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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 GGIDE '°™' YUKON- KLONDIKE: MINKS Full Information of Outfit, Climate, Dawson City, with Notes on Alluvial and Metalliferous Prospecting. ROUTES DESCRIBED IN DETAIL Report of Wm. Ogilvie, F.R.G.S. AND Diary of the late Archbishop Seghers, (Murdered on the Yukon.) BY G. F. HENLEY. pneVINOB PUaUSHINQ OO.. ltd LTV., VIOTOm* ANn VANOeuVBR, ■,o. ?f-^ a.^-'"-'''*^- CONTENTS. Preface 7 The Alaska of the Tourist 9 Fort Wrangd 10 All-Canadian Route 11 Glenora 12 Teslin Lake 12 Hootalinqua River 12 Stickine River 12 Taku Route 13 Treadwell Mine 13 Glacier Bay 14 A Silent City 14 Lynn Canal 15 Chilcoot Pass Trail 16 An Inscription 17 Skagway 17 White Pass 18 Dimensions of Boats 19 Bennet Lake 20 Caribou Crossing 20 Nares Lake 20 Tagish Lake 20 Taku Arm 21 Weather in May 2i Thinklet Indians 21 Marsh 21 Lynx River ii Miles Canyon ; . . . 22 White Horse Rapids 23 ■f ahk-heena River — 23 Lake Le Barge 23 Open Water 23 Lewes River 24 Big Salmon River 24 T,ittle Salmon River 24 Five Finger Rapids 24 Rink Rapids 24 Pelly River 24 Fort Selkirk 25 White River , 25 Stewart River 25 The Valley of the Yukon 25 Klonjec Indian Village 26 Dawson City 27 Amusements 27 Stores 28 Wages 28 Gold Output 28 St. Michael's Route 29 Fort Yukon 29 Circle City 30 Forty Mile 30 Old Woman Rock 30 Dalton Trail 31 The Poor Man's Route 31 Miscellaneous Information 32 Rain and Snow Fall at Dawson . 32 Work on the Trails 32 Features of the Country 32 Reports from Outlying Camps . . 33 A Rich Country " 34 Camp Life . . . ! 35 Women on the Trail . . . ; 35 Climate of the Upper Yukon 37 Miners' Cabin 37 Miners' Outfit 38 PART 2. Notes on Prospecting 41 Gold 41 Alluvial Prospecting 42 How to " Pan out " Gold 43 The Average Value of Gold 43 The Method of Reaching Pay- Dirt 43 Washing the Pay-Dirt 44. Sluice Boxes 44 Rockers 44 Prospecting -for Mineral Bear- ing Ores 44 How to Distinguish the Pre- cious Metals 45 Composition of Rocks 46 Nature of a Few Minerals 47 Mine Surveying 48 Calculation of Areas 48 Cubic Measure 48 Location of Claims 49 Customs Stations 49 Commissioner Ogilvie's Lecture . . 51 Explorers and prospectors 51 Discovery of Gold on Klondike 52 A Stampede 53 Area of Gold Fields 53 Rich Quartz Located 54 Diary of Archbishop Seghers 55 Taiya River 56 Out Into the Torrent 57 Chilcoot Pass 58 The Run of the River 59 A Hermit 60 Scenery of the Lakes 61 Timber 61 Berries 61 Birds 61 Bears and Other Animals 61 Notes in French on the Conduct of a Maniac 62 The Last Entry 63 The Tragedy of Melozikakat ... 63 I I !« I I A 1 I I I ^.^ TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM VICTORIA OR VANCOUVER. ^ VIA STIKINB RIVQR. Miles. Wrangel, steamship 750 Wrangel to Glenora, river steamer 140 Glenora to Telegraph Creek, boat 12 Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake, trail 153 Teslin Lake to Dawson, boat 561 VIA I,YNN CANAI,. Taiya (Dyea), steamship 1,000 Skagway, steamship 995 DISTANCES FROM SKAGWAY BAY TO Head of Bennett Lake, trail 38 Foot of Bennett Lake, boat 64 Nares Laae (Caribou Crossing), boat 67 Tagish Lake, boat 83 Pow Wow River, boat 88 Marsh J ake, boat 108 Head of Miles Canyon, boat 134 Foot of Miles Canyon, boat 134.62 Head of White Horse Rapids, boat 136. 20 Foot of White Horse Rapids, boat 136. 58 Tahk-heena River, boat 151 Head of Lake LeBarge, boat 163 Foot of Lake LeBarge, boat 194 Hootalinqua, boat 225 Big Salmon, boat 258 Little Salmon, boat ^. 293 Five Finger Rapids, boat 352 Rink Rapids, boat 358 Pelly River, boat 411 White River, boat 478 Stewart River, boat 483 Sixty Mile Creek, boat 504 Dawson City, boat 549 Forty Mile, boat 597 Circle City, boat 847 Victoria to St. Michael, boat , 2,200 St. Michael to Dawson, boat I1650 GGIDE TO ™e YUKON- KLONDIKE MINES Full Information of Outfit, Climate, Dawson City, with Notes on Alluvial and Metalliferous Prospecting. ROUTES DESCRIBED IN DETAIL Report of Wm. Ogilvie, F.R.G.S. AND Diary of the late Archbishop Seghers, (Murdered on the Yukon.) BY G. F. HENLEY. NVp 97i/s PRKFACK. UNDER the idea that there are a large number of people living far from the Pacific Coast whose minds have been fired by accounts from the Klondike o-oldfields, and whose ojj|i«-tunities for obtaining reliable information on this subject are at best poor, I have prepared from my own experi- ence, and from the most authentic sources, some matter which I hope may prove useful to them. Under the heading of the "Tourist Route to Alaska," will be found a brief description of the trip from Victoria, to the point of disembarkation, which for the most part is one of pleasure. Then follows a description in some detail of the overland journey to the lakes, and along the lakes and streams con- necting them, together with the relative distances between points, down to, and along the swift current of the Yukon to Dawson. The list comprising the articles of an outfit is intended to give, in a general way, the requirements of a region, frozen the greater part of the year, and difficult and expensive to reach. The notes on alluvial prospecting, and those on searching for metalliferous ores are necessarily brief, and can only be of use to the inexperienced prospector who, it is hoped, may find something in them to inform or to guide him in his search for the precious metals. The statement of the climatic conditions of the Yukon basin is taken from the meteorological reports furnished by the United States and Canadian authorities. 176250 this toilsome work. From Glenora to Lake Teslin, the commencement of the inland fresh waterway, the distance is said to be 153 miles, over a comparatively level country, dotted by marshes, swamps, ponds and lakes, THB FIRST OBSTACI<« met with on the journey is the Taltal River, which is 21 miles from Glenora. This riv^: is swift, and at this point runs between high gravel banks. THK SECOND OBSTACI^E we meet is also a river, the Nialino, and this, like the first, is swift but shallow, ahd somewhat wider than the Taltal. "* In this district the foothills are timbered with spruce, hemlock and pine. Further on stretches of marsh are met, which would, unless corduroyed, necessitate a considerable diver- gence to the side hills. Now comes Lake Teslin, about 100 miles long, at which boats are built, and from which on the water journey presents no gjreat diflficulties. If improvements were made on this trail packing could be done from May to the middle or end of October, at which time • the lakes and rivers commence to freeze. Sawpiills and boat- building would then enliven the scene around Lake Teslin. THU HOOTAWNQUA or Tes-lin-loo, ,as the Indians call this river, leaves Lake Teslin and follows a northwesterly direction to its confluence with the Lewes River, 28 miles below Lake Le Barge. In its course of about 120 miles, it receives numerous tributaries, and wherever prospecting has .been done gold has been found. From Seymour Creek, entering about midway of its course, good reports have come, but owing to the difl&culty in the past of getting in sufficient supplies, miners were obliged to abandon their prospects. When the spring is well advanced, the country at intervals provides good grazing for pack animals, but cannot be de- pended on to supply grass at the close of the summer season. We now return to the STICKINB RIVER. The scenic glories of the river country cannot fail to excite wonder and admiration, and the thousands of tourists who 18 will come to the Coast to see Alaska, and the extraordinarj'' sights accompanying the rush to the gold fields will be well remid for their trouble. The Stickine River follows a westerly course through glassy plains, then curving southward and receiving numerous tributaries from the north, it enters the coast range and sweeps across it to the sea, through a valley that is from i to 3 miles broad, and marvelously beautiful from end to end. The canon of the river is a gallery of sublime pictures, an unbroken series of high mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, cas- cades, groves and grassy meadows, and above them all many peaks and spires tower grandly into the sky. lycaving Wrangel and continuing the journey northward, the ship passes through the picturesque Wrangel Narrows into Souchoi Channel and Frederick Sound. Near Cape Fanshaw you are opposite a group of glaciers, the largest of which is the Patterson glacier. At Sum Dum or Halkam Inlet, another fleet of icebergs come in sight. The scenery in this inlet is of the wildest description. About 40 miles up the Coast more ice- bergs appear; this is the entrance to Taku Inlet. It is 18 miles long, and in this distance you may count 45 glaciers, a sight worth coming round the world to see. The beautiful Taku glacier might well be mentioned here, but by and bye we will see the grandest of them all. TAKU ROUTB. This route starts at the head of Taku Inlet, and involves considerable hardships. Small boats take travellers to the head of the inlet. Then the inland journey commences. The trail crosses a high mountain, and then following the canon of the Taku River for some distance, turns a little to the east and follows the side hills of an opening in the Coast range of mountains to the Inklin river, a distance of about 80 miles. Here rafts or boats are built, and the long water journey com- mences. This route avoids the Grand Canyon and the White Horse Rapids, but the avoidance of these wild waters is scarcely sufl5cient compensation when weighed with the up- hill and down-hill toil of a long and rough trail. A little down the inlet is Juneau, hemmed in in front by the water, and a towering mountain rising like a wall at the back. Just across on Douglas Island is the great TRSADWKlvI, QUARTZ MINB. Dense col" ins of smoke are seen issuing from the chlori- nation workt> which are here, burning that part of the ore which the batteries have not been able to separate from the 14 gold. Its poisonous vapors that the .humid atmosphere has crowded down the mountain sides have bleached the timber almost white. Passing between Douglas and Admiralty Islands the steamer turns to the south into Icy Strait, and moves across to GI.ACIER BAY. The largest of the seven glaciers that discharge into Glacier Bay is the Muir. The front is about three miles wide, but the central berg-discharging portion, which extends across the inlet; like a huge blue barrier, is only about half as wide. The height of the ice- wall above the water is about 300 feet, and 720 feet of the wall is below the surface, While still a third unmeasured portion is buried beneath the material that is being constantly deposited at the foot of it. Therefore, were the water and rocky detritus removed, there would be pre- sented a sheer precipice of ice a mile and a half wide and more than 1,000 feet in height. The bergs given oflF fall with tre- mendous noise like distant thunder. The average rate is about one in six minutes. The largest and most beautiful of the bergs, instead of falling from the exposed wall, rise from the submerged portion with grand commotion, heaving aloft tons of water, while they plunge and heave before they sail away as crystal islands, free at last, and happy, one might think, after being held in an icy grasp for centuries. This grand glacier, draining an area of perhaps i ,000 square miles, and reaching back fifty miles into mysterious solitudes, is two hundred times as large as the Mer de Glace of the Alps. The rate of the motion in the central cascading portion is from seven to ten feet a day. Think of Niagara Falls frozen stifiF and you have a slight idea of the terjninus of Muir Glacier ; picture a background of snow-capped mountains 15,000 feet high, and then imagine, if you can, the effect of the sunshine pouring in iris colors on the crystal ice. A SIIvKNT CITY. An unknown city is said to have been seen by Professor Davis, in mirage over Muir glacier. The buildings seemed to him of massive dimensions, extending in solid and unbroken blocks as far as the eye could reach. The entire limits of .the- city were confined within a halo of light, dense yet transparent, pouring its soft glow upon roof and wall in glorious transform- ation. To the right and left a range of mountains, cov- ered with the garb of winter, formed the background. The cov- The 15 top of a high monument in the center of a broad street seemed to pierce its ghostly robes. At one end of the street a large building with a dome, while near the other end a piazza hav- ing beneath it an excavation running out to the sea appeared. At the other end of the excavation the walls of a building stood apparently uninjured, while the roof had disappeared and smoke seemed to issue from the interior. From beyond the burning building a driveway, in the form of a crescent, seemed to encircle a portion of the city. Yet within the whole of its length and breadth not one soul could be seen. All was silent as a grave. When suddenly the vision began to move awa3^ Its glories and grandeur lured with a fascination which he could not resist. But as he walked forward it seemotd to recede with every pace, and before he could get within the silent portals it was wafted into space and lost to view. The city is said to resemble Bristol, England, but beyond that it remains unidentified. The summers in Alaska are delightful — never oppressively warm ; the long nightless days never lose their spell, and in retrospect the wonders of the Northland appear the greater. Leaving Glacier Bay the steamer proceeds northward into Lynn Canal, the most beautiful of all the mountain-walled channels you have yet seen. The Auk and Eagle glaciers* appear in one view on the right as you enter ; but it is on the west side, near the head of the canal, that the most striking feature of the landscape is seen — the wonderfully picturesque Davidson glacier. Shortly after passing this glacier the northernmost point of the trip is reached at Taiya, the head of CLxx. jot Inlet — the east Arm of Lynn Canal — a little above 59®, and distant from Victoria i,ooo miles. This is the Alaska of the tourist, famous for its glaciers, its beautiful inlets, and its picturesque Indians and their totem poles. But beyond the big white range is another and a totally diflferent country, the valley of the Yukon. Just across the coast range from Taiya is a chain of lakes surrounded by snowy mountains and coneected by a narrow stream, which, after receiving numerous tributaries, swells into a great river and pours its huge flood into Behring Sea. On the lower half of its course the river receives the waters of the Porcupine, Tanana, Kokukuk and numerous small streams, until the mountain brook has, in the 2,400 miles of its course, become one of the greatest rivers on the earth. Leaving the tourist at the head of Lynn Canal the prospector's holiday ends, and he prepares for the more serious task of crossing the mountains. 16 At the head of the canal there are two trails over the moun- tains, which unite at the lakes beyond. CHILCOOT PASS TRAIL. Landing at Taiya, or Dyea, as the miners call it, the plan is to follow the usual route of miners bound for Dawson City — to cross the Chilcoot Pass and descend to the lakes on the other side, dragging the outfit on hand-sleds across these lakes to a point where there are trees to build a boat in which to continue the journey. Near the landing place there is a village of Thlinket Indians, who assist travellers in packing their supplies at so much per pound. In August the price was eight cents to the summit and twenty-five cents to the lakes. The route lies up the valley of the Dyea River, and at certain stages of the water, boats can ascend to within a mile of the cafion, a distance of five miles, and canoes can go one mile further. Here packing commences, and a little further on the sled is loaded, and the mountain climb commences up a steep inclineto Sheep Camp, a distance of eleven or twelve miles from the shore. The elevation of this point is about 800 feet. Looking up a large gorge, flanked by precipitous snow-covered mountains, you can see at the summit a little notch known as the Chilcoot Pass, the gate to the Yukon treasures. The seri- ousness of the task is not apparent. In April the snow had disappeared at sea level, but a short distance up the cafion the ground was covered with it. A few hours' hard climbing brings us to the scales, where supplies are weighed, near the last and hardest part of the ascent. This point is about five miles from Sheep Camp. A toilsome and terrible journey of about a mile up an incline rising at an angle of about forty- five degrees, and we reach the summit. From this lofty and narrow crest of snow and ice we see below the tortuous zigzag trail and ahead the valley of the Yukon stretching away in billows of spotless white. The elevation of the pass is 3,378 feet. The upper limit of timber is reached near the foot of the dreaded pass on the south side, at an elevation of 2,300 feet, and on th^ north side 1,000 feet below the summit. Preparations are now made for the descent — the sled is loaded, and everything made secure for the wild ride down the icy slope. The route is through a gorge and the sled shoots along like an arrow with the motion of a boat in a choppy sea. All goes well while it remains on an even keel, but if it i moun- he plan on City on the se lakes hich to re is a jacking le price to the certain e of the •ne mile : on the a steep e miles CO feet, covered lown as 'he seri- ow had Bon the limbing . lear the )ut five rney of t forty- fty and zigzag way in imit of on the th side Jled is Nti the shoots ihoppy It if it 17 should strike a rock or other obstacle in its flight the conse- quences, in all likelihood, would be serious. « Leaving the gorge the sled runs on to a sort of bench or flat, and four miles down the ravine brings us to a clump of dwarfed spruce trees, the upper limit of timber. A few miles further on and we reach Lake Linderman. The work of getting supplies over the mountain when the snow is soft entails labor of the most slavish kind. If the lake is clear of ice the usual course is to build a raft and float down to the end, and then pack the supplies over the ridge to the head of Lake Bennet. Lake Linderman is five miles long and half a mile wide, and the first of the chain of six lakes of the Upper Yukon. It is shut in by glacier-worn granite hills, and here and there along its shores are a few small pine and spruce trees. All of these lakes remain frozen until May. The trail comes out at the east side of the lake. The timber is not sufficiently long for boats, and instead of taking to the stream, a crooked and rocky one, and dangerous for boats, which connects Linder- man with Lake Bennet, the trail follows a sandy ridge three- quarters of a mile long to the head of Lake Bennet, where the trails unite. Here the following INSCRIPTION was nailed to a tree over eleven years ago : "Archbishop of Victoria, V.I. , accompanied by Fathers Tosi and Robant, camped here and offered the holy sacrifice, July 30, 1886." The above was written by the late Archbishop Seghers scarcely four months before the tragedy (see diary) of Melozi- kakat, on the lonely banks of the Yukon. We will now return to the coast, and as a very large propor- tion of tl\p travel was over the White Pass, it will here be des- cribed in detail. SKAGWAY. The town is situated about two miles south of the head of Chilcoot Inlet, and about four miles from Dyea, from which it is separated by a rocky point. When the reports came out in June of the great discoveries of gold, Skagway was a deso- late looking place, without accommodation of any kind for the thousands that were soon to land on its long sandy beach. Now, twenty -six hotels and saloons are open day and night, and all the concomitants of a fast town are present. The population has grown to about 3,000, and frame build- 18 ings occupy the place where tents were a few months ago. The co«t of living has dropped from the boom prices of early spring to a rate very little in excess of those in the larger towns to the south. The difficulties, too, of landing freight have largely disappeared. Three fine wharves running out to deep water have feeen built, and no longer will be seen the pull-dog pull-devil struggle of horses, dogs and men on the beach. WHITE PASS TRAII.. Starting from the bay, about half a mile in width, at the mouth of the Skagway River, the trail follows the southerly bank for about a mile, then crosses over the bridge and con- tinues on for about three miles to the foot of the hill, at which place there was a little colony of campers who christened the place Eden. There was one lady, a Mrs. Etelstone, from Kentucky, in the camp in August. Up to this point the trail is over level bottom land and admits of the use of wagons ; but here the mountains close in, and the trail rises up the side for about three miles till it reaches an elevation of about i ,000 feet, when it descends to a large tributary of the Skagway called Porcupine Creek, which it crosses over a bridge, and after winding along a hillside known as the Porcupine Hill, descends to the bank of the river, which it follows for about 400 yards to the next bridge, a distance of about four miles from Porcupine Creek. Just below this crossing the river is contracted to d width of about eight feet. The trail now follows the south bank of the river for about two miles, when it again crosses, and, rising over a spur of the moun- tains, about 150 feet above the river, descends to the fourth crossing," a distance of about half a mile from the third cross- ing. From this point there are two trails, one known as the "cut-oflF" and the other as the "turtle-back." The cut-off follows along the river and is used by packers, while the main trail follows down stream for a little way and then crosses the Turtle-back Mountain at an elevation of about 1,300 feet above the level of the river. This part of the trail over the ' * turtle- back," which is about two miles, is conceded to be worse for horses than any other. At the river the trails re-join, and following the bank for about half a mile cross the river for the fifth and last time at the ford which brings us to the foot of the summit. Up to this point there is a good deal of timber, but from the ford to the summit, a distance of two miles, and from the summit to the first meadow, three miles further on, there is no timber. . ro. to :he :he . 19 THE PASS is perhaps a mile wide, and its height is hardly more than 1,000 feet above the ford. The view is grand on a clear day. lyooking backward the dark valley of the Skagway can be traced winding its way through the white domes looming in the azure of the sky, while in front, on either side, stretches an elastic carpet of golden mosses dotted by miniature lakes and ponds, and flanked by an unbroken series of peaks in spotless white, down ,which avalanches from the snow-laden heights boom and reverberate. Here storm-winds gather in the early spring, choking the air with snow and sweep over the lakes beyond. From the summit to the first meadow the descent is very gradual. The First Meadow, as it is called, is a long strip of peat marsh, rather than meadow land. Here a number of horses, too weak from want of food — the miners, trusting to the meadows, packed no hay over the summit — were abandoned during the summer. It is four miles from the first meadow to the second which is similar to the first, but less in area, and about eight miles to the Rocky Ford which crosses Shallow Lake, a strip of water several miles in length. The trail now skirts the lake for over a half a mile and con- tinues through a better timbered country over ridges and marshy places. After passing through about six miles of this kind of country the trail comes out at the lower end of Lake Linderman, and turning to the right follows along the ridge above the rapids to the head of Lake Bennett, the junction of the Dyea and White Pass trails. The heavy demands made upon the trail by the thousands of men and horses churned every marshy spot into a mud hole. Arriving at the head of Bennett Lake before June there are two courses open to the traveller, either to proceed over the ice with his sleigh or to go into camp and build a boat. If he should decide to push on at once he may, if fortune favours him with a good breeze, make good time by putting on the front of the sled a V-shaped mast and rigging up a sail with a tent-fly or blanket. If, on the other hand, he determines to wait for open water, he can buy boards at the mill, 200 yards away, or fell trees, construct a " saw-pit," a scaffolding about eight feet high, and whip-saw the timber into suitable lengths for his boat. The whipsaw is an instrument about eight feet long with a handle at either end. DIMENSIONS OF BOATS. When you make or buy a boat have it at least twenty-two feet long on the bottom, with a prow projecting two feel. . Have the widest part of the boat about one-third of the dis- "t 20 tance aft from the bow. From there have it taper somewhat to the stern. Have the stern with quite a rake, otherwise it will be swamped in the rapids, and the bottom should be tour or five inches higher at th=! stern than amidships. The cost of boats varies very considerably at the lakes. In last August the price for a good boat was two hundred dollars. Timber for boat building is sawed into straight boards a suitable length, and ten inches wide and three- fourths of an inch thick. Lake Bennett is 25.8 miles long, and the upper end is about half a mile wide, and lies between beetling granite ranges which rise from the water to heights of 3,000 and 4,000 feet. About midway of its length another arm, called Wheaton River, comes in from the west. This arm is wider than the other and terminates in rugged and bare mountains. The region is in every sense an Alpine one. The lower part of the lake is over a mile wide, with deep muddy water. Here a broad valley opens to the north, and the beach is low and flat. To the east are high hills, around which the water turns in in a channel called Caribou crossing, about 300 feet wide, and which soon expands into another lake. Caribou Crossing, so called because great bands of caribou cross here. These splendid animals roam over the great un- explored region extending to the head waters of the Dease and lyiard Rivers, and hundreds of miles beyond to the Mackenzie River, which flows from the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest, and pursuing a northerly course empties into the Arctic Ocean. A short stretch of river joins Bennett with Nares. Lake Nares is the shortest of the system; it is 2.7 miles long, and its greatest width is about a mile. On the east side the mountains rise abruptly from the shore. It is joined with Bove Lake by a channel of about 600 yards long. Low alluvial land covered with willows extends along the channel to the west end of Bove Lake. Bove or Tagish Lake is about a mile wide for the first two miles of its length, when it is joined by the Bras des Vents (Windy Arm). Here the lake expands, but soon narrows again to about half a mile. Ten miles from its head the Taku Arm enters from the south. The region of the lakes is most picturesque, abounding in striking points of view, and in land- scapes pleasing in variety, and grand and impressive in their rugged forms. The elevation of this remarkable system of lakes above the sea, by aneroid barometer, is 2,088 to 2,150 feet. 21 Taku Arm, twenty miles long, is narrowed at the entrance to a width of about a mile, and is bordered on the west side by a uniform wall-like range of limestone mountains sloping to the water. The lower end of Tagish Lake occupies a valley which runs through to Bennet Lake. The west side is very flat and shallow, and is usually followed as it affords some shelter from the strong winds which come up from the south. The Pow-Wow, a short tranquil reach of river, five miles in length and about 170 yards wide, connects Tagish with Marsh Lake. This stream was open in mid-chann6l in the early part of May. The weather had been quite warm for several days, and the snow had benun to melt in the valley of the river. About four miles down on the west bank there is a nice camping ground, and directly opposite are Indian log houses, the yearly rendezvous of bands of natives. The Thinklet Indians from Chilcat, Taiya, and the Tenne- hes, from as far away as the mouth of the Pelly River, meet on this neutral ground to trade, and indulge in their great annual drunk with the accompanying feasts and dances. In this vicinity there is good timber for boat building. On May 13 the air was alive with geese on their northward migration, and a day or two later came the wavies {anser hyp^rboreus) ; small game, such as ducks, rabbits and grouse are plentiful. Marsh Lake is nearly twenty miles long and about two miles wide. It lies in a continuation of the same wide valley occupied by the lower end of Tagish Lake. On the jt side the banks are high and gravelly and lotty mountains in the distance bound the view. On the left are low grassy mead- ows beyond which broken hills are seen. At the lower end McClintock river enters from the east, bringiin down great quantities of drift wood, which is banked high near its mouth. Between Lake Marsh and Lake LeBarge, which is the last and longest of the chain of lakes, there are fifty-five miles of river, but in this distance are the two greatest obstacles to navigation in the whole Yukon system — Mile^ Cafion and White Horse Rapids. Spring had advanced with such aston- ishing rapidity that the snow had almost disappeared on May 14, and the weather was superb. Lewis River, where it leaves Marsh Lake has received the name of Lynx River. It is about two hundred yards wide and averages this distance as far as the canon. Twenty-five miles from Lake Marsh we come to a bend, and now see ahead a brown rocky ridge divided by a slit less than 50 feet wide, and at the same time hear the roar of the rapids in their wild rush through the canon . To make the run successfully is easily practicable, but it is ■ft-i ii imperative to keep in the centre of the channel and not to allow the boat to be caught in the eddies. There are two ways of passing the rapids, one by portaging over the hill on the east bank, and the other by boldly running through. To utilize the portage the boats are un- loaded and dragged out of the water, and by means of a wind- lass drawn up the hill slope, about. loo feet high, and then pulled on rollers for three-quarters of a mile to the river. The Archbishop, whose diary is appended, describes the rapids as follows : "Miles Caflon, about five-eighths of a mile in length, lies between two steep, almost perpendicular cliflFs of basalt about loo feet in height, in the shape of columns, through which the whole river, compressed into a space of 50 feet, rushes with tremendous velocity. The water boils up in large waves, having a depression in the centre so that no floating object can possibly strike against the rocks of the bank. For about a quarter of a mile the banks are nearly parallel; then they widen out, the current being more slack between two eddies, the water after leaving this wide circular basin rushes over a large rock into another channel and leaves the Caflon roaring and foaming, as if to testify to its fury. One boat was un- loaded and the supplies packed across the trail along the Caflon. Fuller, an attendant, took the helm, Father Robaut took an oar, the miner we had picked up took another, and as I did not want to see my people jeopardise their lives without sharing their danger, I took my place in front of the boat, my watch in hand, to- measure the velocity of our locomotion. My presence seemed to remove from my followers all dread of the gloomy Caflon. We started off at i p.m., and in a moment the swift, current caught our boat and whirled it between the breakers on each side of the Caflon. It was a terrible scene. We were visibly on an incline and rushing down hill with the speed of a locomotive. The roaring of the water, the spray that filled the air all around us, the waves that struck our scow, which rolled and pitched as if on the billows of the sea, made an impression on our minds that will not easily be forgotten. But we had no time for reflection. In a few moments we found ourselves in a slack current and between two eddies, which we had to avoid most carefully. Then another plunge into the rest of the Caflon. Passing o\rer a rock over which the water poured and foamed a liquid hill behind us that screened from our view the head of the Caflon; we were hauled right and left, tossed and shaken, shipping the water at intervals and merging from the dark place, having made a mile in three minutes and twenty-five n JS seconds. A quick motion of the rudder gave a sharp turn to our scow and brought her^ into slack water, whilst we landed where three of the miners waved their hats to congratulate us on the success of our achievement. On Wednesday moyning, August 25, we left the foot of Miles Caflon, and reached safely the head of White Horse Rapids, a distance of about two miles. Here we had to un- load our boat again and pack the supplies once more a distance of about a mile. Next day we let our boat down the Cafion, holding her stem from the shore with a line and pushing her oflF the rocks with poles. This Cafion has not the same dread- ful appearance as Miles Cafion, but the water is shallow and very boisterous, it rushes over boulders and dashing against them, it recoils and boils backwards, covering itself with a white crest which some extravagant imagination has com- pared to the mane of a white horse. At one moment our boat was in imminent danger of perishing. She J&Ued with water, sank, an . carried away by the current, snatched away the lines from the hands that were holding them, when, in the nick of time. Fuller caught the lines with a pole, all joining in a supreme eflfort got control of the boat and brought her to an eddy. She was promptly bailed out and landed safely at the foot of White Horse Rapids. " TAKH-HEENA RIVER. Fifteen miles from White Horse Rapids, we come to the Takh-heena River, which has its source in the Chilkat moun- tains to the west, and is joined by the Nat-sun-tur River near the falls, about 40 miles from its mouth, which is 12 miles from LAKE LE BARGE. This lake was frozen May 18, although the river was open. It is 31 miles long and from three to six miles wide. The upper end is enclosed by sandstone hills through which there are several channels. When the lake is clear of ice, boats should be headed for an island in the centre, and then cross to the right hand and follow close to the bank as a safeguard in case a storm should be encountered. The lake, which has an elevation of 2,088 feet, lies between broken hills, around which it takes a sharp turn to to the east, with a current of perhaps six miles an hour. Near the end of May the weather was warm and OPEN WATER was reached on lea\ring I^ake lyC Barge on the 20th May. From here to its mouth the Yukon is unobstructed, save by a I *i til ii.ji Hi 24 couple of unimportant rapids, and the remainder of the jour- ney with fine weather, may be a delightful excursion. i^BWBS RIVER. The Lewes River, on leaving the lal^e, is 600 feet in width, This part of the stream from Lake Le Barge to the Pelly River, is called by the miners, Lewes River; it is, as a matter of fact, part of the Yukon. The surface of the country is rolling and hilly, backed by low mountains, and generally wooded in the valleys, the uplands being bare. Caribou and moose are occasionally seen. 31 miles from Lake Le Barge we come once more to the Hootalinqua, and 33 below, the BIG SALMON enters, coming from Lake Quiet, 150 miles or more to the south east, and beyond which is an unexplored country. This river received its name from the quantity of salmon in its waters. It is wonderful how this beautiful fish forces its way over bars and rapids for nearly 1,800 miles from Behring Sea. 35 miles further on at the mouth of the Little Salmon the Tinueh Indians have a camp. They are a fine looking lot of people, drcBsed in skins and furs. Long before we reach the FIVB FINGER RAPIDS, which are 59 miles from Little Salmon, we can see the five columns of rock in the channel of the river. By keeping- to the right no difficulty will be found in running through. Six miles lower down are the RINK RAPIDS. , These rapids are formed by a bar of rocks extending some distance out from the west side of the river. On the east side the passage is quite clear. Light draught steamers with powerful machinery, could ascend to the head of Teslin Lake, 300 miles from Five Fingers. The river is here much swifter than above, and we need row only enough to break the monotony of lounging about in the boat as we drift along past the hills, which close in at the west side 25 miles from PEIvLY RIVER, which is about 300 miles long. It flows from Lake Francis, in the south east, aud follows a north-westerly course to its junction with the McMillan, a large river, coming from a great unexplored country extending to the rocky mountains, and then bends, following a westerly course to its junction with the Lewes River, 53 miles from the Rink Rapids. lur- [er. ct, Ind Ihe ire le 25 FORT SElvKIRK. Nothing now remains of this old fort but a blackened chim- ney. It is a little distance below the junction of the lyCwes and Pelly, and here Harper, whose history is so closely con- nected with the country, has a trading post. I^eaving Fort Selkirk, islands are numerous, and the valley preserves its usual depth of about 800 feet. Cliflfs of basaltic rocks are passed, and gravel terraces occur occasionally, de- creasing in height as we descend. The river now follows a W. N. W. bearing, but lower down bends to the E. and follows a north-easterly direction. Wooded banks and steep slopes with rocky bluffs above, are the chief features of this part of the country. We now reach the WHITE RIVER, which is 95 miles from the Pell> , a great stream fed by tribu- taries coming from as far away as Mt. St. Elias in the west. A view up it showed a wide valley filled with countless bars and islands, between which the swift stream threads its tortuous course and enters the Yukon with a force sufficient to drive its white muddy water half way across and to change the colour of the Yukon from a pale green to white, for a distance of over 100 miles. Ten miles below the STEWART RIVER enters the Yukon from the east. A number of prospectors were at work on its branches near the mouth during the sum- mer. A hundred miles up, it receives the McQuestion, where . it is 400 feet wide and it is deep enough and sufficiently free from bars and rocks to be navigated by flat-bottomed steamers that distance. Moose are plentiful and fish abundant. Along the valley of the rivei are great quantities of berries, such as black and red currants, gooseberries, raspberries, cranberries, and huckleberries. Recent accounts of an official character from this district declare it to be exceedingly rich. An important feature of the river is the constant recurrence along it of high gravel terraces, most of which are more or less auriferous. It is possible that the gold found on the bars in the river is concentrated from these. Twenty-one miles further on we pass Sixty-Mile Creek. THE VALI^EY OF THE YUKON. Leaving the Stewart the river maintains a general northerly course, and in the expanded stretches islands occupy much of the surface. Beaches line the shore and tracking is possible I fi mi for the remainder of the journey. The current is swift and uniform, and at a medium state of the waters runs about 5 miles an hour. The width of the river occasionally exceeds a mile, but it narrows as we approach our destination. The valley of the Yukon from the Pelly is cut through an elevated plateau, on which rest low ranees of partially bare hills, which aflford some grand vifews. Bluffs of rocks and bold rampart- like cliffs are of constant occurrence. The width of the valley varies from one to three miles. We are beside the Indian village Klonjec, from which it is thought Klondike comes. It matters little, however, our ob- jective point is here, we have come 66 miles from the Stewart River, the mighty Yukon continues its uninterrupted course to the sea, and we are now at Dawson, the city of gold. It! 27 ^ DAWSON CITY. The townsite is regularly laid out and comprises an area of 1 60 acres. A broad avenue separates the town from the Yukon. The south portion is on the lower side of the Klon- dike River where it joins the Yukon and the trail to the mines loads through it and along the side hill at the back. A few hundreds livie on this side. The north side, on the opposite bank, is a low and rather marshy piece of ground of about 100 icres and is covered with moss. In cold weather a strong wind usually blows up the Yukon, and Dawson, being on the bend of the river, receives the full force of the blast. But when the temperature is very low a dead calm prevails. The population was over 5,000 in September and increasing daily; hundreds are scattered along the route. Most of the houses are constructed of logs, hewn so as to rest flat on each other. Poles are placed across the roofs and layers of moss and earth of fifteen or twenty inches cover them and serve to keep out the winter's cold. The heavy frost cracks green logs and enters the huts, making less comfortable the lives of the inmates. As in old Cariboo, so also in Klondike, the miner piles u]) great quantities of earth around the walls to keep out the cold blast which sweeps down from the north through the valley of the Yukon. The buildings of the Commercial Companies are large and substantial; these have double walls of boards with saw-dust between. AMUSEMENTS. The chief objects of interest are the dance halls and gam- bling games. Games involving very large sums are running night and day. The loss or gain of a couple of thousands is scarcely noticed. The dance halls open about eight o'clock in the evening and the morning is well advanced before the bands and the belles retire and the festivities draw to a close. Gallant beaux, equipped in blanket suits and heavy nailed boots grace the floor and pay $1.00 for the luxury. Drinks and cigars retail at 50 cents, and such is the thirst for beer that two breweries cannot supply the demand at $125 a keg. Saloons are run "wide open" and do not pay a Hcense. The individual who does the honours, in liquidating his debt, passes hi'; sack over to the bar-keeper, who usually pours out enough dust to settle the amount. There are over sixteen saloons and their receipts are very large. One is said to have m 28 taken $60,000 in sixty days last spring, and on the day the successful miners took their departure on the first steamer of the season the receipts amounted to $6,500. STORES. Together with the general stores there are barbers's shops, laundries, restaurants, jewellery stores, physicians, a half a dozen or so, and real estate offices. The laundries charge $1.50 for washing a white shirt and 75 cents for flannels; shav- ing is 50 cents and a hair-cut $1.00; loaves of bread, and small at that, cost 50 cents. A drove of cattle arrived in Septeraber, and as a conse- quence two butcher's shops were opened and meat was sold at $1.00 a pound, which made work for the solitary dentist, who charges $3.50 to extract a tooth. WAGES. Mechanics receive av ounce of gold for nine hours' work and some of them $20 to $25 a day. There was no sign, up to September, of any diminution of labourers' wages; they received from $10 to $15 a day. CHURCHES. There are two churches, Catholic and Episcopal, and an hospital in charge of ladies of the order of Sisters of Charity. i i GOLD OUTPUT. From careful enquiries from the best authorities, the quan- tity of gold said to have been taken out of Bonanza and Eldorado Creeks alone, up to September ist of last year, would weigh not far from five tons, and yet nothing like a fifth of the claims have been properly worked and some hardly pros- pected. It is hard to realize how plentiful the gold really is in some of the claims. Those yielding less than $2,000 or $3,000 a day scarcely excite a passing comment. Aside from the holders of rich rlaims everybody is in a state of feverish excitement and ready at any moment to make a grand dash for any new diggings. The slightest rumour of th.: discovery of a new creek is enough to cause a stampede, and women, not to be outdone, close their stores and join in the W''d rush. During these stampedes men rarely take time to cook i proper meal. OflF a man- will start with nothing more 29 than a-"slap-jack" in his stomach and hope in his heart. For- tunes are made by men who work on the "lay," that is to say, the owners rent out their prospects to the workmen for one half the gold product. ST. MICHAEL'S ROUTE. There are, in general, two ways of reaching the Klondike. The easier way, but the longer, is entirely by water, and occu- pies about thirty-five days. The traveller, taking ship at Vic- toria, sails ' direct for St. Mif hael, seventy miles from the mouth of the Yukon River, a distance of 2,200 miles. Enor- mous quantities of supplies are shipped here every year for the trading posts and missions on the river. . Steamers drawing four feet of Vater can ascend' the Yukon for a distance of 1,800 miles to the Felly River, and smaller beats, with powerful machinery would be able to pass the Five Finger Rapids, and ascend to the head of Teslin Lake. Navi- gation on the lower part of the river usually opens about the end of June and closes in the early days of October; the uj)per part of the river is clear of ice a couple of weeks earlier and ice begins to run again about the end of October. For two weeks suceeding September 29th of the present year, ice cut ofif all entrance to the river channel; then a hard thaw came, lasting a few days. On the i6th of October, at St. Michael, the weather indicated that winter had set in in earnest. Entering the river, which flows into Behring Sea through several mouths, the greatest north being about sixty-five miles from the most southern artery, the direction is easterly, but soon bends round to the north and follows a general northeast bearing for. about 200 miles to Nulato, where the river bends to the east. About sixty miles further on we come to Melozi- kakat. From this on the course is a little to the north of east to the Tanana River, which enters from the southwest and is several hundred miles long. Before reaching tlie Lower Ram- parts, abrupt limestone cliffs, Minook Creek is passed. Here gold was discovered, giving rise to a mild stampede in '96. At the Shaman Village the river broadens out, and further on islands occur, with which the river is thickly dotted for the next seventy or eighty miles. FORT YUKON now abandoned, is situated nearly two miles above the mouth of the Porcupine, a great stream coming from the region of McKenzie Bay in the north, and is distant from St. 80 Michael's about 1,300 miles. At the Yukon Flats, a short dis- tance above, the river has practically no confining valley and the bordering plains extend to the horizon on either side, unbroken by a single elevation, and having the appearance of the existence, at one time, of a lake basin or an abnormal ex- pansion of the river which is here divided into numberless channels by a labyrinth of islands. Owing to the unusual lowness of the water on the flats there were only two small steamers able to make the ascent of the river after August 12th. One of these was the Weave, whose arrival in Dawson with 160 tons^of provisions was hailed with rapturous delight. Near the head of the islands we pass the camp of Senatee, the most powerful chief in the whole Yukon country, and at one time a murderous cannibal; but time has now tanied his ferocious disposition, and a handful of tea is enough to draw from him a long oration descriptive of his enduring love for the white race. CIRCLE CITY. This is the distributing point for the mines of the district of Birch Creek, the upper waters of which are reached by a portage of six miles to the east. .Birch Creek is about 150 miles long and runs nearly parallel with the Yukon from the bend above the flats. At Fort Cudahy, about 250 miles fur- ther up the river, there are several stores and places of amuse- ment. The post is at the mouth of Forty Mile River, said to have a total length of more than 100 miles of which the lower twenty-three are in Canadian territory. Its position on the map is defined by the intersection of the 64th degree of north latitude and 141st degree of west longitude. Its bars have yielded a large quantity of gold, one man having taken $52,000 in the season of '96. The average value of labour is $10 a day, andf bars yielding less have been abandoned. Fifteen miles below Forty Mile Post a large mass of rock- stands on the east bank, known as Old Woman's Rock, and according to an Indian legend represents a scolding wife who, for her viciousness, received a powerful blow from her hus- band that sent her clean across the river, here half a mile wide. On her landing she was converted into a mass of rock, which remains to this day a memorial of the unhappy woman. A similar rock on the west side, being known as Old Man's Rock, testifies to the power of the Shaman (akin to magi), and is all that remains of her husband who, seeing the terrible result of his unkindness, it is reasonable to suppose, was petri- fied with astonishment. Fort Reliance is about fortv miles f^ 81 from Cudahy and six and a half miles from the Klonjec vil- lage at the mouth of the best salmon stream in the whole Yukon country. It is a small river about forty yards wide at the mouth and of a beautiful blue colour. Lieutenant Schwatka, of the United States Navy, named it Deer River, but it is known to the world as the Klondike. DALTON TRAIL. The trail (so for as there is any trail) is from the head of the western arm of Lynn Canal and starts at Portage Cove, across the peninsula to the eastern banks of the Chilcat River, thence along the banks of the river for six miles, when it crosses and follows the western bank for about thirty miles to Klukwan on the Kleheena River, thence six or eight miles to the British line, thence about 150 miles to the Dalton Trad- ing Post on a branch of the Alsec River, thence in a northerly direction about 160 miles to Fort Selkirk at the mouth of the Pelly River. This is the favourite route for live stock. There is a good deal of timber along the route and large stretches of open grass land are met. THE POOR man's route. Tliis is an overland route, for which Kamloops and Ash- croft in the interior of British Columbia, and on the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, are the outfitting points. The route lies over an old trail from Lac La Hache to Soda Creek along the Fraser River to Quesnelle, thence to a settlement on Fraser Lake 152 miles further on. In the next stretch of 135 miles Mud, Nechaco and Blackwatcr Rivers are crossed, several Indian settlements are met and excellent grazing for cattle can be found. We next come to Stewart and from there to Hazleton it is 235 miles, or as the Indians say, "it is twenty pounds of fish," meaning seven days' travel. From Hazleton to Glenora is about 200 miles. From this point to TesHn Lake the country affords good grazing in the spring and early summer, as already mentioned. The distance be- tween these two points over a route recently discovered is said to be only 130 miles. The country in the region of the lakes is not now considered inaccessible, and if official reports of the United States and Canadian authorities, together with the statement of Mr. Neill McArthur, who spent eight years on the Yukon and tribu- taries, are to be relied upon, the country is exceedingly rich. But the old story of scarcity of provisions obliged men to abandon their prospects. • 82 MISCELI.ANEOUS INFORMATION. The following articles should be included in the outfit: i mortar and pestle, i sieve of 40-mesh, i magnifying glass, i magnet, 3 canvas sample bags, i compass, 8 lbs. of oakum, 6 lbs. of pitch, I pair rowlocks, 3 lbs. candle wick, pail and saucepan. RAIN AND SNOW AT DAWSON CITY, 1896. Snow fell four days in January, five in March, four in April, one in May, two in September, six in November and six in December. In the same year it rained two days in April, four in May, twelve in June, three in July, eight in August, two in September, and one in October. The coldest day of the year was January 26th-— 68 degrees, and the warmest days were July 1st and 2nd — 81 degrees. WORK ON THE Trails. The material for three aerial cable freight tramways has ar- rived at Dyea. These facilities for moving freight should entirely alter and simplify the mountain climbing ordeal and render the journey to the lakes a far less arduous task. WHITE PASS. A large number of men are now at work constructing bridges and making a waggon road to the lakes where, it is fully expected, steamers will be ready to accommodate the great rush in the coming spring. The completion of these improvements will so alter the character of the journey as to make a degree of pleasure possible, where toil and trouble were experienced before. WHITE HORSE RAPIDS. A tramway, intended to take boats,, passengers and their supplies, is being built around the rapids. A party of experi- efeced men have been engaged for some time piloting miners' boats. SOME FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY. The country is well timbered along the margin of the river, but inland the ground is covered with what is locally known as nigger grass. This is a coarse grass which falls each year and tangles in such a way as to make walking very difficult. On this a scrubby growth of trees is found extending up the 88 mountains. Above the timber line the rocks are bare; the miners keep to the top of the ridge when travelling; below the recks are covered with from twelve to fourteen inches of moss. Prospecting is done in winter. The moss and decayed rub- bish is cleared away and fir^ is applied to burn down to the bed-rock. The frost gfives way before the fire twelve to six- teen inches in a day. Having burned down to bed-rock, it may be fifteen feet or so below the surface, and found the pay- streak, drifting is started. The upper part is usually barren, and the pay dirt lies on the rock beneath, and above it in some instances to a depth of four feet. The accompanying map of Alaska and the Northwest Ter- ritory, in which the mines are located, shows the Mackenzie River, referred to in the report of Commissioner Ogilvie, and an immt^ise extent of country that has never been explored. The mines so far discovered are the gravel deposits in an area of country small compared with all that in which other deposits^may be found. So far as thorough prospecting is concerned, the basin of the Yukon has Hardly been entered. The tributaries of the Yukon vary in length from 60 to 300 miles. That there are possibilities of discoveries of much more wealth cannot be doubted. * The headwaters of the Klondike have not yet been ex- plored owing to the difficulty in getting in provisions. Hun- ker Creek is held in high esteem. It has two forks, one known as Gold Bottom, the other as Last Chance; both are fully staked and each stands well. Too Much Gold Creek (so called because Indians saw specks of mica at the bottom) enters the Klondike fully fifty miles above the mouth, and as high as half an ounce has been taken out of a prospect hole. Recent reports from Sulphur and Dominion creeks confirm the early accounts of their richness. Dominion is longer than Bonanza and Sulphur is about fifteen miles long with a bot- tom averaging 600 feet from base to base of hills. Bear Creek- is said to be as rich as Bonanza below Discovery claim. Pros- pects on Victoria Creek have shown as high as $150 to a pan. Skookum Pup promises immensely. This stream enters Bonanza at No. 26 above Discovery. The two claims were sold for $25,000 and a little later $30,000 was taken from the lower claim and only three box lengths had been worked. The pay gravel runs thirty feet wide, ten feet deep and about ^ a mile up the gulch. Eldorado meets Bonanza at No. 7 above Discovery, from which a single clean-up yielded 365^ ounces, and claim No. 67 is at the source of the main stream of the tributary. It is extremely rich from its mouth to the forks at No. 47. A party of twenty-five men, arriving in Victoria as late as December 3rd from Dawson, bring down astonishing ac- counts of the output of gold, not only of Bonanza and El- dorado, but also of Sulphur Gulch, Hunker, Gold Bottom and Last Chance Creeks. The problem of how to export the full volume of the yellow dust, which has been largely increased since the discovery of Davis, Mosquito, Cricken, Miller, Glacier and several other creeks, becomes a really serious one. At a modest calculation there will be twenty-five to thirty- five millions to add to the world's treasure next spring. It may be said that the opinion that ranks these placers peerless seems just. Indian Creek joins the Yukon midway between the Klon- dike and Stewart Rivers and all along the creek good pay has been found. Further up lies the head of several branches of the Stewart on which good prospects have been found. Gold has been found in several of the streams joining the Pelly and on the west side above Selkirk some work has been done with good results, and on a large creek, some thirty or forty miles below Selkirk, fair prospects have been found, but the difficulty of getting supplies prevented extensive pros- pecting. Gold has been found on the head of the Alsec River near Chilcat Inlet, and all along the Hootalinqua. There is a belt of silver-bearing ledges which extends from the Pelly to the Stickeen. In this region, without doubt one of the richest in the entire country, argentiferous galena is known to occur in great deposits. A very large percentage of the streams between the Sticke.en and Skeena give placers of $5.00 to $10 a day. From the district of Teslin Lake, where gold quartz and especially copper ores abound, to Quesnelle, mineral-bear- ing ledges have been noted by early explorers. From what has been said it may be assumed that in all this country there is gold, while in this particular zone it is especi- ally abundant. This zone lies outside of the Rocky Moun- tains and distant from them by about 150 miles. There is no doubt that this country offers to men of fortitude and steadiness an opportunity to make more money in a given time than they possibly could make anywhere else. With the improved means of transportation new camps and towns are springing up like magic. 86 CAMP LIPB. Going into camp the first thing to do is to put up the tent; then a quantity of dry wood is collected to make a fire and prepare the hurried camp meal, which usually consists of flap- jacks (pan-cakes), bacon and coffee, after which the weary traveller lights his pipe and prepares a spring mattress of cedar and spruce boughs on which to spread his blankets or sleeping-bag. If he is in a sheltered spot the ice and snow and howling wind without will not disturb him. A NEW DISCOVERY. The latest rush was to Dean Creek, heading towards El- dorado and about two miles south of Dawson. WOMEN ON THE TRAIL. So far from women being a bar or a hindrance to men, yie writer having seen them on the trail, believes they are rather a help and a spur when difficulties arise. Few men would falter or turn back when a brave woman was leading the way. Miss Alice Hyde was met at the summit of the White Pass, her face turned towards the wonderland of the North. The ''first meadow" was ahead — a veritable quagmire — but noth- ing daunted she pushed on and to-day owns a claim having "pay-dirt" six feet in depth and ^ twenty-two feet in width. Writing from Dawson she says: "During the month of No- vember the sun only showed his face for about three hours each day, but there was twilight for two or three hours longer. The northern lights are very grand, the sky appearing to be ablaze at times; their beams darting through the air make a whizzing noise and cast a shadow on the ground. It is strange that the lights appear in the South in this latitude. "Once over the mountains the trip was by no means as I had been led to believe. When I think of the wildness and grandeur of the scenery along the route, and of being in the heart of a ' country I had only heard of as the home of the grizzly bear, I feel like one in a dream. There are about thirty families here. The town is very orderly, but not picturesque. Last summer there were only two things more plentiful than dogs — mosquitoes and gold dust. The mosquitoes were a plague, and no one should be without netting to protect the face; the dogs continue a menace to limb by day and a howl- ing horror by night. The people are very kind and seem anxious to help one another. No one should come without ample provisions as it is not considered likely that the trans- portation companies on the river will be able to bring up suf- ninn r --^ $6 ficient supplies for the thousands said to be on the way. "The following list may be of value to those intending to make the trip : 3 suits winter underwear, i suit Mackinaw and bloomers, 3 pairs wool stockings, i undervest (chamois), i warm dress, i short skirt of heavy material to wear over bloomers, i pair heavy wool gloves, 2 pair heavy wool mittens, I cap, I night dress (flannel), i wrapper, snow glasses, 2 pair sHppers, i pair walking shoes, i pair felt boots, 4 pair heavy stockings, i pair gum boots, 4 pair moccassins, i warm hood. 4 suits summer underwear, i suit summer waist and bloomers, i dress (summer), 3 shirt waists, gloves to protect hands from mosquitoes, aprons, hat with broad brim to keep netting away from face, light night dress. '^The following articles should be packed in a box in suf- ficient quantities for the journey (a month) to prevent opening of large packages: Flour, bacon, germea, rice, beans, sugar, extract of beef, baking powder, salt, pepper, pilot bread, dried fruits, canned beef, chocolate and condensed cream. A sep- arate canvas bag will be found a convenience for the following articles of bedding: i feather pillow, 3 pair of good blankets, I piece of canvas, instead of sleeping bag, i water-proof sheet, I ready -sewed tick can be filled with dried moss, i small hand bag for sundries. A lady's outfit for a year will cost at the least $400 — this sum will not purchase a good outfit for a man. 37 CLIMATE OF THE YUKON. From observations by U.S. authorities in the Autumn of '89, the temperature first touched zero on Nov. 4th, and the last zero recorded in the spring of '90 was on April 30th. The lowest temperature being 59 ® below zero on January ist. Snow vStorms may occur between September and May. In June the sun rises at about 2 a.m. and sets at 10:30 p.m., giving more than 20 hours of daylight, and twilight the re- mainder of the time. The mean summer temperature rises. to between 60 ° and 70 ° . There is almost a continuous sun in summe*" time. Evaporation is very slow, owing to the thick moss which will not conduct the heat. Report from the Northwest Mounted Police under Stafi Sergt. Hayne of the Meteorological Service. Table showing the Highest and Lowest Temperature at Port Constantine, Yukon. Winter 1895 and 1896. Date. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. High how High Low -140 a60 -6 -16 High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low I ajo 15O ao II -340-380 -ao 0-330 -7O-26O 11O-24O 30O 50 5 -54 -61 -5 -31 18 8 -38 50 30 61 30 10 II -I 7 -6 -I a -25 -27 -45 12 -20 15 -31 15 -4 9 -8 -31 -42 -35 -55 39 6 21 I 56 38 30 I -9 -21 -45 -16 -42 4 -ao 33 14 33 20 55 37 58 35 03 33. 35 a6 12 -25 -49 -48 -56 -3 -15 28 II 43 37 30 -13 -37 -13 -26 -13 -42 9 -5 39 19 .WINTER OF 1896 AND 1897. No continuous fine weather occurred until May 4th, after which date and during the balance of the month the temperature frequently rose above 60 ° . The Yukon River froze up on Nov. 5th and broke on May 17th. Forty Mile River broke up on May 15th and on tho 31st the temperature reached 75 ° . In June the reading was 70 ° for twelve days and on the 31st, 80 ® . The highest temperature in July was 83 o ; rain fell 11 day«, and in October 12 days. It may be said winter set in about the end of September. Zero was first touched on October 5th, and the average tem- perature of that month was 26 ® . MINER'S CABIN. The miner's cabin is a small affair, about 12x14 feet. The roof is heavily earthed and is usually very warm. Miners who do not work their claims in winter, very often, become very indolent, only eating those things most easily cooked. This 88 manner of living sometimes leads to. scurvy. It is therefore best to procure the most varied outfit of food that can be obtained. I MINER'S OUTFIT. It would be unwise to go to the Yukon placing any depend- ence on a certainty of obtaining what was required from the leading houses in the country. A number of steamers were unable to get up the Yukon River with supplies, (as mentioned in the notes on the St. Michael's roule.) The gold seeker should therefore go prepared to be independent for a year. For convenience tiie outfit is divided into three parts. It is winter that one must think of in preparing, not sum- mer. Clothing. 3 Suits heavy wool underwear. 3 Heavy wool overshirts. 1 Heavy wool sweater. 2 Pair trousers, one close-v/^oven for winter wear. Would be improved by cotton batting quilting in seat and over thighs and knees. 2 Pair good overalls, one felt lined. I Vest. I Sack coat. 3 Jumpers. I Coat (skin preferable with hair on, turned inside) with warm lining and belt. I Wide brim hat for summer. I Fur cap, large enough to pull down over head and with fur-lined ear flaps. I Wool neck scarf. 1 Pair heavy nailed boots for prospecting on rocky ground. 2 Pair gum boots, leather soled and nail-protected, for work in the cold and marshy ground in winter. 3 Pair seamless felt ankle moccasins. 1 Pair of strong slippers for indoor wear. 2 Pair heavy blankets (wool.) I Fur robe for sled travel and cover at night (sheepskin is good and not expensive) 2o Yards mosquito bar netting for veiling to protect from mosquitoes in summer. 1 Sheet rubber water-proof cloth, 12 feet square. 2 leather or deer hide packing cases for small articles. Towels, etc. 89 I Set pack straps. I Tent. I sleeping bag. 1 Pair blue goggles to prevent snow blindness. In the matter of food, individual tastes differ, and the range of selection is vrider than with the clothing. I^ife in the Yukon is not all a picnic. One going there eats to live. The following is a good list : — 300 Pounds flour. ^ 50 " Germea, contains more nutriment than oat- meal, and is very easily prepared. 15 •' Rice. 150 " Bacon, boneless, sliced, packed in tins. 100 " Beans. 80 " Potatoes (peeled) evaporated. 100 " Dried fruit, stoned and peeled, and seedless raisins. 25. " Dried beef, chipped, in tin. 25 " Tea. . ' 80. " Sugar. .5 * ' Coffee extract. Condensed milk (20 cans). 75 ** Vegetable biscuits. 40 *' lyard. 5 " Beef extract. 2 " Pepper. • 10 " Baking powder. 10 " Salt. 60 " Dried soup vegetables. Most of the above articles should have water-proof covering. Avoid carrying waste — for example, the bone^ and rind of bacon, the stones of fruit, etc. All the articles which ai^e com- pressible have compressed. From the dried soup, vegetables and beef extract, a considerable quantity of soup can be made at one time, frozen in cakes, and then used as needed. To prepare it, thaw and heat over a fire, adding water. The packages should, as near as possible, be of a uniform weight, 50 or 70 pounds, otherwise it will be difficult to handle them. KITCHEN UTENSIIvS. I Stove and pipe, the latter in flat sheets, with seam edge crimped for joining, 1 Fry pan, with folding handle. 2 Pots, with cover and bail, sizes to nest together. I Kettle. 1 Tea pot. 2 Pans for bread baking, sizes to nest. W ■ — - 40 2 Soup plates, blue or graniteware. 2 Cups 1 Can opener, knives, forks, spoons. Aluminum ware is light and easily cleaned. TOOLS. • 2 Gold pans, i flask quicksilver. 1 3^ inch pick, with large eye, and one for heavy work, 2 ha^i^les. I Shovel. I Axe. I Hatchet, hammer head, claw. I Timber saw. ' * I Riphand saw. I Brace and bits. I Saw set and file. I Square. 1 Jack plane. ID pounds i2-penny nails. 20 '* assorted nails. 2 Pair 8 inch strap butts. ~ • IVflSCELIvANEOUS. 6o Pounds candles. ID " Soap. I *' Glycerine. It does not freeze. Most valuable in the cold north for medicinal use. Good for cuts, bruises, frost bite. Apply externally for sore throat, use internally for bowel complaint. A combined rifle and shotgun, and ammunition. Fishing tackle, ico feet ^ inch hemp rope. A small roll of surgeon's plaster, antiseptic gauze for dress- ing w»unds, and an assortment of medicines in the form of pellets and capsules, particularly laxatives and remedies for dysentery. This list will look large to men not accustomed to mining or out-door life. It is difficult for them to realize the require- ments for a year in the frozen North. To some of those who now go in search of gold the reward in the end will prove to have justified their action ; but will it to the many ? Any way^ if you must go, go prepared to preserve life andheaiLh iii<'. co mine without unnecessary waste of time, which in the \'ukon is both valuable and costly. To accomplish these things, be sure in preparing to have as efficient an outfit as money will buy. A dependence on what is being offiered as an outfit by San Francisco advertisers and others who know nothing about the requirements is only a form of premeditated suicide. PART a. eology of the Yukon. Notes on Alluvial and Metalliferous Prospecting. CO Resfr.rding the geology of the Upper Yukon Prof. Linderman, whi: explored the region in 'yj and '73, says: "The mineral zo'.r, c ji^tends east and west. The geological formation where ' Oid 'h io und is a black slate of the carboniferous age. ' ' ' ; > nk the entire country is mineral territory and the EafU 1 Alaskan range gold bearing. The placers being found i V. every stream leading from the range. I crossed and examined fifty-two streams and rivers and panned gold in all of them. I took gold out of the Katrin Hills about 230 miles north of Cook's Inlet. On Porcupine I found gold and some nuggets." ' * The dip rock varies from i x ° to 7 "^ . There were tremendous ledges of low grade ore that world be profitable t> big mills." '^'iis extract from Prof. lyinderman's report coincides, in a V laerf j1 manner, with the report of Boundary Commissioner Ogilvie, just issued. GOI.D. Gold has ever been, from the earliest ages, one of the most potent factors in the affairs of men. In what country or in what age it was first discovered history does not tell. Some accounts point to India, but all are mere conjecture. Certain wmm. ^gmmrn mm 42 it is however, that it possesses a remarkable influence and a power, before which men and even nations bow. With the discovery of gold cities and civilization spring into being and everywhere, as a result, the arts and sciences flourish. Several theories have been advanced to account for its origin, one is that gold in nature is always found associated with silver, and the ratio of gold to sib/er is not uniform. If silver never occurs without some go; ^^ foi lows that the gold has grown from the silver, and the vi ; proportions found in difierent mines are due to the length dme the growth has been going on. Another writer says, that the scientific world generally in later years concedes the fact that the metals are a product from the solutions precipitated by nature's electrical forces, and adds, it is also an ascertained fact that the nearer we approach to the North Pole the stronger are the electro- magnetic forces precipitated. Everywhere the origin of gold is the same. It is liberated from its rock matrix by the natural processes of the erosive agencies of frost and disintegration, and is placed where found by glacial action or by running water. The action of frost is principally in breaking the lodes in place into fragments, the grinding together of these fragments in the streams and gradually wearing away ^liberates the gold. Once freed it works its way downward to bedrock, while its once rock matrix is carried on as sand to the sea. "^ ALLUVIAL PROSPECTING. The water washing away gold-bearing matter carries the lighter particles down the stream while the heavier particles are left behind. The point where the stream changes direction is very often the richest. The sides of swift currents and the inner rim of curves should be examined. Where an accumulation of gravel occurs on the slope of a hill or along the course of a stream where gold has been found, a portion of it should be ' ' panned " as it may contain rich runs of gold near the bedrock. Wherever drift matter may be found or supposed to exist, do not neglect it though it be covered with vegetation. The deposits of rich alluvial matter found in the tributaries of the Klondike were covered with twelve and fourteen inches of moss. Along the course of a river there may be many bends, these bends are much more likely places to nnd rich deposits than where the stream is straight. In ages gone by the gold-bearing drifts may not have followed the existing course of streams, bnt may have been at an angle to the present channels, wherever these old channels are found careful 4S search should be made and an endeavour to trace them from the points where the present streams cut away. The trouble taken in this work is often well repaid by the discovery of rich diggings. Not only should the beds, of streams and dry creeks at the bottom of valleys be examined, but the char- acteristics of loose rocks in gulches and ravines should be observed. Eddies and waterholes are likely places, and should the body of water in a stream be too great it must be turned by digging trenches. The appliancei. used in prospecting are the pick, shovel and pan. TO "pan out" gold. The operation is very simple yet it requires some skill. Fill the pan with gravel or other matter, as you find it where working. Then pour in water and shake round about and from side to side, allowing all soluble matter to pass over the edge. This is done by tilting the pan to one side. It is convenient to have two pans or else a second vessel, so as to save time. In this way the rough work can be done rapidly, the fine stuff containing gold being thrown together and washed carefully over the other pan, the prospector keeping in mind the number of pans. A heaped pan-load weighs about twenty pounds, so that one pan represents the looth part of a short ton. The size of a gold pan used in California is about twenty inches circumference and four or five inches deep. THE AVERAGE VALUE OF GOLD. A grain of pure gold is worth a little less than 4^ cents. The average of gold from many placers is about 3^ cents per grain. About lyi yards of gravel when dug is equal to one yard before being dug. Several pans of dirt can be measured ' and the number to the yard determined . In sinking shafts for testing purposes energy should not be wasted in making them too large, 2% depths. feet is large enough for considerable THE METHOD OF REACHING PAY-DIRT. It is always the case that pay-dirt — dirt containing gold — lies next to the rock. This being the case it is necessary to clear away the gravel or dirt that lies between the surface and the bed-rock. In the Klondike the ground is frozen to a depth of between 10 and 20 feet. To reach the bed-rock large files are made- wood is plentiful — this naturally thaws out the frost. The bed-rock being reached and sufl&cient pay being found to II 44 warrant a continuance of the work, the prospector then com- mences tunnelling or drifting. The dirt then removed is hoisted to the top and placed on the dump to await the coming of spring. ' This method of thawing out the frozen ground enables the miner t© remove the pay-dirt, thus doing away with the long period of idleness. WASHING THE PAY-DIRT. After working until April or May the water begins to run. Then the timber is prepared and the sluice boxes put in. SIvUICE BOXES. After the course of the water is turned along the hill-side, a dam is built and sluice boxes erected. These boxes consist of a series of wooden troughs, having a suitable inclination, across the inside of the bottom small strips of wood are fixed. If the gold is fine the grade is slight, if coarse a greater pitch is given. By making one end of the box narrower than the other end, they can be made to fit one into the other, thus making a sluice of any length desired. The earth is then thrown in and the running water washes it away leaving the particles of gold in front of the bars on the bottom of the sluice boxes. . ROCKERS. When it happens that a claim is too far from water, a rocker is used. The rocker is just what its name indicates. The dirt is placed within it and it is rocked until the dirt and gold have been shaken apart. PROSPECTING FOR MINERAL-BEARING ORES. No advantage would come to the prospector from a dis- cussion of the origin of mineral-bearing ores, but it is well something should be known of their depositions. It is a generally accepted belief that in creation 's early days the earth was a molten mass, and that the metalliferous ores were ejected from the interior by volcanic action through fissures it> the outer crust formed by a more or less lengthy period of cooling. In any particular district mineral lodes usually follow the same direction and will be found to run parallel. In some districts a second series occur and run right across the first, but these are generally less rich and are of a different nature of mineral. 45 PROSPECTING. Prospecting on the hills may. be done with comparative ease \ if the country is exposed, by observing the outcrops and tracing them to lower ground. The sides of valleys, land slips, cliflfs, gulches and cafions exposed to view by the action of water should be studied carefully. On rough ground the direction of a lode will appear crooked. If " float " (fragments of mineral-bearing rock) occurs the prospector should follow it up, "panning" as he goes until he ceases to find any more float and the indications of colour in the pan lessen, then skirmish on the side or end hills for a lode, remembering that the float was washed down according to the law of gravity. If he succeeds it is not likely to be isolated, it may represent many more richer or poorer in the district. lyong exposure to the weather may have rendered the float quite barren, while the mother lode may be very rich. The nearer to the lode the more angular and less worn it is. The better locations for the occurrence of u:ineral deposits are at or near the contact of two different formations. Notice sudden changes and faults in the ridge. Search should be made for the-rock known to be the matrix of veins. The matrices are fluor spar and calc spar, but quartz is the most general. When the float is found to be honeycombed and stained a reddish brown by iron oxide, it is considered an excellent indication. Exposure to the atmosphere decomposed the iron or copper pyrites and stained the rock. When such rock is found no experienced miner will neglect the opportunity of having it tested. If he submits it to the camp expert, his opinion may be no more reliable than the average weather prophet. The best plan is to have an assay made by a competent authority, but the miner may make a test himself which, with some practice, may give fair results. The prospector should become familiar with the appearance of the oxides in the outcrop as they indicate the nature of the sulphides in the rock beneath. HOW TO DISTINGUISH THE PRECIOUS METALS. Silver is white, but when found on the surface is usually tarnished ; it can be flattened by beating and is easily cut ; the ore usually contains a percentage of gold and copper. It is found in limestone, sandstone, trap, porphyry and slate ; its gangue is usually quartz, fluor spar and calc spar. Silver glance (sulphide of silver) is usually found along with copper, 46 lead, iron, zinc, antimony, etc. ; its colour is grej'^ish or blackish; in the sunlight it has a bright lustre. It is soft and is fusible at a very low temperature. If silver-bearing ores be heated in the fire and dropped into water drops of the metal will appear on the surface. Strenuous efforts are being made by the Bi-metallic League in the United States, England and other countries to advance the price of silver, but unfortunately the best efforts have so far- proved unavailing. The prospector, however, should not be indifferent to silver-bearing ores. Chloride of silver (horn silver) found in some districts — notably in the Slocan and Trail districts of B.C. — contains a very large percentage of the metal. This is a soft mineral looking like horn or wax and cut- ting like it ; occurs (often with carbonate of lead) in the upper parts of lodes. Ores of copper occur in every age and in lodes and deposits. The oxide stain of decomposed pyrites containing copper is black, unless iron is present ; the ores can be cut with a knife. A boiling solution of nitrate of soda and citric acid will dis- solve copper pyrites. The solution will cover a steel blade with a copper film. To test copper ores in camp, roast and drop while hot into grease. When exposed to a flame a green colour may be seen if copper is present. Native copper is found in tree-like and fanciful shapes — colour red. The ore usually carries gold and silver. Lead. — The ores of lead, like copper, occur in many rocks, some of which are limestone, granite, sandstone, &c. Galena and carbonate (white lead ore) are the principal ores of lead. They are often very rich in silver. Galena is easily known by its bright appearance when cut. Carbonate is of a dull colour and when broken up is like clay or earth. COMPOSITION OF ROCKS. The first rocks formed were the lower crystalline, Archaean granite, and, as the earth cooled, solidified, forming a crust and, owing to the shrinkage of the interior, cracked and through these cracks streams of the molten matter poured. Then through disintegration aided by the destructive agency of carbonic acid gas, began the slow process of formation of sedi- mentary rocks, which in turn, from pressure and other causes, were to harden into rocks. Rocks consist essentially of minerals, and the minerals of the common rocks are of four groups: i. Quartz, called in chemistry silica; 2. silicates or compounds of silica ; 3. carbon ; 4. carbonates, or compounds of carbon. • 47 Quartz is the commonest of all species and is one of the hardest minerals. Most sandstones and conglomerates con- sist largely of quartz (nearly every colour, generally white or brownish.) Fragmental rocks include sandstones, shales and conglomer- ates. Stratified rocks are in beds and sedimentary are de- posited as a sediment out of the decomposition and washing down of the rocks of the age preceding. Crystalline Rocks. — Some metamorphic, some igneous meta- morphic rocks are those changed by heat or pressure; examples, marble, mica, schist, gneiss and much granite, &c. " Igneous rocks have come up melted through volcanic fissures from the heated interior of the, earth ; they include lavas, porphyry and granite. Porphyritic rocks are those having distinct feldspar crystals. Sandstones are made up of particles of sand cemented together; colour gray, brown, white, red, &c; Conglomerate. — Consolidated gravel. Slate. — A slaty rock imperfectly formed (schists applied to certain slaty rocks. ) Metamorphic Rocks. — Granite, a crystalline rock of quartz, feldspar and mica or hornblende : colour light or dark gray. Gneiss — Is like granite in construction, and is made up of the same minerals as granite, only containing them in parallel layers. NATURE OF A FEW MINERAI^. Schists— Mica schist consists of fine layers of quartz and mica ; talc schist, fine layers of quartz and talc ; chlorite schist, fine layers of quartz and chlorite ; hornblende schist, fine layers of quartz and hornblende. Feldspar — Colour usually white or red, sometimes gray, black or green, so very hard will scratch glass. Talc — A greenish, yellowish white, or sometimes colourless mineral of a pearly or resinous lustre. Is greasy to the touch, soft, yields to the finger nail. Chlorite — A dark green, generally foliated and scaly min- eral. Hornblende — Of many varieties, mostly greenish black, and also whitish colour. Fluor-spar — Is usually purple, sometimes yellow, white, green or blue. If heated in a dark place a phosphorescent light appears, not unlike a precious stone. It is soft. Calc-spar — (Carbonate of lime) generally transparent, and of a gray-rose, honey-yellow or violet shade. 48 MINE SURVEYING. Mineral Deposits — The deposit rests on the foot-wall and that covering the deposit is the hanging wall. These are known as the floor and roof respectively. The Strike or Course of a Deposit — is the angle formed with the plane of the lode and the plane of the horizon. Its dip is the inclination downward measured in degrees from the horizontal. When the dip is great it is measured Irom the vertical and is then termed the underlie or hade. Out-crop — The portion of the mineral deposit at the surface is known as the out-crop or apex. Cross Courses — These are veins coursing at nearly right angles to the chief lodes of any particular district. A Shaft — Is a pit sunk down from the surface. Levels — Are horizontal excavations along the course of a vein, or horizontal passages by which access is gained tc> workings of a mine. A Slope — Is a working from which the ore is extracted. Above a level the working is an overhead or back slope. An " underhand " slope is the working downward from the floor of the level. CALCUI.ATION OF AREAS. Gunter's chain, 66 feet long, is most frequently used in measuring lengths. To find the area in a piece of Ground : 1. If rectangular, multiply the length by the breadth. 2. If triangular, multiply the base by half the perpendicular height. SOUD OR CUBIC MEASURE. 1728 cubic inches equal i cubic foot 27 '• feet " I " yard 4 feet X 4 feet x 8 feet=i28 cubic yards, , . . " i cord wood TROY MEASURE. 24 grains equal i pennyweight (dwt. ) 20 pennyweights " i ounce (oz.) 12 ounces " i pound (lb.) Standard gold consists of 22 parts pure gold alloyed with two parts copper or other metals and according to the quantity of alloy is called 9, 12, 15, or 18 carat — i.e^ that number of parts of gold out of 24. Standard silver is of finest 1 1 oz. 2 dwts. fine to 18 dwts. alloy. 49 ire \ed [ts the [he ice m A cubic foot of pure gold weighs 1,210 lbs., pure silver 655 lbs., cast iron 450 lbs., copper 550 lbs., lead 7 10 lbs., platinum 1,220 lbs. A ton weight of the following will average in cubic feet : earth 21, clay 18, river sand 19. LOCATING CLAIMS. The method of locating a placer claim is simple. The prospector must not exceed 100 feet up and down the creek, in the general course of the valley. The width of the claim can run from base to base of the hills. If there are no claims located on this particular stream, the claim is known as the " discovery claim, " and the stakes are marked O; The next claim up the creek is marked No. i , as is the next going down the stream. There can be but two claims marked No. i on any one stream. Discoverer's claim may be 500 feet. Every miner and employer of a miner will require to take out a license, the fee for which will be $10. In case of a company it will be $50 or $100, according to the amount of the capital stock. The fee for recording and renewing mining claims will be $1 5. A royalty of lo.per cent on the gold mined will be collected by the government if the claim produces $2,500 per year; smaller claims are exempt. If a prospector should locate a claim on any creek or river on his way to Dawson, he will not have a legal title to it unless he is in possession of a license. The towns in which certificates are issued are Victoria, the Provincial capital of British Co- lumbia; Vancouver, the terminus of the C.P.R., and Nanaimo, the chief seat of the coal industry of the coast. From these points steamers run to the North. The Mining Regulations are not printed here, -;, 1 is expected they will undergo some change in the early spring of 1898. THE CUSTOMS STATIONS. On the routes to Dawson City are Glenora, head of navi- gation on the Stickine River, Lake Tagish, about 72 miles from the coast. Fort Selkirk, on the Pelly River, a post near Klukwan, on the Dalton Trail, and Dawson City. Invoices of goods should be produced in duplicate when they are purchased, and collections will be made in accordance with prices therein named, not on the value of the goods where the collection is made. On most goods subject to ad valore^ duty, the weight of the receptacle is included and assessed the some as the contents. The exceptions are ~ Miners blankets in use, personal clothing in use, cookine utensils m use such quantities of each af will make thf owner comfortable for a reasonable time oftL^'free!'^"'*''^'''^"^ imported exclusively for the mining The duties on the most important articles are .—Flour 60 per barrel; beans, .15 per bushel; bacon, .2 per pound mea? and meat extracts, .25 ad valorem; and tibacc^ .50 speci^c COMMISSIONER OGILVIE'S LECTURE On the History, Resources and Probable Future of the Yukon Country. The distinguished explorer, Wni. Ogilvie, F.R.G.S., of the Alaska Boundary Commission, having returned to Victoria after an absence of several years in the Nor^^h, addressed a public meeting on November 5th; on the subj ct of the Yukon Goldfields. As no other report of equal weight and import- ance, on this subject, has reached the outside world, the follow- ing extracts from the lecture will be read with interest as an authoritative statement of facts. After describing the routes he 'said : *' In 1872, September 2nd, two Irishmen named Harper and F. W. Hart and Sam Wilkinson an Englishman, left Manson Creek to go on a prospecting trip down the Mackenzie River. They made their way down to Nelson River, where they made a cache and a dug-out with which to descend the river. In 1 89 1, he, Mr. Ogilvie, was sent by the Dominion to the Northeast portion of the Province, and going in the trail fol- lowed by Harper saw the cache they had told him about in 1887. Harper and his companions made their way down to the Liard River, where Wilkinson left them, and then down the Mackenzie across to the Peel and thence over to Bell's River, an affluent of the Porcupine, down the Porcupine to Fort Yukon, (380 miles from Dawson) and up to White River a distance of 400 miles, where they found some gold. The result of their prospecting was as follows: On the Nelson, nothing; on the Liard, colours; on the Mackenzie, nothing; on the Peel, fair prospects; on the Porcupine, colours; and prospects everywhere along the Yukon. Provisions giving out they made their way down the Yukon to St. Michael's. Next summer Harper returned and built Fort Reliance, six and-a-half miles from the Klondyke. and for many years traded and hunted, but never prospected on that river, and if he had he would not have found anything, for it is a swift mountain stream which has washed away all the fine sand and gravel, consequently the gold would sink out of sight, 176250 '•I m ' t^ and in those days no prospectinjT was done but on the bars in the rivers and creeks. In 1882 gold was found on the Stewart River, and in 1886 Harper estabHshed a trading post at Fort Selkirk, and in the same year some prospectors found gold at Forty-mile, (so called because it is forty miles from Fort Reliance). This took all the miners up to Forty-mile, coarse gold be- ing what every miner is looking for, and the excitement con- tinued to draw till 1891, when gold was found on Birch Creek, six miles from Circle City and nearly 200 miles below Forty- mile. This discovery of course boomed Birch Creek md in 1891 everyone went down there. Gold was found at the head of Forty-mile on Napoleon Gulch and was rich in nuggets. Franklin Gulch is pretty rich as are also David, Mosquito and Chicken Creeks. The last named was discovered in 1896 and was considered very rich until overshadowed by Eldorado and Bonanza. DISCOVERY OF GOLD ON THE KLONDIKE. The discovery of gold on the Klondike (Indian name Tron- dak, or diuck) was made by three men, Robert Henderson, Frank Swanson and another named Munson, who in July, 1896 were prospecting on Indian Creek. They proceeded up the creek until they reached Dominion Creek, and then crossed over the divide and found gold bottom, got good pros- pects and went to work. Provisions running short they made their way to Sixty-mile to obtain a fresh supply, where Harper had established a trad- ing post. Striking upwards to Forty-mile they came across a Califoruian, George Carmack, and Two Canadian Indians, or King George men,* as they called themselves. Now one of the articles of the miner's code of procedure is that when he makes a discovery he shall lose no time in pio- claiming it, and the man felt bound to make the prospectors acquainted with the information that there was rich pay to be got in Gold Bottom. The two Indians showed a route to this creek and from there they crossed over the high ridge to Bonanza (two miles from the mouth of the Klondike.) From there to Eldorado, which joins the Bonanza about midway, its length is three miles, they climb over the ridge and went to Gold Bottom, (twelve miles above the mouth of ^Canadian Indians are called King George men to distinguish them from those of the United States. 68 the Klondike. Here they did half a day's prospecting, and came back, striking into Bonanza about ten miles beyond where they they took out from a little nook in a few pans $12.75 (^2 I2S.), In August, 1896, George Carmack went down to Forty- mile to get provisions. He met several miners on his way and told them of his find, showing the $12.75 which he had put in an old Winchester cartridge. Well, that tells the story of the discovery of the creeks, that have excit'id and will continue to excite thousands for many a day to come. A STAMPEDE. " Boatload after boatload of men went up at once. Men who had been drunk for weeks in fact had been tumbled into the beats and taken up without being conscious that they were travelling. One of these only woke up when he was a third of the journey, and he owns one of the best claims on the Klondyke to-day. The whole creek, a distance of about twenty miles, giving in the neighbourhood of about 200 claims was staked in a few weeks. Eldorado Creek, eight miles long, providing eighty claims, was staked in about the same time. Boulder, Adams and other gfulches were prospected, and gave good surface showings, gold being found in the gravel in the creeks. Good surface prospects may be taken as an indication of the existence of very fair bedrock. It was in December, 1896 that the character of the diggings was estab- lished. " Twenty-one," above Discovery on Bonanza, was the one which first proved the value of the district. Claim No. 5, Eldorado was the next notable one hf le, a pan of $112 was taken out. There was then a pan of even greater amount on No. 6, and they continued to ;un up every day. The news went down to Circle City, which emptied itself at once and came up to Dawson City. The miners travelled at all hours of the day and night, some with provisions, some without." AREA OF THE GOLD FIELDS. Bonanza and Eldorado Creeks aflford between them 278 claims; the several affluents will yield as many more, and all of these claims are good. Mr. Ogilvie had no hesitation in saying that about 100 of those on Bonanza will yield upwards of $30,000,000. Claim 30, below on Eldorado, will yield a mil- lion in itself; then others will yield from $100,000 up. These 11 54 two creeks will, he was quite confident, turn out from $60-, 000,000 to $70,000,000, and he could safely say that there was no other region in the world of the same extent that has offered in the same length of time so many homestakes — fortunes enabling the owners to go home and enjoy the. remainder of their days. He would state a fact, he said, and one that was easily demonstrated, which was that we had in this province an area of from 550 to 600 miles in length and from 100 to 150 miles in width, over the whole of which prospects had been found, and we had from 90,000 to 100,000 square miles which, with better facilities for the transportation of food, would be the largest, as it was the richest, goldfield the world had ever known. Stewart and Pelly Rivers, in the gold-bearing zone, also give promising indications. Everywhere good pay had been found on the bars, and there was no reason why when good pay was obtained on the bars the results should not be richer in the creeks.. RICH QUARTZ LOCATED. In regard to quartz claims, seven have already been located in the vicinity of Forty Mile and Dawson, and there was also a mountain of gold-bearing ore in the neighbourhood yield- ing from $5.00 to $7.00 a ton. It may be mentioned here that the great Douglas Island quartz lode yields about $2,50 per ton, but it is on the coast, the other inland. THE MOTHER LODE. A party arriving as recently as the 9th of December report the discovery of a quartz ledge which is said to have been traced through a number of rich mining streams of the dis- trict. If this should prove to be the mother lode of the wealth of Eldorado, the permanency of the Upper Yukon as a great mining camp will be assured for years to come. LAST WRITINGS FROM THE DIARY OF THE LATE ARCHBISHOP SEGHERS, Addressed to Vicar-General Jonckaw, Victoria, B.C. NOTES ON FULLER'S CONDUCT WRITTEN IN FRENCH. The very interesting story told by the missionary arch- bishop who, while carrying the message of -i^tianity into a remote and unexplored land, met with a saci , f igic md, will have another interest for ihe traveller to the Yukoti that of being a faithful record of a journey fraught with many hardships and some dangers. The Archbishop left Victoria, as he tells us, in July '86, full of hope for the success of his mission, and proceeding on his way crossed the mountains and reached the upper waters of the Yukon at Lake Bennett, where he wrote the following account of his travel: — "It was on July 13th (1886) as you know," the diary reads, "that 1 left Victoria to establish a permanent mission in the heart of this territory and carry out the design I had con- ceived during my first exploration of the Yukon country in 1877 for the Christianizing of the natives. "Two routes lay before us, either the mouth or the head- waters of the Yukon I went to Alaska through the mouth of the Yukon in 1877. This time I chose the other route — first, because, though the mouth of the river is easy of access, yet the navigation of the river up stream is long, tedious and diflficult, whereas the trip from Victoria to the headwaters of the Yukon is almost one straight line a little more than 1,000 miles and lasted only thirteen days. It is true the portage across the Coast Range and some of the rapids is a labour 66 of the most exb^'istive kind, but those difficulties once over- come navigation down the Yukon River from one end of Alaska to the other is free from toil and danger, and com- paratively pleasant. "We left Juneau on Monday, July i8th at 7 p.m.. Next morning we were steaming up Lynn Canal, which is flanked by ranges of lofty peaks, each gorge of which is filled with a glacier almost to the edge of the salt water. The Indians left tl:eir former village on the Chilcat Inlet and built up a new one on the Chilcoot Inlet, making more than a living by pack- ing for white men. They extort as much money as they can froiii every miner that crosses the country. Not only did they charge ^13 per 100 pounds, but they made us pay them for guiding us, for ferrying us across the river, for Iboking after our safety and that of our packs, as they termed it, and then they exacted a 'present' for having faithfully stuck to their bargain. "All arrangements being made, we started for the Chilcoot village in a canoe and reached the mouth of a small river called the Taiay. Here we met a most kindly disposed Hibernian, named Healey, who placed us under many and last- ing obligations. Finally we left Healey's place and salt water navig"'ion to ascend the rugged and lofty slope of the Coast Range, and to force our way through a pass into the basin of the Yukon. We formed a numerous party. Besides the five of us there were five miners and some sixty Indian packers, some with over a hundred pounds on their backs, but all in good spirits and great glee to begin our wearisome and ardu- ous trip. It was Saturday, July 24th, the feast of Saint Fran- ciscus Solano, whose mass I had celebrated in the morning. A fleet of canoes conveyed most of our baggage to the head of canoe navigation, some seven miles from Healey's place, but we had to walk. We first waded through the tributary of the Taiay, where we had the water to our thighs and were sub- sequently carried by canoes five times across the Taiay and moved into our camp early in the afternoon, the > ater being judged too high by the Indians to be forded. We said good bye to our canoes and slept soundly all night at id prepared ourselves the following morning for the two worst crossings of the Taiay, in one of which a traveller lost his life last sum- mer. The first crossing was pretty rough. "Advancing cautiously with heavy gum boots over gravel pebbles and large boulders through the swift current of a seething, foaming torrent, nerving myself to the utmost to sustain the powerful velocity of the liquid element which ext ced ha left lew ick- 57 ^ seemed at every moment to lift me from my feet, I reached the opposite bank, having had the water well nigh to my hips, but though the water was icy cold, covered with perspiration and panting for breath and my heart beating violently. A few minutes were spent in drying ourselves from our drenching, after which we directed our steps to the next crossing, which we found worse than the former. Here we stood at the mouth of the Canon, from which the Taiay, nearly fifty feet wide, burst forth at the rate of thirteen miles an hour. Some of the Indians formed a chain, taking each other by the hand and marching in a line which extended downward with the cur- rent. Preceded by an Indian packer and followed by another, I resolutely marched OUT INTO THE TORRENT which seemed as if boiling around me. I was very success- ful until I found myself within a few yards of the other bank, when the velocity of the water forced my feet so wide apart that I felt I could hold the ground no longer. One of my knees bent in spite of me, notwithstanding all the efforts I made to brace myself up against the whirling, dashing tor- rent. One of the Indians saw the danger I was in and reached mc his hand, and so I found my way out of the wild and furi- ous stream. All of my companions behaved most gallantly and appeared to encounter less trouble and difficulty than I experienced. We now entered the narrow gorge through which the Taiay flows, marching most of the time due north and on the right or eastern bank, going up stream of the river. We crossed it again and again, passed several of the tribu- taries, sometimes on logs, at others wading through the water. "At last, about 6 p.m., wearied and hungry, we arrived at the foot of the glacier, the principal feeder, I presume, of the Taiay, and there we saw a splendid camping place made by Nature, consisting of immense boulders so arranged that they gave perfect shelter both from wind and from rain. This place is called Sheep Camp, because I suppose it used to be the favourite resort of mountain sheep, and in one part of it the boulders were so ingeniously placed alongside of one another that they form a perfect hiding place, called by the Indians 'Stone House.' "The next morning, July 26th, we were all up at four o'clock and left Sheep Camp a little after six full of courage and eagerness to reach and pass the summit. Here the ascent became very steep until we stood at the foot of an almost per- pendicular wall formed of rocks, boulders and stones of every 58 description, the top of which appeared to be lost in the clouds. It was a novel sight to see our Indian packers ascend- ing the natural ladder, clambering the best they could, help- ing themselves with poles and now and then with their hands, and ai)pearing at some distance as if standing one on the head of the other, the highest ones disappearing in the fog. The summit is said to be 3,800 feet high. We reached it at six o'clock p.m. The view is decidedly beautiful. To the south we commanded the view of the Cafion through which we had painfully travelled, the snow-capped mountains on the side of Lynn Canal forming the backg^round. East and west of us were high peaks, which, however, were hid from our sight by clouds and thick fog, and north of us lay the extensive coun- try of the Yukon, and a red looking peak touring above the rest of the mountains, the foot of which, as we saw afterwards, was WATERED BY THE GREAT RIVER of Alaska. At our feet lay a carpet of snow and ice of dazzling whiteness, and below still, a beautiful lake, with azure water and the edges covered with i e. If, as it appears reasonable, we consider that lake — Crater Lake — as the source of the Yukon, then it is a remarkable coincidence that T saw the Yukon the first time this year on the same feast that I did in 1877, the feast of St. Anne." In that year the Archbishop went into the country from St. Michael's at the mouth of the Yukon. His reason, he said, "in coming this way lay in the object he had in view of visit- ing new regions and of exploring countries never before visited, and labouring among natives never preached to by missionaries of any denomination. "Great care was needed to pass the snow and ice, which formed a steep incline from the edge of the mountain to the edge of the lake. A single mis-step would have sent us slid- ing down, and once started, there was no possibility of stop- ping before reaching the edge of the lake below. Fortunately, by extreme caution, we avoided all accidents and got safely over the dangerous spot. We had scarcely got over the sum- mit when we met two white men returning for their sled, which we had noticed a few minutes before. "These two men had been abandoned before reaching the summit by their Indian packers and were now themselves attending to their own packing, and as I afterwards saw, they got along remarkably well. After marching down the hill, either on the bank of the river that flows out of the Crater 60 Lake or at a short distance from it, we reached the shores of a small lake — Linderman Lake — some six miles long by one mile wide, and camped at the mouth of the river we had been following all day long. It was about 3 p.m. when we reached the lake, having made in a little less than three days a trip of only twenty nine miles from Healey's Camp at the mouth of the Taiay. Next day a serious disappointment happened to us. Antoine Prevost, who had followed us from Juneau and on whom we relied to help us in building a raft, left us and disappeared without saying a word. Fortunately three of the miners with whom we had travelled most gene/ously offered their services to help in building a raft and took on their own that part of our luggage which two Indians had left behind, after taking the rest to the foot of Linderman Lake. Here that you may the better understand our movements I ought to describe THE RUN OF THE RIVER. Crater Lake, as I have already mentioned, lies this side, that is, northeast of the divide, and is the first reservoir containing water that empties into the Behring Sea, a distance of more than 2,000 miles the way the river flows. From this lake an impetuous torrent rushes foaming through a narrow channel and empties into Linderman Lake, which js fed also by an- other farther west. There is a northwest current in this lake plainly visible, and it finds its outlet through a narrow pass in which the water furiously dashes over rocks and flows into Bennett Lake. The river furnishing the link between Bennett Lake and Linderman is less than a mile long. It is not safely navigable and is consequently avoided by a portage called Perrier Portage. Lake Bennet, some twenty-seven miles Icng, discharges itself through a short river into Lake Nares, and this one into Tagish Lake, after which the river nuis swiftly through narrow cations until it reaches Lake Le Barge. Past Lake Le Barge the river follows a uniform course, re- ceiving several very large tributaries, until after uniting itself with Stewart River, it definitely receives the name Yukon and flows placidly toward the Behring Sea. "I left our camp and our party at the head of Linderman Lake in a small canoe with two Indians to remain at the foot of the same lake some six miles distant and to keep an eye on the baggage which those Indians had already conveyed there in their canoes. The next day Father* Robaut joined me, arriving also in a canoe and bringing my altar so that on the following morning, for the first time, I had the happiness to I i I I I 60 celebrate the holy sacrifice of the mass on the headwaters of the Yukon where I believe no mass had ever been celebrated before. "But where was I? Was I still in Alaska, inside of the line that runs parallel with the coast, or was I in the vicarate apos- tolic of British Columbia, or in my own diocese in the far end of the Northwest Territories of the Dominion? This is difficult to determine. At all events, before leaving the place I nailed to a tree the following inscription: "Archbishop of Victoria, V.I., accompanied by Fathers Tosi and Robant, camped here and oflfei:ed the holy sacrifice, July 30th, 1886." "The miners who had traveled with us here divided into two parties, each party building a raft for itself at the head of Lindetman Lake, because the timber was not long enough to be sawn into planks to make a boat. "The next day Father Tosi and Fuller arrived with the other party of miners on a raft. That day we had a sumptuous repast on a duck killed by Fuller. Four days previous it was Father Robaut that shot our dinner for us, in the shape of a pfirtridge. After some deliberation it was decided that the three miners, with Father Robaut and Fuller, should preceed on a raft to a place where the size of the timber would justify them in stopping for the construction of the boat. They went twelve miles distant, camping on the west shore of Bennett Lake, and began to saw planks with their whip-saw." After referring with numerous interesting illustrations from his personal experience to the plentiful supply of both game and fish, the foi:nier principally bear and mountain sheep, in the region which they had reached, the Archbishop in his diary proceeds: "Without delay we loaded oilr boats with all our stuff and returned at once, reaching the camp where we had left the two miners on Thursday morning. We discharged our cargo and th2 miners placed on board of our boat all that part of our baggage which they had been compelled previously to put ashore and leave in my charge, and as Father Losi had been left alone on so many days, I volunteered TO BE A HERMIT in my turn; so that the two miners left with Father Tosi, Father Robaut and Fuller, leaving me alone to watch over our baggage. The arrangement was that as soon as the ei miners had reached their new camping place, the boat would undergo a thorough overhauling, and after being made safe and watertight should be brought back to my camp to load our baggage and to make a definite start down the lakes and the Yukon. During my lonely stay at that camp on the shores of Lake Bennett nothing remarkable occured except a visit I received from four miners who had travelled overland thirteen days from the Salmon River, being nearly starved to death. I gave them supper, as many provisions as they needed to reach Juneau, and they were very grateful indeed, particu- larly one who hailed from Ireland and whose name was Har- rington. It was nothing but shortness of provisions that diove them from their camping ground. Their prospects were good, but the water remained too high to allow them much work in the shape of mining. They said they intended to return next spring a little earlier than they had done this year. To complete my account of my lonely stay at camp No. 3 on the lakes I must say that I availed myself of the absence of others to subject my clothing to washing and re- pairing. So Saturday, August 14, was a general washing day, not only the altar linen but towels, handkerchiefs, etc., under- went a thorough cleansing. If you had seen my clothes pins you would have been very much amused; some of them burst, but of course my discomfiture was all to myself. Monday, August 16, was general mending day. I had to remain under my blankets to subject some of my clothes to necessary repairs; perfectly safe from any intruders' visit. I hope you will pardon me the minuteness of these private details. They serve at any rate to give a complete description of a missionary's life in a new country. The aspect of the country- is grand beyond description. The moufitains on either side of the lake are lofty, SHAGGY, RUGGED AND STBEP, " They range, I presume, from three to four thousand feet above the level of the sea. Balsam, fir, hemlock, alder, cotton- wood and willow are on the slopes of the mountains. I saw wild salmon berries, etc., I noticed also some rose bushes, but the flowers were not yet open. Eagles, gulls, ducks, part- ridges, robins, kingfishers, swallows, some other birds and some singing birds gave a lively appearance to the country, even around the lakes. Bears are numerous, so are also ground squirrel, rabbits and mountain sheep. Father Tosi saw an animal like a very large cat standing on the other side of the river connecting Linderman and Bennett lakes, but the shouting of some Indians frightened it away. It is supposed / to be a lynx. Finally, the abundance of fish is literally incred- ible. To my great joy my lonely stay on the west shore of Bennett Lake was brought to an end on Thursday, August 19th, by the return of Father Tosi, Robaut and Fuller in our own boat, which was now strong and^water-tight and capable of carrying us down the Yukon River. We made a definite start the following day, Friday, August 20th, followed by the two miners in their own boat. "On Saturday evening we camped at the foot of Bennett Lake. We reached the foot of Tagish Lake the following evening, passed Lake Marsh on Monday and entered the river that connects Lake Marsh with Lake Le Barge about noon on the same day. "It was on the river between Marsh, or Mud Lake, and Lake Le Barge that we met the most serious obstacle to navi- .gation in the shape of a succession of rapids about four miles long. These rapids are between two canons — Miles Canon and White Horse Caiion. Each cafion is less than one mile long, and they necessitated, consequently, two portages, the packing over which was done by ourselves." The Archbishop, after describing the rapids, continues: — "We left camp at the foot of White Horse on the afternoon of the same day, killed four ducks and went into camp two miles below the mouth of Takeena River.- Next day, August 27th, we camped at the head of Lake Le Barge, which is about thirty-two miles long, and was crossed by us on Satur- day, August 28th. Finally starting again on Monday, which was yesterday, we made sixty-five miles in eight hours, trav- elling not infrequently at the rate of ten miles an hour. A loon brought down by the gun of Fuller gave us last night our supper. We are now about to push on northward, and are within a few days' navigation from the mouth of the Stewart River, where we shall decide on selecting our winter quarters." Arriving at the Big Salmon (or Ton) River on the 31st August in the year referred to, the Archbishop said adieu to Fathers Tosi and Robaut and continued down the river, and it is a matter worthy of note that he camped on the present site of Dawson City and celebrated the mass of the Holy Angels. The following entries clearly show the growing insanity of Fuller: "21st October. — Colere de Fuller au dejeuner, m'accuse de vouloir le miner. (Anger of Fuller at breakfast; accuses me of trying to ruin him.) 1 2th November. — Fuller fn 'accuse d'avoir refuse de lui ap- prendre le Russe. (Accuses me of refusing to teach him the Russian language.) "Sunday, 21st — Fuller me demande pourquoi j'ai envoye un de nos Indiens en avant pour bruler le traineau et lui — menie. (Fuller asks me why I sent an Indian ahead of him to burn up our sleigh and himself, Fuller.) "24th November. — Fuller veut etre tue par moi tout-de- suite (Fuller wishes me to have him killed at once.") THE LAST BNTRY. Fuller lui dit qtie Walker* lui avait predit que je lui donerai une mauvaise renommee. (Fuller said that Walker* pre- dicted that I would give him a bad name.") Proceeding on his journey the Archbishop at length reached a point 261 miles from salt water, known as ' • MEI.OZIKAKAT. Winter had now set in, and the whole Yukon land was merged in solemn darkness, and covered deep in a mantle of snow and ice. On the fatal morning of November 28th, the Archbishop slept on; he had written his last note, but Fuller was astir at an early hour (3 a.m.) "He could not sleep," he said. Wild hallucinations, intensified by the solitude and the oppressive stillness of the place, haunted him; every object seemed to him an enemy. Peering into the darkness the Indian gfuides saw him attending to the fire, but nothing happening to awaken their sui.picions they drew back to their blankets. All was still as the grave. In a little while they heard Fuller say: "Bishop, it is time to get up," and then came the loud report of a rilie — the Archbishop fell lifeless on the frozen ground — Fuller had deliberately shot him. Little more remains to be told. The murderer was secured by the Indians and carefully watched through the gloom of the winter. Close by, resting on the ice, his rude coffin covered with snow, lay the body of the martyred bishop. And when at lasi spring came round and the bonds of the great river broke, his body was taken to Fort Yukon and then to St. Michael's, where it lay until the autumn of the following year. A United States gunboat arriving conveyed it to Victoria where it now lies under the cathedral altar. Requiescaf in pace. •A trader. 64 BRUNSWICK HOTEL -VICTORIA, B.C.. CORNER YATES and DOUGLAS STS. TfiMPBRANCB HOUSB. . . . . .CBNTILAI.I,Y I.OCATBD. Newly Furnished, FouroStory Brick Building, with Electric Bells and I,ights. Baths and other modem conveniences, > Board and Room, $1.00 per day up. Special Rates by week or month. P.O. Box 541. —^i^MEALS 2S CENTS. BUCK BUILDING. FIBB B8CAPB8. tAtm. White, ProprlotreMs. SDenoer's flrcade. • . .Oovernment Street. . . VICTORIA'S LARGEST STORE^*i> flat Opened a Departmeat ob the rirat rioor Devoted ift KLONDYKE OUTnniNG SriCIAL LINKS SUITABLt FOR THI NORTHHIII COUNfRV HAVE BIKM STOCKIO, PROM INKMT AMONO WHICH ARE PUR COATS, PUR CAPS, PUR AND OTHER SLBBPINQ BAGS, HBAVY WOOL BLANKBTS, SCOTCH KNIT UNDBRWBAR, HBAVY WOOL SOCKS, QBRMAN AND ALASKA STOCKINGS, MACKINAW CLOTHINQ, HOMBSPUN TWBBD SHIRTS, BNQLISH CORD JACKBTS, MINBRS* BOOTS, RUBBER BOOTS, RUBBER CAMP SHEETS, TENTS, SLEDS, and everything neces- aary tor a Yukon trip at as low prices as is consistent with reliable articles. D, SPENCER. GOVERNMENT STREET. Spsoial terms to large parties. Correspondenee attended to. M.B.— All Goods pnrehasod In the United States are snfcjeot to Duty averaging 30 per cent. Quod* bought in Yietoria pay no Duty. 65 Campbell & Co., FASHIONABLE TfilLOI^S^^* Cor. Broad aod Trounce Ave. 0pp. The Driard. Victoria, B.C. IMPORTERS OF FINE SCOTCH and ENGLISH GOODS. Ho For Klondyke mil s Outfit at I E.J.Saun(lers&Co. I GROCERS. s Having had years of experience in this S line we know just what is needed and E how to pack outfits. mil Johnson St. Victoria, and Alberni. M ESTABLIBHBD 1868. Wholesale ind ReUll Ch^TTstS and OrU^^'rzi^ Miners' Medicines and Medicine Chests a Specialty. 31 Yates Street. - - Victoria, B.C. F 66 The Hickman, Tye Hardware Co., Ltd. IRON, STEEL, HARDWARE and CUTIERY. Clondyke Outfits a Specialty. 32-34 Yates St. - Victoria, B.C. L. STEMLER. T. EARLE. STEMLER & EARLE ESTABLISHED 1875. Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills. MANUFACTURERS OF Coffees, Spices, Cocoa, Cresm Tartar, Mustard and Baki:ig Powdar. — mr^ TELEPHONE 597. PEMBROKE STREET. _ Vir-rinceiitrated Vinegars and Extract of Beef are just the thing for the Klondyke. Goods especially packed for the long haul. H. J. BRADY & CO. Props. Fastory it Office, 66-68 BiMchard St. VICTORIA, B.C. 67 WeilerBros. victoria, b.c. Largest ccKtnplete House Furnishing Es- tablishment on the Pacific Coast. Hotels, Boarding Houc es, Steamboats and Store- keepers supplied at lowest possible prices. Correspondence Solicited. Showrooms 51 to 55 Fort St. CH. PIGHQN = Guns, Ammunition, Fishing Tackle, Cutlery, etc.— Repairing of all kinds done. — Beboring, Restocking, Browning, etc. — Fisbins Tackle and Bicycles repaired.— Skates, Knives and ScisBors polished and sharpened. 54 JOHNSON STREET. -VICTORIA, B.C. . BARKER, Manufacturer of Gl(. Entrance bu Savannah's Ptioto Galieru. Yukon Transli) ..Outfitters for the.. Klondyke Mines. . We furnish through the wholesale houses every articl* necessary to carry on mining, and further, we will have heavy clothing made TO ORDER at wholesale prices, if measurement be sent. EVERY LINE OF TRAVEL will soon be crowded, and fares are going up. Write us to secure ticket; and at the same time send approximate cost (at present $35 to $50) to Bank British North America in your own name, and we will Lave your passage secured and out- fit ready if desired. By doing this great delay and expense will be saved and no possible risk incurred. Samples of Heavy Clothing, such ■• Mackinaw, Corduroy, «tc. Dates on which staamsrs sail for tho North. Cost of Outfit. Conditions and eomparatlv* merits of the different Posses up to date. Full weather report. New Mining Laws and lateat Information from the Mines, Fries aic. I ADfiC Pni (IDCn II AD of WHITB PASS. Profile Map of LAIlDC UULUnkU HI Ar GHIIerv^s the rif ht to ohange this time table at any s: time wtt hoiit notif leatton. For freltht and passage apply to s 3 F. C. Davidge & Co. Agents. I s aiillllllHimilllllllllMIIHIilllBlltliaimillHHMHIiMIHIHHHmHIHmillllHIIHIIHIIIIIIIIIIIfi: wwr i«» III I ■■i^^^^i^" ■ ' '•i V '*%'*p>-_'*l mtwwsff^!m0w^i^9f^i^mBwws89BW^f^9^^i^^9^^^ The Klondike Mining^ Trading and Transport Corporation Limited. . ■ iJLEBDENHflLL STREET, LONDON. 30 BROAD STREET, VICTORIA. B.C. OWNINfi ITS OWN OCEAN AND RIVER STEAMER& % •«- PenoM dtea^^ tratuq^tn^tion for themselvee or merchaadiae : to all Yukon j^Dtnta shotild {tOTfeapond with Hie Victoria Office. •^>> v*> CHAISUvIANi Sir ChariM tu|iiier; Barl. BOAJRQ OF' MAMiUiSRS t Itoii. E^gar Dewdfiey, J. T, Mhuno, Vv or M. Luflrin, C. ni^wartli. ■' , ■ •" ■ . ■■ ■ t- .■ ■* : ^^M*"^. -%*^^' .^„ .t.- ifeKW,i .^ ..^^i>a >^-^..^_A. -v3 ^ ... wrf |. ^mi iig|fii[|Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^^