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Explorer, Miner and Prospector -ix- U»' *^, pirornoBAMiKP kboji oirfe of tub attthoIi's NrooFT« MONTREAL JOHN LOVELL & SON. Publishers ip ■■ ■' -«*.^ *' * %. 23 e^ NIchotas Street ,f.,.' ■'. ■«..-..'•>, «'"-0. ^^V/'"";- •"■v.- *^"-'*x.* .f^HA-*'*' ■y'm^i V,. r ■♦ . _■/■» ■^f' ■'^•■^i fV BSSPaMiwt-i #, \( !««(« *|t^' m i yxfi.- ■%'5%.;-«^'-^;jtt w^ "*^ i* r . *«*"<,"» ^'-f >♦* 'i'\l '?*vV''. '•■ /^ ■ -«ssi?.-?sa-- -^ . * # KLONDIKE NUGGETS BKUIO A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE NEWLY DISCOVERED GOLD REGIONS OF THB NORTH WEST TERRITORIES AND AUSKA BT JOSEPH LADUE Author q^ '* KUmdyke Facta " and Founder of DaMtxm City, MONTREAL : JOHN LOVELL & SON, PUBLISHERS. ^^ 145770 Entei'ed aooordlng to Aot of Parliament of Canada, In the year one thousand eight bimdred and ninety -seyon by John Lovbll & Son in the office of the Minister of Agrioulture, / PREFACE. wnd eight e Mlaister The extraordinary excitement arising from the reports of the discovery of Gold in the Klondyke region in the great Canadian Northwest is not sur- prising to one who, through personal residence and practical experience, is thoroughly conversant with the locality. Having recently returned for a temporary stay after fx somewhat successful experience, I have re- ceived applications for information in numbers so great that it far exceeds my ability and the time at my disposal to make direct replies. I have therefore avranged with John Lovell & Son, 23 St. Nicholas Street, Montreal, for the issue of this brief description preparatory to the publication of my larger book, " Klondyke Facts," a book of 224 pagea^ with illustrations and maps, in which will be found a vast fund of practical information, statistics and all particulars sought for by those who intend emigrating to this wonderful country. It is well-nigh impossible to tell the truth of these recent discoveries of gold, but while I can only briefly describe the territory in this small work, it PRSFACE. facts as possible L7h ° "'^"tioned, as many upon, as^rom ;„ettT;r''7""^''''^ "^ -'i«^ those regions since 1882 "'" =«"«"'-o"«ly Joseph Ladue. lii <> ' •.. in KLONDYKE NUGGETS- CHAPTER I. KLONDYKE. Klondyke I The word and place that has startled the civilized world is to-day a series of thriving min- ing camps on the Yukon River and its tributaries in the Canadian Northwest Territories. Prior to August 24, 1890, this section of the coun- try had never been heard of. It was on this day that a man named Henderson discovered the first gold. On the first day of the following month the writer commenced erecting the first house in this region and called the place Dawson City, now the central point of the mining camps. Dawson City is now the most important point in the new mining regions. Its population in June, 1897, exceeded 4,000 ; by June next it cannot be less than 25,000. It has a saw-mill, stores, churches, of the Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Roman Catho- lic denominations. It is t^e headquarters of the 6 KLONDYKS NU0GET8. Canadian Northwest Mounted Police, arid ^rfcct law and order is Tnaintained. It is at Dawson City that the prosj)ector liles his claims with the Government Gold Commissioner, in the recording offices. Dawson City faces on one of the banks of the Yukon River, and now occupies about a mile of the bank. It is at the junction of the Klondyke River with the Yukon River. It is here where the most valuable mining claims are being operated on a scale of ])rofit that the world has hitherto nevjr known. The entire country surrounding is teeming with mineral wealth. Copper, silver and coal can be found in large quantities, but little or no attention is now being paid to these valuable minerals, as every one is en- gaged in gold-hunting and working the extraordinary placer nrLining claims alrea-dy located. The entire section is given up to placer mining. Very few claims had been filed for quartz mining. The fields of gold will not be exhausted in the near future. No man can tell what the end will be. From January to April, 1897, about $4,000,000 were taken out of the few placer claims then being worked. This was done in a territory not exceed- ing forty square miles. All these claims are located on Klondyke River and the little tributaries empty- ing into it, and the districts are known as Big Bonanza, Gold Bottom and Honker. I have asked old and experienced miners at Dawson, City who rained, through California in Bo- nanza days, and some w^ho mined in Australia, \vhat 5> d claims Jcl Forty I mining diggings. hie dig- Jgion as rich in 11 Northwest territory, which is under the Canadian Government. It is possible however that further discoveries will he made on American soil, but it is my opinion that the most valuable discoveries will be further east and south of the present claims, and would .idvise prospectors to work east and south of Klondyke. mineral coal it various iies. nly be n this f snow Arctic s past- ces in ^le no es re- i will that f has 1 the 12^ KLONDYKE FACTS, THE YUKON RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. • ** What the Amazon is to South America, the Mississippi to the central portion of the United States, the Yukon is to Alaska. It is a great inland highway, which will mako it possible for the explorer to penetrate the mysterious fast- nesses of that still unknown region. The Yukon has its source in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and the Coast Range Mountains in southeastern Alaska, about 125 miles from the city of Juneau, which is the present metropolis of Alaska. But it is only known as the Yukon River at the point where the Pelly River, the branch that heads in British Columbia, meets with the Lewes River, which heads in scatheastern Alaska. This point of con- fluence is at ^ort Selkirk, in the Northwest Territory, about 125 miles southeast of the Klondyke. The Yukon proper is 2,044 miles in length. From Fort Selkirk it flows northwest 400 miles, just touching the Arctic circle ; thence southward for a distance of 1,G00 miles, where it empties into Behring Sea. It drains more than 600,000 square miles of territory, and discharges one-third more water into Behring Sea than does tho Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. At its mouth it is sixty miles wide. About 1,500 miles inland it widens out from one to ten miles. A thousand islands send the channel in as many different directions. Only natives who are thoroughly familiar with the river are entrusted with the piloting of boats up the stream during the season of low water. Even at the season of high water it is still so shallow as not to be navigable anywhere by seagoing vessels, but only by flat- bottomed boats with a carrying capacity of four to five hundred tons. The draft of steamers on the Yukon ihonld not exceed three and a half feet. .} KLONDYKE FACTS. « ARIES. • ;he Mississippi the Yukon is Jch will make J^sterious fast- ^ukonhas its Columbia and Uaska, about the present ^ the Yukon branch that -^ewes River, point of con- st Territory, The Yukon t Selkirk it rctic circle ; es, where it han 600,000 ■third more Ppi into the miles wide, one to ten in as many thoroughly piloting of ter. Even as not to nlybyflat- nr to five le Yukon *' The Yukon district, which is within the jurisdictioh' of the Canadian Government and in which the bulk of the' gold has been found, has a total area, approximately, of 192,000 square miles, of which 150,768 square miles ard included in the watershed of the Yukon. Illustrating thie^* so that it may appeal with definiteness to the reader, itr may be said that this territory is greater by 71,100 square miles than the area of Great Britain, and is nearly three times that of all the New England States combined. *' A further fact must be borne in mind. The Yukon River is absolutely closed to navigation during the winter months, In the winter the frost-king asserts his dominion and locks up all approaches with impenetrable ice, and the summer is of the briefest. It endures only for twelve to fourteen weeks, from about the first of June to the middle of September. Then an unend^ ing panorama of extraordinary picturesqueness is unfolded to the voyager. The banks are fringed with flowers, carpeted with the all-pervading moss or tundra. Birds countless in numbers and of infinite variety in pluma^e^ sing out a welcome from every treetop. Pitch your tent where you will in midsummer, a bed of roses, a clump of poppies and a bunch of bluebells will adonn your camping. But high above this paradise of almost tropical exuberance giant glaciers sleep in the summit of the mountain waH> which rises up from a bed of roses. By September every- thing is changed. The bed of roses has disappeared be-^ fore the icy breath of the winter king, which sends the thermometer down sometimes to seventy degrees below freezing point. The birds fly to the southland and the bear to his sleeping chamber in the mountains. Every stream becomes a sheet of ice, mountain and valley alike are covered with snow till the following May. " That part of the basin of the Yukon in which gold in greater or less quantities has actually been found lies partly 14 KLONBYKE FACTS. ■ I'ii. In Alaska and partly in British territory. It covers an area of some 50,000 square miles. Bat so far the infinitely] rich^t spot lies some one hundred miles east of the American boundary, in the region drained by the Klondyke and its tributaries. This is some three hundred miles by river from Circle City. ^'* We have described some of the beauties of the Yukon b^in in the summer season, but this radiant picture has its obverse side. . V Horseflies, gnats and mosquitoes add to the joys of liv- ing throughout the entire length of the Yukon valley. The horsefly is larger and more poignantly assertive than the insect which we know by that name. In dressing or undressing, it has a pleasant habit of detecting any bare spot in the body and biting out a piece of flesh, leaving a w;Ound which a few days later looks like an incipient boil. Schwatka reports that one of his party, so bitten was com- pletely disabled for a week. ' At the moment of infliction.* he adds, ' it was hard to believe that one was not disabled f6r life.' .** The mosquitoes according to the same authority ar« equally distressing. They are especially fond of cattle, but 'without any reciprocity of affection. * According to the general terms of the survival of the fittest and the growth of muscles most used to the detriment of others,' says the lieutenant in an unusual burst of humor, ' a band of cattle inhabiting this district, in the far future, would be all tail and no body, unless the mosquitoes should experience a change of numbers.' " lam indebted to Wm. Ogilvie, Esq., for the following valuable information relative to The Yukon District. ** The Yukon District comprises, speaking generally, that piart of the Northwest Territories lying west of the water shed of the Mackenzie River ; most of it is drained by the Yukon River aod its tributaries. It covers a distance f y n^-'.-T?vr.'»rtti' KLOND YKE FA CTS, 15 -ft covers an areaP about 650 miles along the river from the coast range pl^ ^ar the infinitelj pountains. ' .' iles east of the I " In 1848 Campbell established Fort Selkirk at the cvmiu-! by the Klondike fcce of the Pelly and Lewes Rivers ; it was plundered and., nndred miles by lestroyed in 1853 by the Coast Indians, and only the ruinft ow exist of what was at one time the most important post f the Hudson's Bay Company to the west of the Rpcky ountains in the far north. In 1869 the Hudson's Bay ompany's officer was expelled from Fort Yukon by th© nited States Government, they having ascertained by as* ronomical observations that the post was not located iii British territory. The officer thereupon ascended the Porcupine to a point which was supposed to be within British jurisdiction, where he < stablished Rampart House ; but in 1890 Mr. J. H. Turner of the United States Coast Survey found it to be 20 miles within the lines of the United States. Consequently in 1891 the post was moved . 20 miles further up the river to be within British territory, . " The next people to enter the country for trading pur-^' poses were Messrs. Harper and McQuestion. They have been trading in the country since 1873 and have occupied numerous posts all along the river, the greater number of which have been abandoned. Mr. Harper is now located" as a trader at Fort Selkirk, with Mr. Joseph Ladue under the firm name of Harper & Ladue, and Mr. McQuestion is in the employ of the Alaska Commercial Company at Circle City, which is the distributing point for the vast regions surrounding Birch Creek, Alaska. In 1882 a, number of miners entered -the Yukon country by the, Taiya Pass ; it is still the only route used to any extent by the miners, and is shorter than the other passes though not the lowest. In 1883 Lieutenant Schwatka crossed this same pass and descended the Lewes and Yukon Rivers to the ocean. • ,•' The explorers found that in proximity to the boundarj/ es of the Yukon ant picture has the joys of liy. Yukon valley. ^ assertive than In dressing or cting any bare ^esh, leaving a incipient boil, 'tten was com- ' 0^ infliction.' « not disabled authority are nd of cattle, According to test and the t of others,' 'or, 'a band 'e, would be i experience e following 'trict. erally, that the water aed by the * distance tfi 16 XLONDTKE FACTS, >:i. ! ■', Une there existed extensive and valuable placer gold mines in which even then as many as three hundred minerl were at work. Mr. Ogilvie determined, by a series of lunai Qbeervations, the point at which the Yukon River is inJ tersected by the 141st meridian, and marked the same or the ground. He also determined and marked tlie point which the western affluent of the Yukon, known as Forty! Mile Creek, is crossed by the same meridian line, that point being situated at a distance) of about twenty-three miles from the mouth of the creek. This survey proved that the place which had been sele( I as the most con- venient, owing to the physical confoi i ation oi the region, from which to distribute the supplies imported for the various mining camps, and from which to conduct the other business incident to the mining operations— a place situate at the confluence of the Forty Mile Creek and the Yukon, and to which the name of Fort CudJiy has been given— is well within Canadian territory. The greater proportion of the mines then being worked Mr. Ogilvie found to be on the Canadian side of the international boundary line, but he reported the existence of some min- ing fields to the south, the exact position of which with respect to the boundary he did not have the opportunity to fix. . ... XT. "The numher of persons engaged in minmg m the locality, mentioned has steadily increased year by year since the date of Mr. Ogilvie's survey, and it is estimated that at tjie commencement of the past season not less than one thousand men were so employed. Incident to this mineral development there must follow a corresponding growth in thd volume of business of all descriptions, particularly the imp<>rtation of dutiable goods, and the occupation of tracts ctt the public lands for mining purposes which according to the mining regulations are subject to the payment of OfrMoi preeoribed dues and charges. The Alaska Com- KLONDYKE FACTS, 17 Pj»«er goldmine^ ^""^'•ed mineri f « series of Juna .^'O'J Itiyer is in ^^^J^e same on •^«d the point J knoHrn as Forty ^^;«» Jine, that' ' survejr proved t^e most con- ' "'^ t^e region, sorted for the ^conduct the tions~-a place f^^k and the ^«^y has been ^'he greater '^ternational ^^ some min- ^hich with opportunity ^^S in the ('year since ^ed that at than one IS mineral growth in "^toj the of tracts ecording ment of ■a Cozn- mercial Company, for many years snbseqnent to the retire- ment of the Hudson's Bay Company, had a practical I monopoly of the trade of the Yukon, carrying into the country and delivering 9,t various points along the river, without regard to the international boundary line or the customs laws and regulations of Canada, such articles of commerce as were required for the prosecution of the fur trade and latterly of placer mining, these being the only two existing industries. With the discovery of gold, how- ever, came the organization of a competing company known as the North American Transportation and Trading Com- pany, having its headquarters in Chicago and its chief trading and distributing post at C;udahy. This company has been engaged in this trade for over three years, and during the past season despatched two ocean steamers from San Francisco to St. Michael, at the mouth of the Yukon, the merchandise from which was, at the last men- tioned point, transhipped into river steamers and carried to points inland, but chiefly to the company's distributing centre within Canadian territory. Importations of con- siderable value, consisting of the immediately requisite supplies of the miners, and their tools, also reach the Canadian portion of the Yukon District from Juneau, in the United States, by way of the Taiya Inlet, the mountain passes, and the chain of waterways leading therefrom to Cudahy. Upon none of these importations had any duty been collected, except a sum of $3,248.80 paid to Inspector Constantino in 1894, by the North American Transporta- tion and Trading Company and others, and it is safe to conclude, especially when it is remembered that the coun- try produces none of the articles consumed within it ex- cept fresh meat, that a large revenue was being lost to the public exchequer under the then existing conditions.. " For the purpose of ascertaining officially and author-^ itatively the condition of affairs to which the correspond- m 18 KLONDYKE FACTS, 'I. ence referred to in the next preceding paragraph relates, the Honorable the President of the Privy Council, dur- ing the spring of 1894, despatched Inspector Charles Con- stantino, of the Northwest Mounted Police Force, accom- panied by Sergeant Brown, to Fort Cudahy and the mining camps in its vicinity. The report made by Mr. Constantino on his return, established the substantial accuracy of the representations already referred to. The value of the total output of gold for the season of 1894 he estimated at 1300,000. " The facts recited clearly establish— first, that the time had arrived when it became the duty of the Government of Canada to make more eflficient provision for the main-» tenance of order, the enforcement of the laws, and the administration of justice in the Yukon country, especially in that section of it in which placer mining for gold is be- ing prosecuted upon such an extensive scale, situated near to the boundary separating the Northwest Territories from the possessions of the United States in Alaska; and, second, that while such measures as were necessary to that end were called for in the interests of humanity, and par- ticularly for the security and safety of the lives and property of the Canadian subjects of Her Majesty resident in that country who are engaged in legitimate business pursuits, it was evident that the revenue justly due to the Govern- ment of Canada, under its customs, excise and land laws, and which would go a long way to pay the expenses of government, was being lost for the want of adequate machinery for its collection. "Accordingly in June last a detachment* of twenty members of the Mounted Police Force including officers ♦The detachment was made up as follows :—Inspector C. Con- stantine, Officer Commanding Yukon Detachment N. W. M. Police ; Inspector, D. A. E. Strickland ; Assistant Surgeon, A. E. Wills ; 2 Staff Sergeants ; 2 Corporals ; 13 Constables. ^^a^aph relates, y Coancil, dur' ^or Charles Con- ^e Force, accom- 'f^h and the t made by Mr. ,^^e substantial erred to. The ^on of 1894 he ' that the time e G^overnment for the main, »ws, and the 'ry, especiaiij '<^^ ^oJd is be- situated near ^ritories from ^aska; and, 'ssarytothat ty, and par, ^^ property ^ent in that 3 pursuits, ie Oovern, land laws, xpenses of adequate 'f twenty S officers >r C. Con. • W. AT. on, A. E, KLONDTKE FACTS. 10 ' waa detailed for service in that portion of the Northwest Territories. The officer in command, in addition to the magisterial and other duties he is required to perform by virtue of his office and under instructions from the Depart- ment of Mounted Police, was duly authorized to represent where necessary, and until other arrangements can be made, all the departments of the government having in- terests in that region. Particularly he is authorized to perform the duties of Dominion lands agent, collector of customs, and collector of inland revenue. At the same time instructions were given Mr. William Ogilvie, the sur- veyor referred to as having, with Dr. Dawson, been en- trusted with the conduct of the first government expedi- tion to the Yukon, to proceed again to that district for the purpose of continuing and extending the work of deter- mining the 141st meridian, of laying out building lots and mining claims, and gv;n rally of performing such duties as may be entrusted to him from time to time. Mr. Ogilvie's qualifications as a surveyor, and his previous experience as explorer of this section of the Northwest, peculiarly fit him for the task. " As it appears quite certain, from th report made by Mr. Ogilvie on his return to Ottawa, in 1889, and from the report of Mr. Constantino, that the operations of the miners are being conducted upon streams which have their sources in the United States Territory of Alaska, and flow into Canada on their way to join the Yukon, and as doubt- less some of the placer diggings under development are situated on the United States side of the boundary it is highly desirable, both for the purpose of settling definitely to which country any land occupied for mining or other purposes actually belongs, and in order that the jurisdic- tion of the courts and officers of the United States and Canada, for both civil and criminal purposes, may be estab- lished, that the determinatiou oi the 14l8t meridian west SLOlfDrxg FACTS V ^'^'i^ieh from the point of if. • . Yukon, aa marked by Mr Zi.l '"'^^'^''''on with the "derable distance aoutlTofth^n '" ^**^-««' ^"^ » con. «ome distance to thrllthouTdV"' ^°"""^ ""o ^o" onoe. Mr. Ogilvio's in^tZ I ^ Proceeded with at the aurvey wit'h a! on ^"•^"r '"'" '" ^° "" -"1 work may be effective for hoi '^ ',•''""" "^"'^ ""atthis m view the co-operation ohrGTvf ''""''" "'*''« "''J- States 18 necessary Cor^L . *'^"'"e»' «' the United 'he proper author tie^" 7?'"'"' '" ^''>^'^'' "-ro gh operation. It may be mitLr,^/""'""'"^ '"is eo »«rveyor has also determM Hh^ "' " ^"'""^ States Yukon River and Portv m.r ■ P"'"*' »' '^hich the 14<.t meridian." ^ ^'''' ^'^««'' «e intersected by the la 1< ' — mrh I ' ^1 St bi toi ersection with the fS7-88, for a con- possibly also fori proceeded with at KLONDTKE FACT8, 21 him to go on with ^» order that this »ent of the object »<= of the United progress through ^tHining this CO. United States at which the ter^ected by the CHAPTER 11. B0UTE8, DISTANCES, AND TRANSPORTATION. PTER considerable experience I have decided that the route for a man to take to the gold regions is from tie, Washington, to Juneau, Alaska, and then to Daw- City, by the pass and waterways, and T will therefore ribe this route more in detail than t:.ny of the others, an devoting a special chapter to the outfit for travellers, will therefore deal in this chapter with the route only, he traveller having paid his fare to Seattle should arrival there have not less than $500. This is the imum sum necessary to pay his fare from Seattle to neau, purchase his outfit and supplies for one year and his necessary expenses in the gold region for that length time. I think it deplorable that so many are starting at this time the gold-fields. I do not recommend starting before arch 15. I will return at that time to my claims on the londyke, if it were wise to go sooner, I should certainly The reason March 15 is best is that the season" is better len. If a man has only, say, $500 and wants to do his rn packing over the Taiya Pass, it gives him time to do it ly starting March 15, as he will then be in Juneau April [st. I fear a great deal of hardship for those who started fut so as to reach Juneau for winter travel. Of course while I say $500 is sufficient to go to Daw- >n City^ a man ^:hoald take $1^000 or even more if ]^ 22 :|l. ,/•' I •! Ml KLONDTKE FACTS, M , ---«.x& r:d.UTS, SI We as ho wiT] u Burp,„. '''» ^--e «an, opportunities to in.., ;ance will be exfeJve tl'^^'' ^ '^' "«* *tak t *he two tiding oo^pl^-e^t taTeT" f"" ^''^ P<^^ The traveller having arrived *f^°'''g« of the mi journey of 735 miles byZZ ; " ''""*'"' '^m Se^t complete outfit as descrfbld t'an ,?'^"''«'y P'^'-ehas 'o«es no time i„ leavino- /„ '" "°*''"'" "^apter. He steamboat Which run. rj^ " Vt^^"'' *'"^'"^- enZ f^"" '"^ ^•'"enUv been 1 J ^"'^ ^'^ ">e I entry and the head of navilT ?^ * ''"«'oms po, P'""- The distance between? " *'' ^'■''<' of the T h«ndred miles. '"*'"''" '^■"'e*- and Byea is abo J . «n-nm,t is about 15 miles tZ*''*' '""^^ «* ^hich to 2 the Pass, which he g ner^lT'^' "°" "'"•'•^ ^is o„: according to the weight o?t- "' '" ^^° "^ more tr h-re Indians or mulj hnf Z"*^*' »«'««« he Is j ^»^^- to be hired td'st/felfir™ - verVfLl He now starts for Late r ; T "'*''• Pass, a distance of eight tn " tT'V™'" *'"' head of t ''hieh he\arJruthf':,f'''»">««cc«tomakehis boat i', 'waterways to Dawson Wtv the f *" '"°« *"P down tf Sr^on. The trip thro.,gh S ^ °^ '^' KlondX rF ate being only five X U ^'°'^«"'«' *» short thl- i.e»nstportag^t„I^«f^'^^^^^^^ ,f *« foot of th '* «« very ,hort, ]es, than a X ^°'*'*'-' ^""^^^^^ blic iCTS. KLONDTKE PACTS, 2ft rtnnif' l*^® Bennet is 28 miles long, while going through this ^ inreslthe traveller crosses the boundary between British (j^ Imbia and the Northwest Territory. I do f f ^soijf ter going down Lake Bennet the traveller comes to ygj. 1 ^'iink thfcou Crossing — about four miles long, which takes him fvanta Poliljake Tagish, twenty miles in length. After leaving ^® of the milsh he finds himself in Mud or Marsh Lake, 24 miles »«eau from Seat ediateJy p„,,hase, er chapter. He .%ea, taking a s f P«rt via the I *® a customs po ''^^ «''^e of the T ^^%ea is about \^e packs his oi,i ?*h of T^hich to ^ow carry his on "" *wo or more tri ' "«^es8 he is a '^e are very fe^ s. "» the head of t] ^^ce from Dyea ;^^« ^is boat, fj 'f « ^'» his outd "e finds at Lai ^indeman mal I *^^'P doivn th ^e KJondyJce re J '^ short, thi foot of the laki r*^ however b( then into the Lynx River, on which he continues for iles till he comes to Miles Canyon, five-eighths of a long. mediately on leaving Miles Canyon he has three miles hat is called bad river work, which, while not hazard- is dangerous from the swift current and from being rocky. Great care has to be taken in going down this t cf the river. e now finds himself in White Horse Canyon the rapids hich are three-eighths of a mile in length and one of most dangerous places on the trip, a man is here arded by a sign, " Keep a good lookout." o stranger or novice should try to run the White Horse pids alontv in a boat. He should let his boat drop down e river guided by a rope with which he has provided mself in his outfit and which should be 150 feet long. would be better if the traveller should portage* here, the iners having constructed a portage road on the west side id put down roller-ways in some places on which they 11 their boats over. They have also made some wind- sses with which they haul their boat up the hill till they xo at the foot of the canyon. The AVhite Horse Canyon very rocky and dangerous and the current extremely wilt. After leaving the White Horse Canyon he goes down the iver to the head of Lake Labarge, a distance of 14 miles. e can sit down and steer with the current, as he is going own thQ stream all the way* It is for this reason that in Si '^turning ir *^''^^^*» ^^C7». the five p; '""ce «f one J,!f ,"'"'" him fo !.• . ^our ;ouif;j »>i'e« from t:. ° ^ort O^iit^^^^^^^^ "°«« oo«,tr^^ ^^/»^ We been g„i ''««s there beL SJ^'^'"'S^ « ""fi^ pine, a sjoaa CT8, KLONDYKE FACTS. 26 "^^ take a.not}iQY. w^ ^^ spruce, cottonwood and birch. You have not >eiore Jeavino- j)a fcuch game, if any, as it is growing scarce along that our. river, and very hard to find. The traveller had ore better make preparation to depend on the pro- s he has brought with him. If he has stopped to e may have been successful in catching whitefish, ng and lake trout, along the lakes and rivers. e total journey from Seattle to Dawson City has taken two months. In connection with this trip from Of cour'**'!*^ *^ Dawson City, it is perhaps better to give the the benefit of the trip of Mr. William Stewart, writes from Lake Lindeman, May 31st, 1897, as fol- time taki ^ Jo Fire Fing^ '^ *>e made on tl ' «»^rent. Xhe' ynient, hut th ^^-^e^ee in ^,,.,, e arrived here at the south end of the lake last night oat. We have had an awful time of it. The Taiya is not a pass at all, but a climb right over the moun- . We left Juneau on Thursday, the twentieth, on tie boat smaller than the ferry at Ottawa. There were sixty aboard, all in one room about ten by fourteen. re was baggage piled up in one end so that the floor- ^6 Lewes Hi f^® ^^ only about eight by eight. We went aboard *®r and Lad m^^ three o'clock in the afternoon and went ashore at ^'"•^ • '"eaat seven o'clock Friday night. We got the Indians pack all our stuff up to the summit, but about fifty nds each ; I had forty-eight pounds and my gun. 'We left Dyea, an Indian village, Sunday, but only got the river one mile. We towed all the stuff up the er seven miles, and then packed it to Sheep Camp. e reached Sheep Camp about seven o'clock at night, the Queen's Birthday. A beautiful time we had, I can you, climbing hills with fifty pounds on our backs. would not be so bad if we could strap it on rightly. *'We left Sheep Camp next morning at four o'clock, id reached the summit at half-past seven. It was an ful climb — an angle of about fifty-five degrees. We ■joes su mile, ';7'^ormthe :/!^o head of *^ip is over J'^ Stewart P^yie. You I forty^mile ^^ere the through a se M;i ' ■ i ti ^ f : s«c, and pushed nr. ^ ' ^^"e out it. V ^® ^^njoj get dogs to brino- Z ""' part of h, 7 '"'"ed ab, ^''^.^^od Of the oat!,''" ^'"^ ''"'^a W f'- ^e ^ '*^e woried twr-T '''« commit fn^on to the hm .''•^' '"''"^'V th . •^Vpacbngr "»^^^ '^V'"'^"^'"- from . a mil« ' "^ "" «orts on T ""-yWnHg. Tj, *'"<''' « are '-yZMj^^riP'fi "i' ''^^ an the ^, KLONDTKS FACTS, 27 out looking for knees for their boats. Thej left wa six weeks ago, and have not got any farther than ave. There was a little saw-mill going here, and they re their lumber sawn. We have it that warm some days that you would fairly roast, and thQ next day you Id be looking for your overcoat. Everybody here s to be taking in enough food to do them a couple of TS. iVe are now in Canadian territory, after we passed the mit. I will have to catch somebody going through to ea to give him this letter, but I don't know how long •^^^ and tweni- W^^^ ^ ^^^ ^®^ ^^y ^^® going through. This is the last 'akes. The tra '1 1^ ^^^^^ ^^^ from me until I get down to the Klon- ""^ '^^ where M^e ;>^fi%feetc S^^^-«^eigh ^"""^ slush two 1^^- ^^^ of the can V M^^' Stewart adds : " I wrote this in the tent at 11 o'clock ^.^e Jeft there J "^^^* ^""^^ ^^^^^^^**" ^o^^ig". \y^ ff M^^ y^^ *^^® ^^^^ ^^^P ^^ winter, however, you have to pur- ^ all our stuff f -M^^*^ * ^^^^ *^ *^"^ ^^' ^^^^ ^^®^ ^^ ^^^^ frozen water- '^ad about two M^y® ^^ Dawson City. • J Carried ah i ^^^ ^^® benefit of my readers in Canada and for parties ^6 trail. Wp , fcaving for the great Northwest Territory for the gold fields, *'w the samjy, > 8 t^^® pleasure in quoting the following description of a [/'anadian route : — ^ ^^er from t ^y^GTvorkeda came here " Canadians should awaken to the fact that they have mphatically ^the inside track 'to their own gold fields, ^i^tting d" 'la route not half the distance, largely covered by railways ^h and I d Jand steamboats, with supply stations at convenient inter It rained aji vals all the way. By this route the gold-fields can be reached in two months or six weeks, and the cost of travel is ridiculously cheap — nearly anybody can afford to go even now, and by the spring it should be fitted out for the ac- commodation of any amount of traffic. The details of the information in the following article day. Tijg I are given by Mr, A, H. H. Heming, the artist who ac- l'''!'^ are abon ^^s about ha] P^o the hips, "^^itdown, 28 ^LONDYKE FACTS companied Mr. Whitney in ;„•« . ^nds, and the data may beV'"'^^'^""^^ ^^^ Barre, • ^ere secured from thr^.^ '^^'^ ^ ^^^rect, as the The details of the iL^fo""" ^'^ ^«^^^'-i«- '^ follows : By C. P fZ^T^'^- ^^ute, brie%; are ^ r«il to Edmonton ^rot 1 l^''^' ^^^ *^^^«e ^orth b^ ;:-^' 40 n,iles ; th'en" wr Ts '/ ''j- ^^ ^^^«^-- ^an eanoe travel to For Mr^,!" ^ontmuons waterway foj Mackenzie Riyer, frL l?.^r°°' «* ^^e mouth of the! -thward to the'^^rel :? 'S ''\^''' ^^^ H follows : ^Sion. The ezact figares are a«[ To PoJ^^M t^'^^^^^^a Landin. J-o Fort McMurray ^ 40 ^ortChippewyan. 240 ^mith Landing. 185 -P^ort Smith 102 J^ort Resolution 16 ^ort Proyidence . 194 -f^ort Simpson . 168 iVtWrigley '; 161 :^ort JVorman . . 136 ^ort Good Hope 184 -i^ort Maepherson. . . . ' * • ^ • .174 . ^ '282 Total here is a stage and wagon tit a"r IT'""^' °-^ -h el jay- There are four or five oZr ^'""P*''^ has a tram- dred yards, but with these exe!n. ^^^"^ °^ * ^'"^ '">»- ^^' -ter route all Te'^g "T":^ ''^ ""o- %-"^^«etot.e.rththa:u:L^u';ofi; I )wards the Barrel s correct, as thej icials. te, briefly, are ^ thence north h\ Athabasca Land^ >ns waterway foj e mouth of the! Peel River liesl t figures are asf . . 1882 >f any size- over which -anding, six- has a tram- a few hun- 5ne ''down id Hudson ^or nearly XLOyDTKS FACTS, a century. Wherever there is a lake or a long stretch of deep water river navigation the company has small freight steamers which ply back and forward during the summer between the portage points or shallows. With compara- tively little expenditure the company or the Government can improve the facilities along the line so that any amount of freight or any number of passengers can be taken into the gold region at less than half the time and cost that it takes Americans to reach it from Port St. Michael, at the mouth of the Yukon to the Klondyke, exclusive of the steamer trip of 2500 miles from Seattle to Port St. Michael. Canadians can leave here on a Monday at 11.15 a.m., and reach Edmonton on Friday at 7 p.m. From that point, a party of three men with a canoe, should reach* Fort Macpherson easily in from 50 to 60 days, provided they are able-bodied young fellows with experience in that sort of travel. They will need to take canoes from here, unless they propose to hire Indians with large birch bark canoes to carry them. Birch bark canoes can be secured of any size up to the big ones manned by ten Indians that carry three tons. But birch barks are not reliable unless Indians are taken along to doctor them, and keep them from get- ting water-logged. The Hudson Bay Company will also contract to take freight northward on their steamers until the close of navigation. Travellers to the gold mines leaving now would probably reach Fort Macpherson before navigation closed. The letter from Rev. Mr. Stringer, the missionary, pub- lished in the Spectator on July 2, shows that the ice had only commenced to run in the Peel River; which is the water route south-east from Fort Macpherson into the gold region, on September 30 last year. Any Canadians who are anxious to get into the Klon- dyke ahead of the Americans can leave between now and i BO ■ I li ■fm I H li J^zoyorss facts. ^ngnst 1, reach Fort M u '*^^* «perie„St7'f°"' half *''« dfficf, '7«; -1 roach the inkn-i "® ^'aska route Ti. •'^ *''"* ^oa'd be then t£et^'"""''«"'l^«n S; 7,7'-'' food than inere is abundance of « u •'^ ^ost to the next o^j •l^hey can also be in f I' "^h and wild f„J ' *°<* "P there, can n^ ""'' '^''h suohciv^ 1 ^^ ■"""'e. have some „Lr'^ ^«' assistance a Vr^^'P'^^ails an accid"? r^ ° ^'"^ should thelfa,! si?"''^' '^^'^ '^M ^onte dnrino- tL' '"^ <=''° ^ome back hri *'"''P''« Fort IVf. T^ ^ "''"ten /TliBr, ''•'^ the doff Bled i :tne:r '" ''«*-/ d^^s lt; ""'^^ --' » 'om a cha-rotn l' "^^ ""« of^HuIon' """ "« P-- Parties tCeHr'i'"^ °" *'^« 4 ' ""''^ ''"'" - - -11 deZ :rir °' *'- -«*" roHd'"^ "" "S rt Er """ "^ -- -" - -Sfa~Ttht itron^-^^^ *" -' for decide to'staH. "'il' ''''■ «"PPo i ^^^-ting about too orless fi ? f^'"" ""O'l to nurnh """^^ ronton, $71 40 f ' ^''^'-'"ass ticket from W T " "=^"00, at VA ^"^■*'J ; second rln»o jv. "amilton to T?.7 Of porTtuVr "'^^--"'tt lntr^;^-' «S famished b^Mr i£j'"''««^I8-^0. Thee fi '''"»"^- ^ «r. Hem,„g, ^^„ ^^ been over fr''' "'"* over Uie ronte J^LONDTKE FACTS, 91 winter comes on ains, and reach that would be tt advantage of e of communi- ore food than > the next, and owl en route, ion as prevails •osts, and will or meet with ke their pile the dog sled inter mail to can be pur- •y posts that ^pJoy guides >m there on Edmonton rs, that no 'O start for All you n boating of three a canoe, »n to Ed- t of food |d consist 'ight on Ham- second- res are route 400 miles north of Edmonton, and got the rest of his data from the Hudson Bay officials. If three men chip in $150 each they would have a mar- gin of over $200 for purchasing their tools and for trans- port from Fort Macpherson to the Klondyke. This is how it may be done on the cheap, though Mr. Heming con- siders it ample for any party starting this summer. Prices will likely rise on the route when the rush begins. If the Hudson Bay "people are alive to their interests they will forward a large amount of supplies for Fort Macpherson immediately and make it the base of supplies for the Klon- dyke during the coming winter. Parties should consist of three men each, as that is the crew of a canoe. It will take 600 pounds of food to carry three men over the route. Passengers on the C. P. R. are entitled to carry 600 pounds of baggage. The paddling is all down stream, except when they turn south up Peel River, and sails should be taken, as there is often a favor- able wind for days. There are large scows on the line, manned by ten men each and known as ^ sturgeon heads.' They are like canal boats, but are punted along and are used by the Hudson Bay people for taking forward supplies to the forts. The return trip to the United States is usually made by the Yukon steamers from Dawson City direct to St. Michael via the Yukon and Anvik River, thence by ocean steamer from St. Michael to San Francisco.'' The following letter is interesting to the prospector as showing the difficulties to overcome up the Taiya Pass to Lake Lindeman. Winnipeg, July 27, 1897. A letter has been received from George McLeod, one of the members of the Winnipeg party of gold hunters that 32 I i I ! ^^OJTBrKB FACTS. left !,« -'--'■ J'AVTS. wrt here recently for the v i. I-'ndeman under date o/ T T ^°- «« '^^ote from L»i.„ «^Peoted to leave t the ".^ *' ""^ '""«''' "-at th^p^! f >•• Thoyhad a fine boat "'V"'" ""> "-"^ "S . t'-o tons about completed Th "^ ," ^'''^^' capacitTl? t'on started when the Till ^ '''"'' ^°'^ of the expedi over the mountains, b„t they had ^"""^ '^''' «"PPlies SsLlr"' *" ''""P them owhr^V'^'"^ °^^i- "lues to the sum m if ^/±^ ^^^ road. Jf io «*! ■ through rivers and cvJuTl' '"^^ """J hills, worZ^ -S'r •■'"?-"■ '^"^-- = " usea up T^orking in ■W^W^'XW ote from Lake that the party 3 river a week ht capacity of of the expedi- conveyed the men had to m shore, each getting every- iscent of the is 3,000 feet avo time and leir supplies eir own bed- Jt is fifteen made twelve t tired from ^s, working ^ay through ht they had to scale the nted them, as snow on this added any places 's, so pre- e the men ■ed them- : the first i chang- McLeod Y loaded 'tremely KLONDTKE FACTS. the scorching sun tliat they were compelled to work at nights and sleep during the day. Two days after the de- scent began the sleighs were abandoned, and the men packed the goods for three miles and a half. They were fortunate in securing the services of a man who had two horses to convey the goods to Lake Lindeman. McLeod says the worry in getting over the pass is terri- ble, and he has no desire, to repeat the experience. He advises all who go in to have their goods packed all the way from Dyea to Lake Lindeman. It costs 17 or 18 cents per pound for packing. McLeod expected that Klondyke would not be reached before July 25. I think it specially valuable for the reader to give him the approximate distances to Fort Cudahy, which is below Dawson City via the various routes. This table of distances has been prepared by Mr. James Ogilvie, and I also give a number of his notes which will be of great value to the traveller when making the trip from Juneau to Dawson Citv. APPROXIMATE DISTANCES TO FORT CUDAHY. VIA ST. MICHAEL. Miles. San Francisco to Dutch Harbor 2,400 Seattle or Victoria to Dutch Harbor 2,000 Dutch Harbor to St. Michael 750 St. Michael to Cudahy 1,600 VIA TAIYA PASS. Victoria to Taiya 1,000 Taiya to Cudahy 650 VIA STIKINE RIVER. Victoria to Wrangell 750 Wrangell to Telegraph Creek 150 Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake 150 Teslin Lake to Cudahy 650 3 84 KLONDYKE FACTS. DISTANCES FROM HEAD OF TAZTA INLET. Miles Head of canoe navigation, Taiya River 5*90 ForJcftof T^iya River 8-38 Summit of Taiya Pass ^ 14-70 Lianding at Liike Lindeman , . . . 28-0r> Foot' of Lake Lindeman 27*49 Head of Lake Bennet 2800 Boundary line B. C. and N. W. T. (Lat 60°) 3801) Foot of Lake Bennet 53'8r) Foot of Caribou Crossing (I^ke Nares) 56*44 Foot of Tagish Lake 73*25 Head of Marsh Lake 78*1") Foot of Marsh Lake 97*21 Head of Miles Caflon 122*94 Foot of Miles Caflon 123*50 Head of White Horse Rapids. 124*95 Foot of White Horse Rapids 125*33 Tahkeena River 139*92 Head of Lake Labarge 153*07 Foot of L-ake Labarge 184*22 Teslintoo River 215'8.S Big Salmon River 249*3'. Little Salmon River 285*54 Five Finger Rapids 344*8:} Pelly River v 403.29 White River 499*11 Stewart River 508*91 Sixty-Mile Creek 530*4 1 Dawson City — The Principal Mining Town 575*70 Fort Reliance 582*20 Forty-Mile River 627*08 Boundary Line 667*43 " Another route is now being explored between Telegraph Creek and Teslin Lake and will soon be opened. Telegraph Creek is the head of steamer navigation on the Stikine River and is about 150 miles from Teslin Lake. The Yukon is navigable for steamers from its mouth to Teslin Lake, a distance of 2,300 miles. A road is being located KLONDYKE FACTS. 35 UllM 5-90 8-88 14-76 28-06 27-40 •• ... 28-00 38-00 53-8r> 66-44 73-25 78-ir, 97-21 122-94 123-50 124-95 125-33 139-92 153-07 184-22 215 -8S 249-8 ! 285-5 1 344-8;) 403.29 499-11 508-91 ..... 530-41 .... 575-70 .... 582-20 .... 627-08 .... 66?-43 n Telegraph Telegrapli the Stikine Lake. The th to Teslin ing located py tlie Doniinion Government. A grant of 12,000 has M'un made by the province of British Columbia for open- ing it. * J. Dalton, a trader, has used a route overland from 'liilkat Inlet to Fort Selkirk. Going up the Ohilkat and ^Irtheela Rivers, he crosses the divide to the Tahkeena Kiver and continues northward over a fairly open country )racticable for horses. Tlie distence from the sea to Fort Selkirk is 350 miles. ** Last summer a Juneau butcher sent 40 head of cattle to iCudahy. G. Bounds, the man in charge, crossed the di- vide over the Chilkat Pass, followed the shore of Lake Ar- kell and, keeping to the east of Dalton's trail, reached the I Yukon just belo\\ the Rink Rapids. Here the cattle were I slaughtered and the meat floated down on a raft to Cudahy, ' where it retailed at $1 a pound. " It is proposed to establish a winter road somewhere across the country travelled over by Dalton and Bounds. The Yukon cannot be followed, the ice being too much broken, 80 that any winter road will have to be overland. A thorough exploration is now being made of all the passes at the head of Lynn Canal and of the upper waters of the Yukon. In a few months it is expected that the best routes for reaching the district from Lynn Canal will be definitely known. " It is said by those familiar with the locality that the storms which rage in the upper altitudes of the coast range during the greater 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 and Lynn Canal, which ^ie in almost a straight line with each other, and at the head of Lynn Canal are Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets. The distance from the coast down these channels to the r; t 86 t i J^LONDYgg /-^Pr,. open sea is about 380 •, that there Ln ,"'""°" "^ the a^'of ,,"'"'"" '""""^ «=harged-.,-t?S-'» ^ -^ t^wSTH"^ '^^ ;"rent«at„kere tu;tat''' '' P'-^«P't«"e^ then t^^^^^^^^ tht: xr"-- ■•"r/'-^^ the otherpartof th "'"' '"''' "'e he vToI^/k "^^ "^''^g Inlet I had •;„"'*/''f''ey from the island Taira Iniet hare":?l ,"' ^^ -^1 u!"™""' ""^ "des are «teep anrf ""^ ^"'"^ the va lev^o, ^ PO'^t. with the wiTT '""""'' ^--on. ?laeia ° ''^'^"'■''■•.- 't* getting ^pon^;^r''^°"«t»Wl,bWW;^^" ' ''"'' this, *J7^oreCet? V'*'''"''- «-« ^Sh^'''^ "^ the Inlet on the' Uof T''' ^'^ '"-'^^l t^^T T" commenced fnr * • ^ '^""e. Pren... t- the head the coast rant of"'' ""^ ^"l>Ph-esa^^" !*'"'" »«'-e then «- on tho^ll"?,""'"'- '« 'ho he d "f rrt^ "^^ aWed me in m-IT """• f'ommandc. I- ^^ ^'"''e- demands. SI h"'^""' ^^^ to b rel! ^^f^"'' ""^ '' tile second chief ^^^*»^p. KLONDYKE FACTS, tains on each sidei rid deflect inclined] ' the channel, sol t blowing lip thel wind is heavilyl ited when the airl of rainandsnowf shelter from the! '^ ships calling I rather visit any foss to Chilkoot >rth of Haines its. Owing to a for azimuth, tmid Island to )n between the 'ervation, and that point, glacier; its and this, vard, renders sights were to the head '8 were then Jnicnts over ^ake Linde- ^'ell kindly idians, and Je in their y one else ^le lake for d learned |ond chief 87 a of the Chilkoot Indians recalled some memories of an old quarrel which the tribe had with the English many years ago, in which an uncle of his was killed, and he thought we should pay for the lo^s of his uncle by being charged an exorbitant price for oxw packing, of which he had the sole control. Commander Newell told him I had a permit from the Great Father at Washington to pass through his coun- try safely, that he would see that I did so, and if the In- dians interfered with me they would be punished for doing so. After much talk they consented to carry our stuff to the summit of the mountain for $10 per hundred pounds. This is about two-thirds of the whole distance, includes all the climbing and all the woods, and is by far the most difficult part of the way. • " On the 6th of June 120 Indians, men, women and chil- dren, started for the summit. I sent two of my party with them to see the goods delivered at the place agreed upon. Each carrier when given a pack also got a ticket, on which was inscribed the contents of the pack, its weight, und the amount the individual was to get for carrying it. They were made to understand that they had to produce these tickets on delivering their packs, but were not told for what reason. As each pack was delivered one of my men receipted the ticket and returned it. The Indians did not seem to understand the import of this ; a few of them pre- tended to have lost their tickets ; and as they could not get paid without them, my assistant, who had duplicates of every ticket, furnished them with receipted copies, afier examining their packs. " While they were packing to the summit I was producing the survey, and \ met them on their return at the foot of the caflon, about eight miles from the coast, where I paid them. They came to the camp in the early morning before I was up, and for about two hours there was quite a hub- bub. When paying them I tried to get their names, but 38 szo^rorsE favts. SlTtitl^XS't£''^ '""'■'"' ""-n^. nearlv all ^'ed presen ed themselves twte 1 ' °'"' ^^'^ ^<^ 'hus been discovered. """ *''«' their duplicity had -der rvtn'^tran-^^ear',^^ Thev .in „ot "■ent ; and if „ot to eS 0^1° ''"''. ,'"'^^' w-thont J^ . I got one ofthem, whom IhH ''"''^'^'*°'"''>iteia h,s pack, to take ^e a„d JJl /"■'"""^'^ "^'^'e-i wUh «>-eek m his canoe. After n2- '"^ ^"--'^ »v-er a sS -L J see what the resuU «r« i^ i^^ •'^® canoe wa^ w ill Je paying them I was ^liffT much more difficult to deal S if th"' T""'" ^'"'- •>««« " Whr^\'''"""" ''^'"•^ent " '-" ""«* '<> ««e that took the azShfa'Jd S,'™"J '"•' "^^^ "f tide water I ^^ -und the hid ':;t: -Lrr t- ^5-' '' '" o'-der to (o.;st* KLONDTKE FACTS, S9 3, nearly all, nglish name, foe, Charlie, four times, ided to lose ho had thus > producing fiey claimed were much plicity had IV will not thout X)' ^.. vhite ma.. , isted with er a small asked for ther man 3anoe was him the ere three 5ed them Id wade rouble, or my- empted I am i^e been known 30 that 'ater I ighest them, and obtain an idea of the general height of the peaks in the coast range. As it does not appear to have been done before, I have taken the opportunity of naming all the peaks, the positions of which I fixed in the above way. The names and altitudes appear on my map. "While going up from the head of canoe navigation on the Taiya River I took the angles of elevation of each station from the preceding one. I would have done this from tide water .up, but found many of the courses so short and with so little increase in height that with the instru- ment I had it was inappreciable. From these angles I have computed the height of the summit of the Taiya Pass,* above the head of canoe navigation, as it appeared to me in June, 1887, and find it to be 3,378 feet. What depth of snow there was I cannot say. The head of canoe navigation I estimate at about 120 feet above tide water. Dr. Dawson gives it as 124 feet. "I determined the descent from the summit to Lake Lindeman by carrying the aneroid from the lake to the summit and back again, the interval of time from start to return being about eight hours. Taking the mean of the r< puings at the lake, start and return, and the single read- ing it the summit, the height of the summit above the lake y 1; found to be 1,237 feet. While making the survey f '(jvu Ihe summit down to the lake I took the angles of de- pr j;' n of each station from the preceding one, and from thes- acigles- I deduced the difference of height, which I fountl to be 1,354 feet, or 117 feet more than that found * The distance from the liead of Taiya Inlet to the summit of the pass is lo miles, and tiie whole length of the pass to Lake Lindeman is 23 miles. Messrs, Healy and Wilson, dealers in ..i.»rie*w! merchandise and miners' supplies at Taiya, have a train of pack horses carrying freight from the head of Lynn Canal to the summit. They hope to be able to take freight through to Lake Lindeman with their horses during the present season. 40 ^i^o^dy^m: facts. "7 tne aneroid Thi • , ';'>«» we consider the Ittj** ! '""«« difference: bni It 18 not more fUr, ^'^^ atmospherio p »,^« «"my have hked. I h^ve named tM '"""P''^'« "^ ^ would honor of th* Ut ' "™ea this pass " \vi,;f„ t, . "* KLONBYKE FACTS. 41 I river which Capt. Moore reported to empty into the Takone or Windy Arm of Bove Lake (Schwatka). Dr. Dawson says this stream empties into Taku Arm, and in that event Capt. Moore is mistaken. Capt. Moore did not go all the way through to the lake, but assumed from reports he heard from the miners and others that the stream flowed into Windy Arm, and this also was the idea of the Indian ''Jim" from what I could gather from his remarks in broken English and Chinook. Capt. Moore estimates the distance from tide water to the summit at about 18 miles, and from the summit to the lake at about 22 to 23 miles. He reports the pass as thickly timbered all the way through. " The timber line on the south side of the Taiya Pass, as determined by barometer reading, is about 2,300 feet above the sea, while on the north side it is about 1,000 feet below the summit. This large difference is due, I think, to the different conditions in the two places. On the south side the valley is narrow and deep, and the sun can- not produce its full effect. The snow also is much deeper there, owing to the quantity which drifts in from the sur- rounding mountains. On the north side the surface is sloping, and more exposed to the sun's rays. On the south side the timber is of the class peculiar to the coast, and on the north that peculiar to the interior. The latter would grow at a greater altitude than the coast timber. It is possible that the summit of White Pass is not higher than the timber line on the north of the Taiya Pass, or about 2,500 feet above tide water, and it is possibly even lower than this, as the timber in a valley such as the White Pass would hardly live at the same altitude as on the open slope on the north side.. " Capt. Moore has had considerable experience in building roads in mountainous countries. He considers that this would be an easy route for a wagon road compared with some roads he has seen in British Columbia. Assuming i i* f I 42- ^I'ONBYKB FACTS. "^8 distances to be probably about coCJISIIh 'I?'""' "'« ^^ ^ be be induced to remain and vmTZ T'^'"'"'"'- Ave couJd I ;«« paying them at the me ofT '" t ''"^^' "'though :A«er one trip down only two men t ^"" '"'"'*'•«'' P°»''d«. "» hopes of stealing somethTn J^ n ^*'"*'^' ""^ *ey only » Pa.r of boots, af d was m„ch , ' °' """" W^Priated had to pay for them on Kdnf . ^IF?"^ *" ^nd that he • "■""« *'""» much for not calr ''' I""' ^ ""-"Id not »»« very disagree»ble_it IS *" '""^' «« ^e weather ons^y After the Indian e 1 1 trTedT"*'' ''""^' ^«»««" w.th the aid of my own men but ff ^'' ''°^'' "'« «»»« healthy labor, and after the' ll\ 1 ^"^ ''"^'^h and u.^ h«d up with what appear^ triJr''"-'P »»« of them wm The first time th. J ^ "'""""""atorvrheum,;.- brightly, and th s bro'u2 oT"'"' *'''' -« '^ ^2 ^bich only those ZtlT ,7^ ff'^-^^^ ^^e pab^f can realise. I had two Zl witt''" 'T *''*' «<"°Plaint men and myself, and the ,?p«^ "^ ''"^ offering offw t-cted physical eCrLl': 'S ''^ '-iekness -hfch p d'tions and continued suffer!' 7 ""^emfortable co„- P»«e us to. I bad with meTwIiif"" '"""^ "''»"»«»« ex- head of the inlet with a Ci!h I ^ """ ''^'^ ^^^ at the KLONBYKE FACTS, 48 the pass to be ies would not arried through he lake, I set I the Indians • or five could ike, although dred pounds, ind they only appropriated find that he I could not the weather lost continu- wn the stuff jsh and un- them was leumatism. as shining he pain of complaint made in le mount- cse I suc- lakes, but 'n in this arranged ig of the lich pro- ble con- ness ex- d at the his man ribe, of •e whom the greater number were then in the neighborhood where he resided, trying to get some odd jobs of work, and I sent him to the head of the inlet to try and induce the Tagish Indians to undertake the transportation, offer- ing them $5 per hundred pounds. In the meantime Capt. Moore and the Indian *'Jim" had rejoined me. - I had their assistance for a day or two, and "Jim's" presence aided indirectly in inducing the Indians to come to my relief. " The Tagish are little more than slaves to the more power- ful coast tribes, and are in constant dread of offending them ill any way. One of the privileges which the coast tribes claim is the exclusive right to all work on the coast or in its vicinity, and the Tagish are afraid to dispute this claim. When my white man asked the Tagish to come over and pack they objected on the grounds mentioned. After considerable ridicule of thtir cowardice, and explana- tion of the fact that they had the exclusive right to all work in their own country, the country on the side of the north side of the coast range being admitted by the coast Indians to belong to the Tagish tribe just as the coast tribes had the privilege of doing all the work on the cof/Et side of the mountains, and that one of their num- ber was already working with me unmolested, and likely to continue so, nine of them came over, and in fear a ad trembling began to pack down to the lake. After they were at work for a few days some of the Chilkoots c ame out and also started to work. Soon I had quite a number at work and was getting my stuff down quite fast. Jlhit this good fortune was not to continue. Owing to the ]»revailing wet, cold weather on the mountains, and the < ifficulty of getting through the soft wet snow, the Indians soon began to quit work for a day or two at a time, and to gamble with one another for the wages already earned. Umy of them wanted to be paid 19 full> but tbisl posi- 44 ELONDYKE FACTS. u- ■( tively refused, knowing that to do so was to have them all apply for their earnings and leave me until necessity com- pelled them to go to work again. I once for all made them distinctly understand that I would not pay any of them until the whole of the stuff was down. As many of them had already earned from twelve to fifteen dollars each, to lose which was a serious matter to them, they reluctantly resumed work and kept at it until all was delivered. This done, I paid them off, and set about getting my outfit across the lake, which I did with my own party and the two Peterborough canoes which I had with me. " These two canoes travelled about 3,000 miles by rail and about 1,000 miles by steamship before being brought into service. They did considerable work on Chilkoot and Tagish Inlets, and were then packed over to the head of Lewes River (Lake Lindeman), from where they were used in making the survey of Lewes and Yukon Rivers. \n this work they made about 050 landings. They were then transported on sleighs from the boundary on the Yukon to navigable water on the Porcupine. ** Li the spring of 1888 they descended the latter river, heavily loaded, and through "much rough water, to the mouth of BelFs River, and up it to McDougall's Pass. They were then carried over the pass to Poplar River and were used in going down the latter to Peel River, and thence up Mackenzie River 1,400 miles ; or, exclusive of railway and ship carriage, they were carried about 170 miles and did about 2,500 miles of work for the expedition, making in all about 1,700 landings in no easy manner and going through some very bad water. I left them at Fort Chipe- wyan in fairly good condition, and, with a little paint- ing, they would go through the same ordeal again. After getting all my outfit over to the foot of Lake Linde- man I set some of the party to pack it to the head of Lake Benuet. KLONDYKE FACTS, ,46 have them all necessity corn- all made them y any of them many of them ollars each, to ey reluctantly livered. This y outfit across and the two fes by rail and brought into ^hilkoot and * the head of ey were used f-rs. In this were then le Yukon to latter river, iter, to the rail's Pass. River and and thence of railway miles and ; making nd going rt Chipe- le paint- lin. ce Linde- of Lake " I employed the rest of the party in looking for timber to build a boat to carry my outfit of provisions and imple- ments down the river to the vicinity of the international l)oundary, a distance of about 700 miles. It took several (lays to find a tree large enough to make plank for the boat I wanted, as the timber around the upper end of the lake is small and scrubby. My boat was finished on the evening of the 11th of Julj, and on the 12th I started a portion of the party to load it and go ahead with it and the outfit to the canon. They had instructions to examine the cafion and, if necessary, to carry a part of the outfit past it — in any case, enough to support the party back to the coast should accident necessitate such procedure. With the rest of the party I started to carry on the survey, which may now be said to have fairly started ahead on the lakes. This proved tedious work, on account of the stormy weather. " In the summer months there is nearly always a wind blowing in from the coast ; it blows down the lakes and produces quite a heavy swell. This would not prevent the canoes going with the decks on, but, as we had to land every mile or so, the rollers breaking on the generally flat beach proved very troublesome. On this account I found 1 could not average more than ten miles per day on the lakes, little more than half of what could be done on the river. ** The survey was completed to the canon on the 20th of July. There I found the party with the large boat had arrived on the 18th, having carried a part of the supplies . past the canon, and were awaiting my arrival to run through it with the rest in the boat. Before doing so, however, I • made an examination of the cafion. The rapids below it, ( particularly the last rapid of the series (called the White Horse by the miners), I found would not be safe to run. I sent two men through the cafion in one of the oanoee to 46 KLONDYKE FACTS. await the arrival of the boat, and to bo ready in case f an accident to pick us up. Every man in the party was sup- plied with a life-preserver, so that should a casualty occur we would all have floated. Those in the canoe got through all right ; but they would not have liked to repeat the trip. They said the canoe jumped about a great deal more than they thought it would, and I had the same experience when going tlirough in the boat. " The passage through is made in about three minutes, or at the rate of about 12^ miles an hour. If the boat is kept clear of the sides there is not much danger in high water ; but in low water there is a rock in the middle of the channel, near the upper end of the caflon, that rendcjrs the passage more difficult. I did not see this rock mysolf, but got my information from some miners I met in the interior, who described it as being about 150 yards down from the head and a little to the west of the middle of the channel. In low water it barely projects above the surface. When I passed through there was no indication of it, either from the bank above or from the boat. "The distance from the head to the foot of the caflon is five-eighths of a mile. There is a basin about midway in it about 150 yards in diameter. This basin is circular in form, with steep sloping sides about 100 feet high. The • lower part of the caflon is much rougher to run through than the upper part, the fall being apparently much greater. The sides are generally perpendicular, about 80 to 100 feet high, and consist of basalt, in some places showing hexagonal columns. " The White Horse Rapids are about three-eighths of a mile long. They are the most dangerous rapids on the river, and are never run through in boats except by ac- cident. They are confined by low basaltic -banks, which, at the foot> suddenly close in and make the channel about 30 yards wide. It is liere the danger lies, as there is a KLONDYKE FACTS. 47 in case ' f an irty was sup- isualty occur 3 got through 5 repeat the at deal more a experience minutes, or boat is kept iiigh water ; ihe channel, the passage but got my terior, who ^ the head annel. In When I ither from e cafion is dway in it ircular in gh. The through ly much about 80 le places hthg of a on the by ac- which, el about ere is a sudden drop and the water rushes through at a tremen- dous rate, leaping and seething like a cataract. The miners have constructed a portage road on the west side, and put down rollways in some places on which to . shove their boats over. They have also made some windlasses with which to haul their boats up hill, notably one at the foot of the caflon. This roadway and windlasses must have cost them many hours of hard labor. Should it ever be necessary, a tramway could be built past the caflon on the east side with no great difficulty. With the exception of the Five Finger Rapids these appear to bo the only serious rapids on the whole length of the river. '* Five Finger Rapids are formed by several islands stand- ing in the channel and backing up the water so much as to raise it about a foot, causing a swell below for a few yards. The islands are composed of conglomerate rock, similar to the cliffs on each side of the river, whence one would infer that there has been a fall here in past ages. For about two miles below the rapids tliere is a pretty swift current, but not enough to prevent the ascent of a, steam- boat of moderate power, and the rapids themselves X ^o not think would present any serious obstacle to the ascent of a good boat. In very high water warping might be re- quired. Six miles below these rapids arc what arejcnown as ' Rink Rapids.' This is simply a barrier of rocks,, )vhich extends from the westerly side of the river s\.y.\t half way across. Over this barrier there is a ripple wnich would offer no great obstacle to the descent of a good canoe. On tut? easterly sides there is no ripple, and the current is smooth and the water apparently deep. I tried with a 6 foot paddle, but could not reatfh the bottom. " On the 11th of August I met a party of miners coming out who had passed Stewart River a few days before. They saw no sign of Dr. Dawson having been there. This waa welcome news for me, as I expected he would have 48 KLONDYKE FACTS. l[ reached that point long before I arrived, on account of the many delays I had met with on the coast range. These miners also gave me the pleasant news that the story told at the coast about the fight with the Indians at Stewart River was false, and stated substantially what I have already repeated concerning it. The same evening I met niore miners on their way out, and the next day met three boats, each containing four men. In the crew of one of them was a son of Capt. Moore, from whom the captain got such ' infoi'mation as induced him to turn back and accompany them out. " Next day, the 13th, I got to the mouth of the Pelly, and found that Dr. Dawson had arrived there on the 11th. The doctor also had experienced many delays, and had heard the same story of the Indian uprising in the interior. I was pleased to find that he was in no immediate want of provisions, the fear of which had caused me a great deal of Uneasiness on the way down the river, as it was arranged between us in Victoria that I was to take with me provi- 'sions for his party to do them until their return to the coast. The doctor was so much behind the time arranged to meet me that ho determined to start for the coast at once. I therefore sot about making a short report and plan of my survey to this point ; and, as I was not likely to get another opportunity of writing at such length for a year, I applied myself to a correspondence designed to satisfy my friends and acquaintances for the ensuing twelve months. This necessitated three days' hard work. "On the morning of the 17th the doctor left for the out- side world, leaving me with a feeling of loneliness that only those who have experienced it can realize. I remained at the mouth of the Pelly during the next day taking mag- netic and astronomical cbservations, and making some measurements of the river. On the 19th I resumed the survey and reached White River on the 25th. Here I spent KLONDYKK FACTS. 49 most of a day trying to ascend this river, but found it im- practicable, on account of the swift current and shallow and very muddy water. The water is so muddy that it is impossible to see through one-eighth of an inch of it. The current is very strong, probably eight miles or more per hour, and the numerous bars in the bed are constantly changing place. After trying for several hour?, the base men succeeded in doing about half a mile only, and I came to the conclusion that it was useless to try to get up this stream to the boundary with canoes. Had it proved feasible I had intended making a survey of this stream to the boundary, to discover more especially the facilities it oflfered for the transport of supplies in the event of a survey of the International Boundary being undertaken. " I reached Stewart River on the 26t] . Here I remained a day taking magnetic observations, and getting informa- tion from a miner, named McDonald, about the country up that river. McDonald had spent the summer up the river prospecting and exploring. His information will be given in detail further on. " Fort Reliance was reached on the 1st of September, and Forty Mile River (Cone-Hill River of Schwatka) on the 7th. In the interval between Fort Reliance and Forty Mile River there were several days lost by rain. " At Forty Mile River I made some arrangements with the traders there (Messrs. Harper & McQuestion) about Eupplies during the winter, and about getting Indians to assist me in crossing from the Yukon to the head of the Porcupine, or perhaps on to the Peel River. I then made a survey of the Forty Mile River up to the canon. I found the canon would be difficult of ascent, and dangerous io descend, and therefore, concluded to defer further operations until the winter, and until after I had deter- mined the longitude of my winter post near the boundary, when I would be in a much better position to locate the 60 KLONDYKE FACTS. 1^1 intersection of the Interiiutional Boundary with this river, a point important to determine on account of the number and richness of the mining claims on the river. '* I left Forty Mile River for the boundary line between Alaska and the Northwost Territories on the 12th Sep- tember, and finished the survey to that point on the 14th. J then spent two days in examining the valley of the river in the vicinity of the boundary to get the most extensive view of the horizon possible, and to find a tree large enough to serve for a transit stand. '' Before leaving Toronto I got Mr, Foster to make large brass plates with V's on them, which could be screwed firmly to a stump, and thus be made to serve as a transit stand. I required a stump at least 22 inches in diameter to make a base large enough for the plates when properly placed for the transit. In a search which covered about four miles of the river bank, on both sides, I found only one tree as large as 18 inches. I mention this fact to give an idea of the size of the trees along the river in this vicinity. I had this stump enlarged by firmly fixing pieces on the sides so as to bring it up to the requisite size. This done, I built around the stump a small transit house of the ordinary form and then mounted and adjusted my transit. Meanwhile, most of the party were busy prepar- ing our winter quarters and building a magnetic observa- tory. As I had been led to expect extremely low temper- atures during the winter, I adopted precautionary measures, so as to be as comfortable as circumstances would permit during our scivy there. DESCRIPTION" OF THE YUKON, ITS AFFLUENT STREAMS, AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY. *' I will now give, from my own observation and from information received, a more detailed description of the t' I . KLONDYKE FACTS. 51 h this river, the number ne between ) 12th Sep» •n the 14th. )f the river t extensive rge enough make large l)e screwed 3 a transit 1 diameter ti properly Jred about ound only let to give 3r in this "ng pieces e. This house of sted my prepar- observa- temper- easures, permit [reams. from lof the Lewes River, its affluent streams, and the resources of the adjacent country. ; . " For the purpose of navigation a description of the Lewes River begins at the head of Lake Bennet. Above that point, and between it and Lake Lindeman, there is only about three-quarters of a mile of river, which is not more than fifty or sixty yards Avide, and two or three feet deep, and is so swift and rough that navigation is out of the question. " Lake Lindeman is about five miles long and half a mile wide. It is deep enough for all ordinary purposes. Lake Bennet * is tweuty-six and a quarter miles long, for the upper fourteen of which it is about half a mile wide. About midway in its length an arm comes in from the west, which Schwatka appears to have mistaken for a river, and named Wheaton River. This arm is wider than the other arm down to that point, and is reported by Indians to be longer and heading in a glacier which lies in the pass at the head of Chilkoot Inlet. This arm is, as far as seen, surrounded by high mountains, apparently much higher than those on the arm we travelled down. Below the junction of the two arms the lake is about one and a half miles wide, with deep water. Above the forks the water of tl j east branch is muddy. This is caused by the streams from the numerous glaciers on the head of the tributaries of Lake Lindeman. *^ A stream which flows into Lake Betinet at the south- west corner is also very dirty, and has shoaled quite a large portion of the lake at its mouth. The beach at the lower end of this lake is comparatively flat and the water shoal. * A small saw-mill has been erected at the head of Lake Ben- net ; lumber for boat building sells at $100 p )r M. Boats "5 feet long and 5 feet bea Ji are $60 each. Last year the ice broke up in the lake on the 12th June, but this season is,eaTKer and the Voat^ ^T^ expected to ^o down t);ie lake about the Ist of June. V i ,1». ■/^rf*- 52 KLONDYKE FACTS. r ",r %1 A deep, wide valley extends northwards from the north end of the lake, apparently reaching to the canon, or a short distance above it. This may have been originally a course for the waters of the river. The bottom of the valley is wide and sandy, and covered with scrubby timber, principally poplar and pitch-pine. The waters of the lake empty at the extreme north-east angle through a channel not more than one hundred yards wide, which soon expands into what Schwatka called Lake Nares.* Through this narrow channel there is quite a current, and more than 7 feet of water, as a 6 foot paddle and a foot of arm added to its length did not reach the bottom. "The hills at the upper end of Lake Lindeman rise abruptly from the water's edge. At the lower end they are neither so steep nor so high, " Lake Nares is only two and a half miles long, and its greatest width is about a mile ; it is not deep, but is navi- gable for boats drawing 5 or G feet of water ; it is separated from Lake Bennct by a shallow sandy point of not more than 200 yards in length. " No streams of any consequence empty into either of these lakes. A small river flows into Lake Bennet on the west side, a short distance north of the fork, and another at the extreme north-west angle, but neither of them is of any consequence in a navigable sense. " Lake Nares Hows through a narrow curved channel into Bove Lake (Schwatka). This channel is not riore than COO or 700 yards long, and the water in it appears :o be suf- ficiently deep for boats that could navigate the lake. The land between the lakes along this channel is low, swampy, and covered with .yillows, and, at the stage in which I saw it, did not rise more than 3 feet above the water. The hills on the southwest side slope up easily, and are not • The connecting waters between Lake Bennet and TagisU Iiake conatitute what is now called Caribou Cro^iug. KLONDYKE FACTS. 58 high ; on the north side the deep valley already referred to borders it ; and on the east side the mountains rise abruptly from the lake shore. " Bove Lake (called Tagish Lake by Dr. Dawson) is about a mile wide for the first two miles of its length, when it is joined by what the miners have called the Windy Arm. One of the Tagish Indians informed me they called it Takone Lake. Here the lake expands to a width of about two miles for a distance of some three miles, when it sud- denly narrows to about half a mile for a distance of a little over a mile, after which it widens again to about a mile and a half or more. " Ten miles from the head of the lake it is joined by the Taku Arm from the south. This arm must be of consider- able length, as it can be seen for a long distance, and its valley can be traced through the mountains much farther than the lake itself can b^ seen. It i nparently over a mile wide at its mouth or junction. *^ Dr. Dawson includes Bove Lake and thebv lwo arms under the common name of Tagish Lake. This is much more simple and comprehensive than the various names given them by travellers. These waters collectively are the fishing and hunting grounds of the Tagish Indians, and as they are really one body of water, there is no reason why they should not be all included under one name. " From the junction with the Taku Arm to the north end of the lake the distance is about six miles, the greater part being over two miles wide. The west side is very flat and shallow, so much so that it was impossible in many places to get our canoes to the shore, and quite a distance out in the lake there was not more than 5 feet of water. The members of my party who wer'^ in charge of the large boat and outfit, went down thj east side of the lake and reported the depth about the same as I found on the west side, with many large rocks. They passed through it in the night in 14 54 KLONDTKE FACTS, ^A\ a rainstorm, and were much alarmed for the safety of the boat and provisions. It would appear that this part of the lake requires some improvement to make it in keeping with the rest of the water system with which it is con- nected. "Where the river debouches from it, it is about 150 yards wide, and for a short distance not more than 5 or 6 feet deep. The depth is, however, soon increased to 10 feet or more, and so continues down to what Schwatka calls Marsh Lake. The miners call it Mud Lake, but on this name they do not appear to be agreed, many of them calling the lower part of Tagish or Bove Lake " Mud Lake," on account of its shallowness and flat muddy shores, as seen along the west side, the side nearly always travelled, as it is more sheltered from the prevailing southerly winds. The term " Mud Lake/' is, however, not applicable to this lake, as only a comparatively small part of it is shallow or muddy ; and it is nearly as inapplicable to Marsh Lake, as the latter is not markedly muddy along the west side, and from the appearance of the east shore one would not jiidge it to be so, as the banks appear to be high and gravelly. ** Marsh Lake is a little over nineteen miles long, and averages about two miltjs in width. I tried to determine the width of it as I went along with my survey, by taking 'azimuths of points on the eastern shore from different stations of the survey ; but in only one case did I succeed, as there were no prominent marks on that shore which could be identified from more tkan one place. The piece of river connecting Tagish and Marsh Lakes is about five miles long, and averages 150 to 200 yards in width, and, as already mentioned, is deep, except for a short distance at the head. On it are situated the only Indian houses to be found in the interior with any pretension to skill in construction. They show much more labor and imitativeness than one Jwowing anything about tl^e Indian iu }iis i^ative state KLONBTKE FACTS. 55 e >ty of the art of the keeping t is con- bout 150 in 5 or 6 sed to 10 ^chwatka . but on of them Mud y shores, ;ravelled, ly winds, le to this lallow or Lake, as side, and ot judge mg, and ?termine y taking iifferent mcceed, B whieh le piece •out five and, as )e at the e found •uction. lain one 6 state would expect. The plan is evidently taken from the Indian houses on the coast, which appear to me to be a poor copy of the houses which the Hudson's Bay Company's servants build around their trading posts. These houses do not appear to have been used for some time past, and are almost in iains. The Tagish Indians are now generally on the coast, as they find it much easier to live there than in their own country. As a matter of fact, what they make in their own country is taken from them by the Coast Indians, so that there is little inducement for them to remain. " The Lewes River, where it leaves Marsh Lake, is about 200 yards wide, and averages this width as far as the cation. I did not try to find bottom anywhere as I went along, ex- cept where I had reason to think it shallow, and there I always tried with my paddle. I did not anywhere find bottom with this, which shows that there is no part of this stretch of the river with less than six feet of water at medium height, at which stage it appeared to me the river was at that time. "From the head of Lake Bennet to the caflon the cor- rected distance is ninety-five miles, all of which is navigable for boats drawing 5 feet or more. Add to this the westerly arm of Lake Bennet, and the Takone or Windy Arm of Tagish Lake, each about fifteen miles in longth, and the Taku Arm of the latter lake, of unknown length, but prob- ably not ^ess than thirty i/iiles, and we have a stretch of water of upwards of one hundred miles in length, all easily navigable ; and, as has been pointed out, easily connected with Taiya Inlet through the White Pass. " No streams of any importance enter any of these lakes so far as I know. A river, called by Schwatka " McClin- tock River," enters Marsh Lake at the lower end from the east. It occupies a large valley, as seen from the westerly side of the lake, but the stream is apparently unimportant. 56 KLONDYKE FACTS. !:|r I ii .:,:.i I. Another small stream, apparently only a creek, enters the south-east angle of the lake. It is not probable that any stream coming from the east side of the lake is of import- ance, as the strip of country between the Lewes and Teslin- too is not more than than thirty or forty miles in width at thi^ point. " The Taku Arm of Tagish Lake, is, so far, with the ex- ception of reports from Indians, unknown ; but it is equally improbable that any river of importance enters it, as it is so near the source of the waters flowing northwards. How- ever, this is a question that can only be decided by a proper exploration. The caflon I have already described and will only add that it is five-eighths of a mile long, about 100 feet wide, with perpendicular banks of basaltic rock from 60 to 100 feet high. " Below the caflon proper there is a stretch oi rapids for about a mile ; then about half a mile of smooth water, fol- lowing which are the White Horse Rapids, which are three- eighths of a mile long, and unsafe for boats. ** The total fall in the caflon and succeeding rapids was measured and found to be 32 feet. Were it ever necessary to make this part of the river navigable it will be no easy task to overcome the obstacles at this point ; but a tram or railway could, with very little difficulty, be constructed alon the east side of the river past the caflon. " For some distance below the White Horse Rapids the. current is swift and the river wide, with many gravel bars. The reach between these rapids and Lake Labarge, a dis- tance of twenty-seven and a half miles, is all smooth water, with a strong current. The average width is about 150 yards. There is no impediment to navigation other than the swift current, and this is no stronger than on the lower part of the river, which is already navigated ; nor is it worse than on the Saskatchewan and Red Rivers in the more eastern part of our territory. m ,( urn KLONDYKE FACTS, 67 "About midway in this stretch the Tahkeena River ♦ joins the Lewes. This river is, apparently, about half the size of the latter. Its waters are muddy, indicating the passage through a clayey district. I got some indefinite information about ttiis river from an Indian who happened to meet me just below its mouth, but I could not readily make him understand me, and his replies were a compound of Chinook, Tagish, and signs, and therefore largely unin- telligible. From what I could understand with any cer- tainty, the river was easy to descend, there being no bad rapids, and it came out of a lake much larger than any I had yet passed. *' Here I may remark that I have invuriably found it difficult to get reliable or definite information from Indians. The reasons for this are many. Most of the Indians it has been my lot to meet are expecting to make something, and consequently are very chary about doing or saying anything unless they think they will be well rewarded for it. They are naturally very suspicious of strangers, and it takes some time, and some knowledge of tlinir language, to overcome this suspicion and gain tlieir confidence. If you begin at once to ask questions about their country, without pre- viously having them understand that you have no unfriend- ly motive in doing so, they become alarmed, and although you may not meet with a positive refusal to answer ques- tions, you make very little progress in getting desired in- formation. On the other hand I have met cases where, either through fear or hope of reward, they were only too anxious to impart all they knew or had heard, and even more if they thought it would please their hearer. I need hardly say that such information is often not at all in ac- cordance with the facts. *The Tahkeena was formerly much used by the Chilkat Indians as a means of reaching the interior, but never by the miners owing to the distance from the sea to its head. 58 KLONDYKE FACTS, ■h *' I have Beyeral times found that some act of mine when in their presence has aroused either their fear, superstition or cupidity. As an instance : on the Bell River I met some Indians coming down stream as I was going up. We were ashore at the time, and invited them to join us. They started to come in, but very slowly, and all the time kept a watchful eye on us. I noticed that my double-barrelled shot gun was lying at my feet, loaded, and picked it up to unload it, as I knew they would be handling it after land- ing. This alarmed them so much that it was some time before they came in, and I don^t think they would have come ashore at all had they not heard that a party of white men of whom we answered the description, were com- ing through that way (they had learned this from the Hudson's Bay Company's officers), and concluded we were the party described to them. After drinking some of our tea, and getting a supply for themselves, they became quite friendly and communicative. " I cite these as instances of what one meets with wh comes in contact with Indians, and of how trifles affect them. A sojourn of two or three days with them and the assistance of a common friend would do much to disabuse them of such ideas, but when you have no such aids you must not expect to make much progress. *' Lake Labarge is thirty-one miles long. In the upper thirteen it varies from three to four miles in width ; it then narrows to about two miles for a distance of seven miles, when it begins to widen again, and gradually expands to about two and a-half or three miles, the lower six miles of it maintaining the latter width. The survey was. carried along the western shore, and while so engaged I deter- mined the width of the upper wide part by triangulation at two points, the width of the narrow middle part at three points, and the width of the lower part at three points. Dr. Dawson on his way out made a track survey of the KLONDYKE FACTS. 59 ine when )er8titioii met some We were 3. They ime kept barrelled it up to ter land- )me time lid have party of '^ere com- rom the we were le of our me quite nth wb 38 affect and the disabuse lids you e upper ; it then a miles, •ands to tniles of . carried [ deter- julation at three points. f of the eastern shore. The western shore is irregular in many places, being indented by largo bays, especially at the upper and lower ends. These bays are, as a rule, shallow, more especially those at the lower end. " Just above where the lake narrows in the middle there Is a large island. It is three and a-half miles long and about half a mile in width. It is shown on Schwatka's map as a peninsula, and called by him Kichtofen Rocks. IIow he came to think it a peninsula I cannot understand, as it is well out in the lake ; the nearest point of it to the western shore is upwards of half a mile distant, and the extreme width of the lake here is not more than five miles, which includes the depth of the deepest bays on the western side. It is therefore difficult to understand that he did not see it as an island. The upper half of this island is gravelly, and does not rise very high above the lake. The lower end is rocky and high, the rock being of a bright red color. '^ At the lower end of the lake there is a large valley ex- tending northwards, which has evidently at one time been the outlet of the lake. Dr. Dawson has noted it and its peculiarities. His remarks regarding it will be found on pages 156-160 of his report entitled * Yukon District and Northern portion of British Columbia,' published in 1889. *' The width of the Lewes River as it leaves the lake is the same as at its entrance, about 200 yards. Its waters when I was there were murky. This is caused by the action of the waves on the shore along the lower end of the lake. The water at the upper end and at the middle of the lake is quite clear, so much so that the bottom can be distinctly seen at a depth of 6 or 7 feet. The wind blows almost constantly down this lake, and in a high wind it gets very rough. The miners complain of much detention owing to this cause, and certainly I cannot complain of a lack of wind while I was on the lake. This lake was named after one Mike Labarge, who was engaged by the Western Union 60 KLONDYKE FACTS, ft. I. !p' St- I;, It M 11 Telegraph Company, exploring the river and adjaoont country for the purpose of connecting Europe and America by telegraph through British Columbia, and Alaska, and across Behring Strait to Asia, and thence to Europe. Thii exploration took place in 1867, but it does not appear that Labarge then, nor for some years after, saw the lake called hy his name. The successful laying of the Atlantic cable in 1806 put a stop to this project, and the exploring parties sent out were recalled as soon as word could be got to them. It seems that Labarge had got up as far as the Pelly before he received his recall ; he had heard something of a largo lake some distance further up the river, and afterwards spoke of it to some traders and miners who called it after •him. " After leaving Lake Labarge the river, for a distance of about five miles, preserves a generally uniform width and an easy current of about four miles per hour. It tlien makes a short turn round a low gravel point, and flows in exactly the opposite of its general course for a mile when it again turns sharply to its general direction. The current around this curve and for some distance below it — in all four or five miles — is very swift. I timed it in several places and found it from six to seven miles an hour. It then moderates to four or five, and continues so until the Teslintoo River is reached, thirty-one and seven tenths miles from Lake Labarge. The average width of this part of the river is about 150 yards, and the depth is sufficient to afford passage for boats drawing at least 5 feet. It is, as a rule, crooked, and consequently a little difficult to navi- gate. " The Teslintoo* was so called by Dr. Dawson — this, ac- *The limited amount of prospecting that has been done on this river is said to be very satisfactory, fine gold having been found in all parts of the triver. The lack of supplies is the great draW' back to its development, and this will not be overcome to any ex- KLONDTKE FACTS. 61 uljauont \merica ika, and 1. Thii )ar that :o called ic cablo f parties them. r before a largo srwarda it after istanco width It tlien ows in ivhcn it jurrent -in all several ir. It til the tenths is part Rcient t is, as 1 navi- lis, ae- on this found draw- jiy ex- cording to information obtained by him, being the Indian name. It is called by the miners ' Hootalinkwa ' or Hotalinqua, and was called by Schwatka, who appears to have bestowed no other attention to it, the Newberry, al- though it is apparently much larger than the Lew3s. This was so apparent that in my interim reports I stated it as a fact. Owing to circumstances already narrated, I had not time while at the mouth to make any measurement to de- termine the relative size of the rivers ; but on his way out Dr. Dawson made these measurements, and his report, be- fore referred to, gives the following values of the cross sec- tions of each stream : Lewes, 3,015 feet ; Teslintoo, 3,809 feet. In the same connection he states that the Lewes ap- peared to be about 1 foot above its lowest summer level, while the Teslintoo appeared to be at its lowest level. Assuming this to be so, and taking his widths as our data, it would reduce his cross section of tlie Lewes to 2,596 feet. Owing, however, to the current in the Lewes, as determined by Dr. Dawson, being just double that of the Teslintoo, the figures being 5*68 and 2*88 miles per hour, respectively, the discharge of the Lewes, taking these figures again in 18,044 feet, and of the Teslintoo 11,436 feet. To reduce the Lewes to its lowest level the doctor says would m«ke its discjiarge 15,600 feet. " The water of the Teslintoo is of a dark brown color, similar in appearance to the Ottawa River water, and a little turbid. Notwithstanding the difference of volume of dis- tent until by some means heavy freight can be brought over the coast range to the head of the river. Indeed, owing to tho diffi- culties attending access and transportation, the great drawback to the entire Yukon district at present is the want of heavy mining machinery and the scarcity of supplies. The government being aware of the requirements and possibilities of the country, has undertaken the task of making preliminary surveys for trails ind railroads, and no doubt in the near future the avenue for better and quicker transportation facilities will be opened up. mi 62 KLONDYKE FACTS. charge, the Toslintoo changes completely the character of the river below the. junction, and a person coming up tho river would, at the forks, unhesitatingly pronounce tho Teslintoo the main stream. Tlie water of tho Lewes is blue in color, and at the time I speak of was somewhat dirty — not enough so, however, to prevent one seeing to a depth of two or three feet. " At the junction of the Lewes and Teslintoo' I met two or three families of the Indians who hunt in the vicinity. One of them could speak a little Chinook. As I had two men with me who understood his jargon perfectly, with their assistance I tried to get sonic information from him about the river. He told me the river was easy to ascend, and presented the same appearance eight days journey up as at tho mouth ; then a lake was reached, which took, one day to cross ; the river was then followed again for half a day to another lake, which took two days to traverse : into this lake emptied a stream which they used as a highway to the coast, passing by way of the Taku River. He said it took four days when they had loads to carry, from the head of canoe navigation on the Teslintoo to salt water on the Taku Inlet ; but when they come light they take only one to two days, lie spoke also of a stream entering the large lake from the oast which came from a distance; but they did not seem to know much about it, and considered it outsido their country. If their time intervals are approximately accurate, they mean that there are about 200 miles of good river to the first lake, as they ought easily to make 25 miles a day on the river as I saw it. The lake takes one day to traverse, and is at least 25 miles long, followed by say 12 of river, which brings us to the large lake, which takes two days to cross, say 50 or GO more— in all about 292 miles — say 300 to the head of canoe navigation ; while the distance from the head of Lake Bennet to the junction is only 188, Assuming the course of tho Teslintoo to be nearly south KLONDYKE FACTS. 68 (it is a little to the cast of it), and throwing ont every fourth mile for bends, the remainder gives us in arc three degrees and a quarter of latitude, which, deducted from 61° 40', the latitude of the junction, gives us 58° 26', or nearly t le latitude of .luneau. " Tz make sure that 1 understood the Indian aright, and thai he knew what he wiiy speaking about, I got him to sketch the river and lake, as he described them, on the sand, and repeat tlie siiine several times. " I afterwards met Mr. T. Boswell, his brother, and an- other miner, who had spent most of the summer on the river prospecting, and from them I gathered the following : ** The distance to the first, and only lake which they saw, they put at 175 miles, and the lake itself they call at least 150 miles long, as it took them four days to row in a light boat from end to end. The portage to the sea they did not appear to know anything about, but describe a large bay on the east side of the lake, into which a river of considerable size entered. This river occupies a wide valley, surrounded by high mountains. They thought this river must head near Liard River. This account differs materially from that given by the Indian, and to put them on their guard, I told them what he had told me, but they still persisted in their story, which I find differs a good deal from the account they gave Dr. Dawson, as incorpo- rated in his report. *' Many years ago, sixteen I think, a man named Monroe prospected up the Taku and learned from the Indians something of a large lake not far from that river. He crossed over and found it, and spent some time in prospect- ing, and then recrossed to the sea. This man had been at Forty Mile River, and I heard from the miners there his account of the appearance of the lake, which amounted generally to this : The Boswells did not know anything about it.'* It was unfortunate the Boswells did not remain 64 KLONDYKE FACTS. "I; iffilE^ at Forty Mile all winter, as by a comparison of recollections they might have arrived at some correct conclusion. *' Conflicting as these descriptions are, one thing is cer- tain : this branch, if it has not the greater discharge, is the longer and more important of the two, and offers easy and uninterrupted navigation for more than double the distance which thi„ L'>v.'9s does, the cafion being only ninety miles above the mouth of the TesMntoo. The Boswells reported it as containing much more useful timbdr than the Lewes, which indeed one would infer from its lower altitude. *' Assuming this as the main river, and adding its length to the Lewes-Yukon below the ., motion, gives upward of 2,200 miles of river, fully two-thirds of which runs through a very mountainous country, without an impediment to navigation. *' Some indefinite information was obtained as to the position of this river in the neighborhood of Marsh Lake tending to show that the distance between them was only about thirty ov forty miles. " Between the Teslintoo and the Big Salmon, so called by the miners, or D'Abbadie by Schwatka, the distance is thirty-three and a-half miles, in which the Lewes preserves a generally uniform width nnd current. For a few miles below the Teslintoo it is a little over the ordinary width, but then contnicts to about two hundred yards which it maintains with little variation. The current is generally from four to five miles per hour. " The Big Salmon I found to be about one hundred yards wide near the mouth, the depth nor more than four or five feet, and the current, so far as could be seen, sluggish. None of the miners I met could give me any informat'on con- cerning this stream ; but Dr. Dawson was more fortunate, and met a man who had spent most of the summer of 1887 prospecting on it. His opinion was that it might be uavi- KLONDYKE FACTS, 65 ectione ; is cer- 1, is the rs easy ble the ' ninety loswells It than 3 lower length wrard of hrough nert to to the Lake is only died by mee is eserves miles width, liich it lerally yar ds )r five rgiah. In con- mate, 1887 navi- gable for small stern-wheel steamers for many miles. Th^ valley, as seen from the mouth, is wide, and gives one the impression of being occupied by a much more impor- tant stream. Looking up it, in the distance could be seen many high peaks covered with snow. As the date was August it is likely they are always so covered, which would mako their probable altitude above the river 5,000 feet or more. " Dr. Dawson, in his report, incorporates fully the notes obtained from the miners. I will trespass so far on these as to say tiiat they called the distance to a small lake near the head of the river, 190 miles from the mouth. This lake was estimated to be four miles in length ; another lake about 12 miles above this was estimated to be twenty-four miles long, and its upper end distant only about eight miles from the Teslintoo. These distances, if correct, make this river much more important than a casual glanc j at it would indicate ; this, however, will be more fully spoken o^ mder its proper head. " Just below tlio Big Salmon the Lewes takes a bend of nearly a right angle. Its course from the junction with the Tahkeena to this point is generally a little east of north ; at this point it turns to nearly west for some distance. Its course between here and its confluence with the Pelly is north-west, and, I may add, it preserves this general direc- tion down to the confluence with the Porcupine. The river also changes in another respect ; it is generaiiy wider, and often expands into what might bo called lakes, in which are islands. Some of the lakes are of considerable jength, and well timbered. " To determine which channel is the main one, that is, which carries the greatest volume of water, or is best avail- able for the purposes of navigation, among these islands, would require more time than I could devote to it on my way down ; consequently I cannot say more than that I have 66 KLONDYKE FACTS. I :l^^ ■W no reason to doubt that a channel giving six feet or more of water could easily be found. Whenever, in the main channel, I had reason to think the water shallow, I tried it with my paddle, but always failed to find bottom, which gives upward of six feet. Of course I often found less than this, but not in what I considered the main channel. "Thirty-six and a quarter miles below the Big Salmon, the Little Salmon — the Daly of Schwatka — enters the Lewes. This river is about GO yards wide at the mouth, and not more than two or three fc^t in depth. The water is clear and of a brownish hue ; there is not much current at the mouth, nor as far as can be seen up the stream. The vj,]ley which, from the mouth, does not appear ex- tensive, bears northeast for some distance, when it ap- pears to turn more to the east. Six or seven miles up, and apparently on the north side, some high cliffs of red rock, apparently granite, can be seen. It is said that some miners have prospected this stream, but 1 could learn nothing definite about it. " Lewes River makes a turn here to the southwest, and runs in that direction six miles, when it again turns to the northwest for seven miles, and then makes a short, sharp turn to the south and west around a low sandy point, which will, at some day in the near future, be cut through by the current, which will shorten the river three or four miles. " Eight miles below Little Salmon River, a large rock called the Eagle's Nest, stands up in a gravel slope on the easterly bank of the river. It rises abort five hundred feet is-bove the river, and is composed of a light gray stone. What the character of this rock is I could not observe, as I saw it only from the river, which is about a quarter of a mile distant. On the westerly side of the river there are two or three other isolated masses of apparently the same kind of rogk. Que q| them might be appropriately nW I KLONDITKE FACTS. 67 called a mountain ; it is south-west from the Eagle's Nest and distant irom it about three miles. " Thirty-two miles below Eagle's Nest Rock, Nordenskiold River enters from the west. It is an unimportant stream, being not more than one hundred and twenty feet wide at the mouth, and only a few inches deep. The valley, as far as can be seen, is not extensive, and, being very crooked, it is hard to tell what its general direction is. " The Lewes, between the Little Salmon and the Nor- denskiold, maintains a width of from two to three hundred yards, with an occasional expansion where there are islands. It is serpentine in its course most of the way, and where the Nordenskiold joins it is very crooked, run- ning several times under a hill, named by Schwatka Tan- talus Butte, and in other places leaving it, for a distance of eight miles. The distance across from point to point is only half a mile. " Below this to Tive Finger Rapids, so-called from the fact that five large masses of rock stand in mid-channel, the river assumes its ordinary straightness and width, with a current from four to five miles per hour. I have already described Five Finger Rapids ; I do not think they will prove anything more than a slight obstruction in the navigation of the river. A boat of ordinary p^wer would probably have to help herself up with windlass and line in high water. ^ ** Below the rapids, for about two miles, the current is strong — probably six miles per hour — but the water seema to be deep enough for any boat that is likely to navigate it. " Six miles below this, as already noticed, Rink Rapids are situated. They are of no great importance, the westerly half of the stream only being obstructed. The easterly half is not in any way affected, the current being smooth and the water deep. " Below Five Finger Rapids about two miles a small I i 68 KLONDYKE FACTS. i Iflf . If' P i p til Btream enters from the east. It is called by Dr. Dawson Tatshun Kiver. It is not more than 30 or 40' feet wide at the mouth, and contains only a little clear, brownish water. Here I met the only Indians seen on the river between Teslintoo and Stewart Rivers. They were engaged in catching salmon at the mouth of the Tatshun, and were the poorest and most unintelligent Indians it has ever been my lot to meet. It is needless to say that none of our party understood anything they said, as they could not speak a word of any language but their own. I tried by signs to get some information from them about the stream they were fishing in, but fai^'^d. I tried in the eame way to learn if there were any more Indians in the •vicinity, but again utterly failed. I then tried by signs to find out how many days it took to go down to Pelly River, but although I have never known these signs to fail in eliciting information in any other part of the territory, they did not understand. They appeared to be alarmed by our presence ; and, as we had not yet been assured as to the rumor concerning the trouble between the miners and Indians, we felt a little apprehensive, but being able to learn nothing from them we had to put our fears aside and proceed blindly. " Between Five Finger Rapids and Pelly River, fifty- eight and a half-miles, no streams of any importance enter the Lewes ; in fact, with the exception of the Tatshun, it may be said that none at all enter. " About a mile below Rink Rapids the river spreads out into a lake-like expanse, with many islands ; this continues for about throe miles, when it contracts to something like the usual width ; but bars and small islands are very numerous all the way to Pelly River. About five miles above Pelly River there is another lake-like expRnse filled with islands. The river here for three or four miles is nearly a mile wide, and so numerous and close are the KLONDTKE FACTS, 69 Dawson wide at ii water. between iged in nd were has ever none of )y couli I tried out the in the I in the signs to y^ River, fail in rritory, Jarmed ured as miners ig able rs aside fifty- enter |hun, it ids ont itinues ig like very miles filled liles is Ire the islands that it is imposRible to tell when floating among them where the shorer of the river are. The current, too, is swift, leading one to suppose the water shallow ; but I think even here a r hannel deep enough for such boats as will navigate this part of the river can be found. Schwatka named this group of islands *' Ingersoll Islands." "At the mouth of the Pelly the Lewes is about half a mile wide, and here too there are many islands, but not in groups as at Ingersoll Islands. " About a mile below the Pellj , ju&t at the ruins of Fort Selkirk, the Yukon was found to be 565 yards wide ; about two-thirds being ten feet deep, with a current of about four and three-quarter miles per hour ; the remaining third was more than half taken up by a bar, and the current between it and the south shore was very slack. " Pelly River at its mouth is about two hundred yards wide, and continues this width as far up as could be seen. Dr. Dawson made a survey and examination of this river, which will be found in his report already cited, " Yukon District and Northern British Columbia." " Just here for a short distance the course of the Yukon is nearly west, and on the south side, about a mile below the mouth of the Lewes, stands all that remains of the only trading post ever built by white men in the district. This post was established by Robert Campbell, for the Hudson's Bay Company in the summer of 1848. It was first built on the point of land between the two rivers, but this location proving untenable on account of flooding by ice jams in the spring, it was, in the season of 1852, moved across the river to where the ruins now stand. It appears that the houses composmg the post were not finished when the Indians from the coast on Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets came down the river to put a stop to the competitive trade which Mr. Campbell had inaugurated, and which they found to seriously intefere with their profits. Their method of trade 70 KLONDYKE FACTS. I I i I I 4; 3» appears to have been then pretty much as it is now — very onesided. What they found it convenient to take by force they took, and what it was convenient to pay for at their own price they paid for. ** Rumors had reached the post that the coast Indians contemplated such a raid, and in consequence the native Indians in the vicinity remained about nearly all summer. Unfortunately, they went away for a short time, and dur- ing their absen'^e the coast Indians arrived in the early morning, and surprised Mr. Campbell in bed. They were not at all rough with him, but gave him the privilege of leaving the place within twenty-four hours, after which he was informed that he was liable to be shot if seen by them in the locality. They then pillaged the place and set fire to it, leaving nothing but the remains of the two chimneys which are still standing. This raid and capture took place on the 1st August, 1852. '* Mr. Campbell dropped down the river, and met some of the local Indians who returned with him, but the robbers had made their escape. I have heard that the local Indians wished to pursue and overtake them, but to this Mr. Campbell would not consent. Had they done so it is probable not many of the raiders would have escaped, as the superior local knowledge of the natives would have given them an advantage difficult to estimate, and the confidence and spirit derived from the aid and presence of a white man or two would be worth much in such a conflict. " Mr. Campbell went on down the river until he met the outfit for his post on its way up from Fort Yukon, which he turned back. He then ascended the Pelly, crossed to the Liard, and reached Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, late in October. . " Mr. CampbelFs first visit to the site of Fort Selkirk was made in 1840^ under iustructious from Sir Geor^^ KLONDTKE FACTS. 71 Simpson, then Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. He crossed from the head waters of the Liard to the waters of the Pelly. It appears the Pelly, where he struck it, was a stream of considerable size, for he speaks of its appearance when he first saw it from ' Pelly Banks,* the name given the bank from which he first beheld it, as a * splendid river in the distance/ In June, 1843, he descended the Pelly to its confluence with the larger stream, which he named the ' Lewes.' Here he found many families of the native Indians — ' Wood Indians,' he called them. These people conveyed to him, as best they could by word and sign, the dangers that would attend a further descent of the river, representing that the country below theirs was inhabited by a tribe of fierce cannibals, who would assuredly kill and eat them. This so terrified his men that he had to return by the way he came, pursued, as he afterwards learned, by the Indians, who would have murdered him- self and party had they got a favorable opportunity. Thus it was not until 1850 that he could establish, what he says he all along believed, 'that the Pelly and Yukon were identical.' This he did by descending the river to where the Porcupine joins it, and where in 1847 Fort Yukon was established by Mr. A. H. Murray for the Hudson's Bay Company. *' With reference to the tales told him by the Indians of bad people outside of their country, I may say that Mackenzie tells pretty much the same story of the Indians on the Mackenzie when he discovered and explored that river in 1789. He had the advantage of having Indians along with him whose language was radically the same aa that of the people he was coming among, and Iiis state- ments are more explicit and detailed. Everywhere he came in contact with them they manifested, first, dread of himself and party, and when friendship and confidence were established they nearly always tried to detain him by if a 72 KLONDYKE FACTS, W representing uiie people in the direction he was going as unnaturally bloodthirsty and cruel, sometimes asserting the existence of monsters with supernatural powers, as at Manitou Island, a few miles below the present Fort Good Hope, and the people on a very lar je river far to the west of the Mackenzie, probably the Yukon, they described to him as monsters in size, power and cruelty. ** In our own time, after the intercourse that there has been between them and the whites, more than a suspicion of such unknown, cruel people lurks in the minds of many of the Indians. It would be futile for me to try to ascribe an origin for these fears, my knowledge of their language and idiosyncrasies being so limited. ''Nothing more was ever done in the vicinity of Fort Selkirk * by the Hudson's Bay Company after these events, and in 1869 the Company was ordered by Capt. Charles W. liaymond, who represented the United States Govern- ment, to evacuate the post at Fort Yukon, he having found that it was west of the 141st meridian. The post was occupied by the Company, however, for some time after the receipt of this order, and until Rampart House was built, which was intended to be on British territory, and to take the trade previously done at Fort Yukon. " Under present conditions the Company cannot very well compete with the Alaska Commercial Company, whose agents do the only trade in the district,! and they appear to have abandoned — for the present at least — all * This iiA now a winter port for steamboats of the North Ameri- can Transportation and Trading Company, plying the Yukon and its tributaries. There is also a trading post here owned by Harper & Ladue. \ Since the date of this report the North American Transport- ation and Trading Company, better known in the Yukon valley as " Captain Healy's Company," has established a number of posts on the rivor. KLONDTKE FACTS, 78 attempt to do any trade nearer to it than Rampart House to which point, notwithstanding the distance and difficul- ties in the way, many of the Indians on the Yukon make a trip every two or three years to procure goods in ex- change for their furs. The clothing and blankets brought in by the Hudson's Bay Company they claim arc much better than those traded on their own river by the Ameri- cans. Those of them that I saw who had any English blankets exhibited them with pride, and exclaimed * good.' They point to an American blanket in contempt, with the remark 'no good,' and speak of their clothing in the same way. "On many maps of Alaska a place named 'Reed's House ' is shown on or near the upper waters of Stewart River. I made enquiries of all whom I thought likely to know anything concerning this post, but failed to elicit any information showing that there ever had been such a place. I enquired of Mr. Reid, who was in the Company's service with Mr. Campbell at Fort Selkirk, and after whom I thought, possibly, the place had been called, but he told me he knew of no such post, but that there was a small lake at some distance in a northerly direction from Fort Selkirk, where fish were procured. A sort of shelter had been made at that point for the fishermen, and a few furs might have been obtained there, but it was never regarded as a trading post. ''Below Fort Selkirk, the Yukon River is from five to six hundred yards broad, and maintains this width down to White River, a distance of ninety-six miles. Islands are numerous, so much so that there are very few parts of the river where there are not one or more in sight. Many of them are of considerable size, and nearly all are well timbered. Bars are also numerous, but almost all are composed of gravel, so that navigators will not have to complain of shifting sand bars. The current as a general 74 KLONDTKE FACTS, thing, is not so rapid as in the upper part of the river, averaging about four miles per hour. The depth in the main channel was always found to be more than six feet. "From Pelly River to within twelve miles of White River the general course of the river is a little north of west ; it then turns to the north, and the general course as far as the site of Fort Reliance is due north. " White River enters the main river from the west. At the mouth it is about two hundred yards wide, but ii great part of it is filled with ever-shifting sand-bars, the main volume of water being confined to a channel not more than one hundred yards in width. The current u very strong, certainly not less than eight miles per hour. The color of the water bears witness to this, as it is much the muddiest that I have ever seen.* " I had intended to make a survey of part of this river as far as the International Boundary, and attempted to do so ; but after trying for over half a day, I found it would be a task of much labor and time, altogether out of pro- portion to the importance of the end sought, and therefore abandoned it. The valley as far as can be seen from the mouth, runs about due west for a distance of eight miles ; it then appears to bear to the south-west ; it is about two miles wide where it joins the Pelly valley and apparently keeps the same width as far as it can be seen. '' Mr. Harper, of the firm of Harper & Ladue, went up this river with sleds in the fall of 1872 a distance of fifty or sixty miles. He describes it as possessing the same W M. 11 * The White River very probably flows over volcanic deposits as its sediments would indicate ; no doubt this would account for the disc /loration of its waters. The volcanic ash appears to cover a great extent of the Upper Yukon basin drained by the Lewe? and Pelly Rivers. Very full treatment of the subject is given by Dr. Dawson, in his report entitled "Yukon District and Northern portion of British Columbia," KLONDYKE FACTS, 76 general features all the way np, with much clay soil along its banks. Its general course, as sketched by him on a map of mine, is for a distance of about thirty miles a little nortl-west, taence south-west thirty or thirty-five miles, when it deflects to the north-west running along the base of a higli mountain ridge. If the courses given are correct it must rise somewhere near the head of Forty Mile River ; and if so, its length is not ni all in keeping with the volume of its discharge, when conii)ared with the known length and discharge of other rivers In the territory. Mr. Harper mentioned an extensive flat south of the mountain range spoken of, across which many high mountain peaks could be seen. One of these he thought must be Mount St. Elias, as it overtopped all the others ; but, as Mount St. Elias is about one hundred and eighty miles distant, his conclusion is not tenable. From his description of this mountain it must be more than wice the height of the highest peaks seen anywhere on the lower river, and consequently must be ten or twelve thousand feet above the sea. He stated that the current in the river was very swift, as far as he ascended, and the water muddy. The water from this river, though probably not a fourth of the volume of the Yukon, discolors the water of the latter completely ; and a couple of miles, below the junction the whole river appears almost as dirty as White River. " Between White and Stewart Rivers, ten miles, the river spreads out to a mile and upwards in width, and is a maze of islands and bars. The survey was carried down the. easterly shore, and many of the channels passed through barely afforded water enough to float the canoes. The main channel is along the westerly shore, down which the large boat went, and the crew reported plenty of water. " Stewart River enters from the east in the middle of A wide valley, with low hills on both sides, rising on the north sides in steps or terraces to distant hills of consider- 7^ KLONDTKE FACTS. able height, ifhe river half a mile or so above the month, is two hundred yards in width. The current is slack and the water shallow and clear, but dark colored. ** While at the mouth 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 gave me a good deal of information of wliich I give a summary. He is a native of New Bruns- wick, Alexander McDonald by name, and has spent some years mining in other places, but was very reticent about what he had made or found. Sixty or seventy miles up the Stewart a large creek enters from the south which ho called Rose Bud Creek or River, and thirty or forty miles further up a considerable stream flows from the north-east, which appears to be Beaver River, as marked on the maps of that part of the country. From the head of this stream he floated down on a raft taking five days to do so. ""^le estimated his progress at forty or fifty miles each day, which gives a length of from two hundred to two hundred and fifty miles. This is probably an over-estimate, unless the stream is very crooked, which, he stated, was not the case. As much of his time would be taken up in prospect- ing, I should call thirty miles or less a closer estimate of his progress. This river is from fifty to eighty yards wide and was never more than four or five feet deep, often being not more than two or three ; the current, he said, was not at all swift. Above the mouth of this stream the main river is from one hundred to one hundred and thirty yards wide with an even current and clear water. Sixty or seventy miles above the last-mentioned branch another large branch joins, which is possibly the main river. At the head of it he found a lake nearly thirty miles long, and averaging a mile and a half in width, which he called Mayhew Lake, after one of the partners in the firm of HarDcr, McQuestiou ^ Co, KLONDYKE FACTS, 77 tti Thirty miles or so above the forks on the other branch there are falls, which McDonald estimated to be from one to two hundred feet in height. I met s'jveral parties who had seen these falls, and they corroborate this estimate of their height. McDonald went on past the falls to the head of this branch and found terraced gravel hills to the west and north ; he crossed them to the north and found a river flowing nortliward. On this ho embarked on a raft and floated down it for a day or two, thinking it would turn to the west and join tlio Stewart, but finding it still continuing north, and acquiring too much volume to be any of the branches ho had seen while passing up the Stewart, he returned to the point of his departure, and after prospecting among the lulls around the head of the river, her started westward, crossing a high range of moun- tains composed principally of shales with many thin seams of what he called quartz, ranging from one to six inches in thickness. "On the west side of this range he found a river flowing out of what he called Mayhew Lake, and crossing this got to the head of Beaver iliver, which he descended as before mentioned. " It is probable the river flowing northwards, on which hfi made a journey and returned, was a branch of Peel River. He described the timber on tiie gravel terraces of the watershed as small and open. lie was alone in this un- known wilderness all summer, not seeing even any of the natives. There are few men so constituted as to be ca- pable of isolating themselves in such a manner. Judging from all I could learn it is probable a light-draught steam- boat could navigate nearly all of Stewart River and its tributaries. "From Stewart River to the site of Fort Reliance,* ♦This was at one time a trading ix)st occupied by Messrs. Harper & McQuestion. '■»A-}' -aii'«pai!«wwr .•' 78 KLONDYKE FACTS, vM: seventy-three and a quarter miles, the Yukon is broad and full of islands. The average width is between a half and three quarters of a mile, but there are many expansions where it is over a mile in breadth ; however, in these places it cannot be said that the waterway is wider than at other parts of the river, the islands being so large and numerous. In this reach no streams of any importance enter. ** About thirteen miles below Stewart River a large valley joins that of the river, but the stream occupying it is only a large creek. This agrees in position with what has been called Sixty Mile Creek, which was supposed to be about that distance . abc^^c Fort Reliance, but it does not agree with descriptions v hich I received of it ; more- over as Sixty Mile Creek is known to be a stream of con- Biderable length, this cieek would not aaswer its descrip- tion. ** Twenty-two aiid a half miles from Stewart River another and larger creek enters from the same side ; it agrees with the descriptions of Sixty Mile Creek, and I have so marked it on my map. This stream is of no im- portance, except for what mineral wealth may be found on it* ' ' ^^ " Six and a half miles above Fort Reliance the Thron- * Sixty Mile Creek is about one hundred miles long, very crooked, with a swift (current and many rapids, and is therefore not easy to ascend. Miller, Glacier, Gold, Little • !• .11 KLO^DYKE FACTS. CHAPTER IV. OUTFIT FOR MINERS. In giving any advice for outfits for miners, I should first state that it is a great mistake to purchase anything what- ever before arriving at Juneau, Alaska. This has been a supply point for that region for upwards of ten years, and store-keepers and supply companies carry in stock ex- actly what is necessary for the miners. You will find that their prices are reasonable, considering the difference in cost of transportation at any point you might decide to purchase from in the United States ; in fact it is the saving of money to buy in Juneau. In the matter of clothing, of course, it must be left to the individual taste and means of the purchaser, but the miners usually adopt the native costume of the region. The boots are generally made by the coast Indians and are of different varieties. The water boot is made of spal and walrus. It is important to take a pair of rubber boots along. Additional boots can be purchased at Dawson City. The native boots cost from two to five dollars a pair. Trousers are generally made from Siberian fawn skins and the skin of the marmot or the ground squirrel. The outer garments are generally made of the marmot skin. The people at Dawson City who are not engaged in mining, such as store-keepers, clerks, etc., generally wear these garments. Good warm flannels are important. Every- thing in the way of underwear is made of flannel, such as Bliirts. The cost of flannel shirts at Dawson City is 15. Bab< V] <^ ^ n ^i '/ /A IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I SAil?» |2.5 js^ ■^" mWKk «~ 1^ 12.2 '^' ,j^ life :- 1:2 lllllio 1.25 1.4 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation Wb / u.. % '^3 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY 1 4580 (716) 872-4S03 w^ 90 KLONDYKE FACTS, ber boots at Dawson City are $10 to Isl2.00 a pair, Blankets and robes are used for bedding, and should be purchased at Juneau. Wolf skins make the best robes. Good ones cost $100 apiece, but cheaper ones can be obtained from the bear, mink, and red fox and Arctic Hare. Warm socks are made from the skin of the Arctic Hare. If you have any delay at Juneau, you will, probably, be asked to take trips to the Giant Glaciers, but my ad- vice is to stay in Juneau until the steamer is ready to start for Dyea. You will need all the rest you can get before starting up the Pass. In the matter of provisions, the following is a list which is considevd sufficient to last a man on his trip from Juneau to Dawson City : — 20 pounds of flour, 12 pounds of bacon, 12 *' " beans, 4 " " butter, 5 " " vegetables, 4 cans of condensed milk, 5 pounds of sugar, 1 pound of tea, 3 pounds of coffee, 1 1-2 pound of salt, 5 pounds of corn meal, A small portion of pepper and mustard.. The following utensils should be taken : — 1 frying pan, 1 water kettle, 1 Yukon stove, 1 bean pot, 2 plates. KLONDYKE FACTS, 91 1 tin drinking cup, 1 tea pot, 1 knife and fork, 1 large and 1 small cooking pan. The following tools sliould be brought as part of the out- fit : — These will bo found absolutely necessary to build a boat at Lake Lindeman : — 1 jack plane, 1 whip saw, 1 cross-cut saw, 1 axe, 1 hatchet, 1 hunting-knife. 6 pounds of assorted nails, 1 pound of oakum, 5 pounds of pitch, 150 feet of rope, 1 Juneau sled. It is also necessary to have one good duck tent and a rubber blanket. A good piece of mosquito netting will not be heavy and will also be very great comfort on the trip. Do not forget to put in a good supply of matches, and take a small supply of fishing tackle, hooks, etc. It is very important that you have a pair of snow glasses to guard against snow blindness. It will be interesting to know the prices at Dawson City for supplies : When I left in June, 1897. Flour was sold in 50 pound bags at IG.OO a bag. Fresh beef was su^iplied at 50 cents a pound. Bacon was 40 cents. 02 KLONDTKE FACTS. Coffee was 50 cents per pound. Brown sugar was 20 cents per pound and granulated sugar was 25 cents a pound. Condensed milk was 50 cents per can. Pick axes were $6.00 each. Miners* shovels were $2.00 each. Lumber right at Dawson City was $130.00 per thousand feet undressed, and $150.00 per thousand feet dressed. It is well perhaps to advise the travelle/ to supply him- self with a small medicine box which can be purchased in Juneau, but it is not necessary if he enjoys good rugged health. On arriving at Dawson City, luxuries will be found to be very high ; what is to be considered a very cheap cigar in the United States, two for 5 cents, sells in Dawson City at 50 cents each. Liquors command very high prices. Whisky sells in the saloons for 50 cents a glass, and fluctuates from $15.00 to $25.00 per gallon, according to the supplies received from the at present overtaxed transportation companies. There was about 12,000 gallons of whisky Imported into the territory from Canada the past year. Smoking tobacco was selling at $1.50 a pound and good plug cut and fancy tobacco was selling at $2. 00 a pound. The demand for medicine is very light, but the local traders carry a small stock of patent and proprietary medicines. KLONDYKE NUGGETS, CHAPTER Y. MINERS hUCK. TiiK reports already received of the finds of gold seem beyond belief but the greater j)art of tliem are actual facts, and the following came under my per- sonal observation : — Alexander McDonald, on (^Uiini No. 80, Eldorado, on the Klondvke, started drifting: on his claim with four men. The men agreed to work tlie claim on shares, the agreement being that they should work on shares by each receiving half of what they could get out. The live together took out $l>r),00().00 in twenty-eight days. The ground dug up was found to measure but 40 square feet. This was an excep- tional find. The men are of course working the claim and had ♦iiJO scjuare feet on the claim still to w^ork out when I left lor the East. People in the East or elsewhere can hardly realize what a small space a mining claim is in tliis vast and comparatively unexplored territory. William Leggatt on Claim No. 18, Eldorjido, to- gether with William Gates and a miner named Shoots, purchased their claim from a miner named Stewart, and his partner, for the sum of $45,000.00. They did not have money to make the payment in KLONDVKE NUGGETS. cUsh but made a first payment of $2,000.00 with the agreement to pay the balance of the purchase price, $43,000.00, prior to July 1st, 1897. They sunk a shaft and commenced taking out $1,000.00 per da3\ They worked the pay dirt until about May 15, 1897, when they found that they had taken out $62,000.00, and the space of the claim worked was only twenty-four square feet. A young man who went to the Klondyke recently writes that he is taking out $1,800.00 a day from his claim. " It is stated on good authorit}^ that one claim yielded $90,000 in 45 feet up and down the stream. Clarence Berry bought out his two partners, paying one $35,000 and the other $60,000, and has taken up $140,000 from the winter dump alone. Peter Wiborg has purchased more ground. lie purchased his partner's interest in a claim, paying $42,000. A man by the name of Wall has all he thinks he wants, and is coming out. He sold his interests for $50,000. Nearly all the gold is found in the creek bed on the bed rock, but there are a few good bench diggings. Perhaps the most interesting reading in the Mining Record is the letters written by men in the Klondyke to friends in Juneau. Here is one from *' Casey " Moran : Dawson, March 20, 1897. " Friend George : Don't pay any attention to what any one says, but come in at your earliest op- portunity. My God! it is appalling to hear the KLONDYKE NUGGETS. truth, but nevertheless the world has never pro- duced its equal before. Well, come. That's all. Your friend, " Casey." Burt Shuler, writing from Klondyko under date of June 5, says : " We have been here but a short time and we all have money. Provisions are much higher than they were two years ago and clothing is clean out of sight. One of the A. C. Co.'s boats was lost in the spring, and there will bo a shortage of provisions again this fall. There is nothing that a man could eat or wear that he cannot get a good price for. First-class rubber boots are worth from an ounce of gold to $25 a pair. The price of flour has been raised from $4 to ^(>, as. it was being freighted from Forty Mile. Big money can be made by bringing a small outfit over the trail this fall. Wages have been $15 per day all winter, though a reduction to $10 Avas attempted, but the miners quit work. . . . Here is a creek that is eighteen miles long, and, as far as is known, Avithout a miss. There are not enough men in the country to-day to work the claims. Several other creeks show equal promise, but very little work has I)een done on the latter. I have seen gold dustimtil it seems almost as cheap as saAvdust. If you are coming in, come prepared to stay two years at least ; bring plenty of clothing and good rubber boots." KLONDYKE NUGGETS, Thus far little attempt to mine quartz has been made in the interior of Alaska and the Korthwest. although many quartz croppings have been seen. It would cost too much to take in the machinery and to build a plant until transportation facilities are better. In time, however, quartz mining operations will commence, for the placer mines were washed down from the mother veins somewhere. If the washings have made the richest placers in the world, what must the mother veins be ? One dares hardly to imagine. This is a brief description of the gold region in the Northwest. For further and more detailed information on routes and distances, transportations, Mining Laws. How to Stake a Claim, Where to Kegister Yo tr Claim, modes of placer mining and quartz nunicg, return of gold from the diggings. Advice to Beginners. Outfit for Prospectors, Mortality, Cost of Living, etc., I refer the reader to my book on this subject entitled " Klondj'^ke Facts," a work of about 224 pages. It is published in paper covers at 50 cents a copy and in cloth at $1.00, with maps endil lustrations, and is sent post-paid by the pub lis h ars on receipt of price. JOHN LOVELL & SON, 23 St. Nicholas Street, Montreal, yue. 1«»**F I '■•1 .//.^ 11 The Montreal Star Daily and Weekly ^j*^ {eadinj Newspapeps of Cnada «ig Daily Star Circulates - - 45.000 Weel^ly Star Circulates - - 87,000 132.000 MORE THAN DOUBLE THE CIRCULATION OP ANY OTHER CANADIAN NEWSPAPER The following from a letter received from a large advertiser is but .a sample. The original letter, signtd and authenticaied, is on fyle in the Star office and can be seen any time : - MegsM. OKAIIAM * CO.. PnbliHhorH, Daily and Wekki.y Stah. MONTUKAl.. Dear Sirs r— . " In the tlrdt «lune isnaen of the Star wo puMifttifxl an a|H)tial. The rtJHiilt «)f IIm) mlvcrliH^nn^ul hu» hoen Hii'^'h H complete" cfurprino to uh that we U'el it our «luty •<» lot you know tlie rnturnn. A scrutiny of the ordprw reoolvod from mihucrlhorfl to tho Stah *>how"^ that our !4tocK waf*. through that udvortiHonient. 'iinpo^eil of in 315 different town? or villuKeH of Ontario, 04 IVJ -JU 176 14{ list Quebec . New Brnnswiok. I'rincv K«lward iHiaml, Nova Sootia, N<>wiouu<>ii.-ut, (Jfor^tia, Idaho, lUinoiH. Indiana, Iowa, KanwiH. K«iii- ^L tiK'ky, Maine, MitfuaohuKotts, Maryland, Miohigan, Minnesota, MiHsissippl, If Mifwonri. Montana. Nebraska, New liainpshiro. New Jeriakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, l^aHhingt^tu, V£ Wisconsin. "IT In all. over 'J.300 of your Btibscribern have been hoard from. The return;: have thoroughly oonvinVred uf» of the ♦•flieacy of the Stau a» an iulverilBhiK niedtiim. It certainly reaehe*! the people, ami tho people certainly bavu I'onlldence in anything appearing in itH coIuinuH.*'