. The Omenicft district is on the headwaters of the Peace River. Customs Restrictlon5. The Board of Trade (B.C.) has issued a report containing information upon outfitting for the Yukon. Attention is called to the fact that goods purchased in any country than in Canada must pay an average of 35 per cent. Customs duty when entering the British- Yukon. On the other hand it must be pointed out that the Deputy- Collector of Customs at Skagway and Dyca has ruled that goods purchased in Canada and brought through theae United States ports, must either pay duty or |6 a day to an official to accompany travellers to the international (?) boundary. Projected Railway Routes to the Yukon. From "Canadian Gazette," November 23rd, 1897. It is interesting to note the number of railways that have been projected to reach the Klondike, or, at any rate, to facilitate travel in that direction. How many and which of them will bs actually constructed is another question. Here is the list : — Skagway and White Pass to Lake Bennett, 50 miles. Chilkat Pass, Lynn Canal to Lake Arkell, 160 mile*. Taku Inlet to Lake Teslin, 162 miles. Ohilkoot Pass, from Dyea, Railway and Tramway, 16 miles. Alaska Central Railway, Copper River to Klondike, 400 miles. Stikeen Biver, Telegraph Creek to Lake Teslin, 185 miles. North-WesterL. Transportation Company's projected road over part of the E dxaonton Bonte, 100 miles. m< ty the VltAl aport K, »nd I very lea of d«nM IBUb* p the g the «niM Inlng ed to maat the uty- oods »tM •any ave ate be 263 Short cut to the Yukon. AH ALTERNATIVE 8TIKINE ROUTE. " Financial Newt," 8rd January, 1688. It Ib stated that the all-Oanadian route vi4 the Siiokeen lUver, has, by a rooent disoovory, been considerably shortened. It has been proved that instead of following the Dease Lalie (or the old Oassiar) trail, a cat-off can be made by proceeding up the Telegraph Creek trail to the Ilootalinqua and following that river to tlie Hudson's Bny post at Agnell's Mountain, tbonoo along the Sbesli River on tho ice to the main Taku River. Continuing along the Taku north, a branch of the Nahlin River is reached. From tbifi point five miles laud travel is all that intervenes between tho headwaters of the Tes'in Lake, which, of course, is practically the headwaters of the Yukon River. This route reduces the total diiitanoe from Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake to 190 miles, as follows : — Telegraph Creek to Hudson's Bay Post . . . . 40 Hudson's Bay Post to Shesli River 60 Taku to Nahlin River 3fi Portage 6 Total 180 This is mostly ice travel, and it is claimed that it will be found to be the best available winter route. Yukon amended Mining; Reg:ulations. Through neuter's Agency, Ottawa, January 17th, 1898. The Government has adopted amended regulations regarding placer miniiig in the Yukon district. Every miner and the employi of every miner, must take out a miner's certificate, the fee for which will bo 10 dols., and in the case of a company 60 or 100 dols., according to the amount of capital stock. The miner's license con- fers the right to mine, fish, hunt and cut timber. The general etn of mining claims is 260 feet, and of discoverer's claiir.B 600 feet. Every alternate ten claims are reserved by the Government. Subaqueous mining leases will be issued in five mile sections, at a fee of 100 dols. per mile per annum, and the usual royalty. The tee for recording and ronevTing mining claims is 16 dols. Five miners working more than 100 miles distant from the office of the leoorder may appoint a recorder to record the claims. A royalty of 10 per cent, on the gold mined will be collected by the Govern* ment, but provision will be made for the exemption on the annual product of any mining claim up to 3,600 dols., so that claims which do not produce more than 3,600 dols. a year will not be liable for royalty. '^^ '""'f^ 264 P4'- ProTiiioni will b« iiud« ko prevont ipMuUklon in oUlma bjr tlirowing » olftiiD op«n to entry which hM not bfton workod for » oertftln numbM o( d*jt. «nlM« r>Ma»»Ht ww u w be nhown to account for ik. . 'ExtracU from R«porU by U.S. iMlaiof and QMloglcal ExparU. Protauor V. S. Shalor, who la the beat living American authority on geology haa been telling hia claaaea at Harvard for the last twenty yean that the oomiog great diaooveriod of gold on this continont would be In Alaaka and the North -Weat. He explained that in the great extension of the Booky Mountain aystem to tha Nortii doabtless lay the mother vela, which aoooer or later would come to light. Profeaaor Shaler's propheey, based on aoientifla dedoaMoas, has oome true, and other aoieatists agree with him that the Alaskan ooontry oonlaina limitlesa poaaibiUties for the discovery of gold. Dr. W. H. Dael, of the Smithsonian Inatitutlon at Waahington, who haa tor years been regarded as the higheat authority on the Alaskan country, and who is a geologist of note, says he has no doubt of the truth of the ntoties told of the richnesH of the Yukon soil. ^'The gold-bearing belt of North- Western America," he says, " oontafns all the gold fields extending into Biitiah OolumUa and what is known as the North -West Territories and Alaska. Tha Yukon really runs along in that belu for five hundred or six hundred miles. Tlie bed of the main river is in the valley. The yellow metal is not found in paying quantities in the main river, but in tha small streams which out through the mountains on either side." George Frederick Wright, profeaaor of geology at Oberlin OoUege, thinks that the " mother lode " may be loolced for success* fuUj* in Alaska. In his opinion it axista somewhere up the streams on srhioh tba placer mines are foimd. The souroe of the Klondyka gold, he saya, is from the routh, and the gold was doubtless transported by glacier action. The Klondyko region is on the north side of the St. Ellas Alps, and the glaciers flowed both north and south from these summits. " Placer mines," says Professor Wtjght, " originate ixt the disintegration c f gold-bearing quarts veins, or mass like that at Juneau. Und(>r sub-aarial sgenoies these become dissolved. Then the glaciers transport the material as far as they go, when the floods of water carry it on still further. Gold, being heavier than tiie other materials associated with it* lodges In the crevices or in the rough places at the bottom of the strttams. So to speak, nature has stamped and ' panned ' tha gnural first and prepared the way for man to finish the woA. Tha * I am indttbted to Mr. Ironmonger Sola for tbeae estrMts. IS bj for* n to riMi loaa ttim fchig ined • the ould itifle that v«rjr [ton, the I no ikon »jr9, and rha red ow th« Un ISS- th od or ts ir. le 265 amount of gold found in th« placer minM \n evidence not lo much, porlupe, of a very rich vein an of the diiintegration of a very large vein, What the protpeotors have found point* to more. The un- explored region li immenie. The mountain! to the eouth are young, having been elevated very much lince the climax of the glacial period. With those discovnries and the suooess in introdu- cing reindeer, Alaska bids fair to support a population ovontually of •everal Kriliona." William Van fllooten, an eminent mining onginoer and metallurgist, sees in the roportH from the Klondyko indications of a more extraordinary depoHit of gold than that of California. He says : — " No such spcciUcally lar;i? «1 4i M 4 ■J 9 Si -^ 266 Pi of th« Mrios. In Um appor p«rt a few pUat ronulna were (oand, whioh ■linnet ihaA this porliou iit probably of OeToitlon ag*. ThM0 aiteracl NMluwDtery looka have been ahattered by vuloauio aoUon, anJ they are pUned by many dikee af atupUTe rook. Beitidee Um minor voloaaio digturbaooea, there have been okhen on a Ui|e ' il; whioh have resulted In tlie formation of ooutinuoiu rldgoa or mountain rangee. In thia pnxMHta of mountain Ixiilding the sedimentary rooka havo been subjeoted to such prouute and to ituch alteration from attendant forces that they have been nqueetod into the condition of aohiat, an \ often partly or wholly ory«tallLied, so thai their original oharoter has in Home cacMHcntin^ly disappaafed. In summarising, it may be said that the rooka of the gold belt of Alaaka eoMist largely of aedimontary beda older than the carbon- iferwM period ; that theee bedj have undvrgona oxtensivn alteration, and have been elevated into mountain ranges and out through by a variety of igneous rooks. ThRNighout theaa altered rooka tliere are found vaina of quarts often oarrying pyrite and gold. It appeara that theaa qoarta veina were formed during the disturbance attending the upHIt and alteration of the bods. Many of the veins have been cut, sheared and torn into fragments by the force that has transformed tha sedimentary rocks into crystalline schist; but there are others, containing gold, silver and copper, that have not been very much disturbed ur broken. These more oontinuous ore-bearing sones haw not the oharaotar of ordinary quarts veins, although th«y contain much aUioa. Instead of the usual whitti quarta veins, tha ore occurs in a sheared and altered sone of rock and gradually mn» out on both sidaa. So far as yet known, these continuous aonas of ore are of relatively low grade. Concerning tha veins of white quarts first mentioned, it is certain that most of them whioh contain gold oarry it only in small quantity, and yet some few are knowu to be very rich in places, and it is extremely probable that tliere are many in whioh tha whole of the ore is of oom* paratively high grade. No quarts or vein mining of any kind has yet been attempted in tha Yukon district, mainly on account of the difficulty with which supplies, machinery and labour can be obtained ; yet it is oertain that there is a vast quantity of gold in these rooks, muoh of which could be profitably extraoted under favourable oonditions. The general character of the rocks and of the ore deposits is eztiemaly li^e that of the gold-bearing formations along the southern coast of Alaska, in whioh the Tread well and other mines are situated, and it is probable that the richness of the Yukon rooks is appnucimatcly equal to that of the coast belt. It may be added that tha tesouroes of the coast belt have been only partially exploiad. t >and, MUio rook, n on Idlng id to MKOd Mfld. lit of rbon- by* irein» and «red th* fien, luch one* ihtj th* ran» of hiU ioh few kble ted ith is loh as. is he Iks 207 n«sk1flii the goM tennA in the rrV:i V \ 3 H A r W I'9 L A * o ^ I ^'ESTEILN CANA ALASKA ■iiowlaa tbv NERAL AREAS Hltrf ) THE YUKON GOLDFIELDS MMlM JTria. ' m M Ida ton .Dttimim tf CamaJa. Sj Uuiltd Slmui. — KnUti It 1*1 (M^f itdi. I'tvjertrd ^al/rMrt f/V., < .( -Kl I ( I .^Kifajr- r SPECIAL MAP ol BBmSH COLUMBIA ■howlnft the KLONDIKE. CARIBOO, KOOTENAY, AND OTHER QOLDFIELDa Scale of S'M'ui" 1* M « i'> i<. 12H i.EuHGE miur A s;* uIhj ^ I irxtKpooi. PBiLir AS!* u%i f i inLKPooi. / MAP ■howiag tltc CoantTf YVKOS & MACKENZIE RIVERS Oram latest official AoarccB d TftthfiijM^^n^sTTondjn To fate title pane.