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McFee, Ksq.. „f the Northern Pacif.c Railroad, f.,r the use of a few of the illustrations from photojtraphs. I'lIK I'l DLISIIKKS. COPYRIGHT .890 nV WELCH, KRACKER COMPANY I 1/ From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. I. THE JOURNEY FROM ST. PAUL WESTWARD. OUR tour to Yellowstone Park and Alaska commenced at St. Paul. We passed through the beautiful country of Minnesota, with its ten thousand lakes and picturesque outlooks, and all along the road we saw the best growing corn that we had seen any- where, of rich green color, already tasseled out, although it was but the twelfth of July. There was great complaint of a want of rain to save the spring wheat. We passed through some of the largest wheat farms in the world, one farm of fifty thousand acres, the property of Mr. Dal- rymple, interesting us particularly. It is a great curiosity to see the reaping and binding machines at work upon these immense farms. 10 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. Like the ranks of an advancing army, scores abreast, they circle about, covering immense tracts. Still it seems that there ought to be some law preventing so great an amount of our lands getting into the hands of such monopolies, who do not endeavor to en- rich the soil, but to work it to the last de- gree. Our small farmers hold a conservative influence in our government, and such great landholders are detrimental to our best interests. Bismarck, the capital of Dakota, is another flourishing city of twelve to fifteen thousand inhabitants, with its new State house and many public buildings and stores. At Man- dan, just across the Missouri River from Bis- marck, is the terminus of the Missouri and Dakota division of the Northern Pacific, and is on the wrong side of the river to compete successfully with Bismarck. Some Boston gentlemen built a number of handsome brick stores, which are liable to prove a bad invest- ment, as they are not likely to be occupied. The lignite coal beds crop out west of here, and are of great value to Dakota and the railroad. After passing many flourishing cities and villages, we come soon on to what is called h\ From Ytlloiostone Park to Alaska. 1 1 •* Bad Lands," where we see the cattle upon a thousand hills feeding upon dead grass, which seems to nourish them, as they are fal and sleek. The great drouth is likely to have a serious effect on the cattle ranches this winter. Medora is named after the wife of the Klar- quis de Mores, a wealthy French r bleniin, who married an American lady, and hrs a resi<^f ) e and large slauf^htering pen- here, sending dressed meat east. His early experi- ence in stock raising was not a success, and, to use the words of a ranchman, ** He fooled away millions of his wife s money, thinking all he had to do was to stock the country and let them run." Almost every town has its daily papers, and here a cowboy came on to the train to sell " The Bad Lands Cowlyoy" at ten cents apiece. The publisher says in his prospectus, " Price, two dollars a year. We don't publish this for fun." Montana is a great grazing country, and has as great a reputation for its stock as Dakota for its wheat. For many years, up to eighteen eighty-one and eighty-two, inclusive, this was the finest buffalo hunting country on the continent ; but the slaughter that ^^ason reached two hundred and fifty thousand # 12 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. M 11 hides, and the buffalo is not seen any longer. We noticed on the sides of the railroads rings tramped on the ground, with a path around them. We supposed them to be some Indian relic, but were informed by a gentleman on the train, who was an old buffalo hunter, that when the cow is breeding, the bulls tramp around her, guarding her with jeal- ous care, and changing off with other bulls from time to time until the calf can run about. One new brick hotel has the name of "Gladstone" prominent where all travelers can see it, showing how popular the states- man is in the far West as well as throughout the civilized world. We were glad to get to Livingstone, where we left for the Yellowstone country. The town of Livingstone, although but three years old, is flourishing and prosperous, with a newspaper and a national bank, the latter in the hands of a receiver, probably on account of the high rates of interest for loans from one and one-half to tv/o per cent, per month, which fact ought to break any bank. The thermo- meter here is at one hundred and nine de- grees in the shade. This fact causes us to hasten our journey to Yellowstone Park, where there was eighteen inches of snow on i '.^■ % CANON OF THE VF-.I.I.nWSTOXK From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 13 July fifteenth, and the day before it was snowing on the mountains. The railroad only runs to the Park, as the government will not allow it to cross the border of the Park reservation. It now runs along the Yellowstone through the valley, between mountains some three thousand feet high, forming the lower canon. We soon pass through a valley called Paradise, dotted here and there with the comfortable houses of the ranchmen. The high snow moun- tains soon come in view, "a panorama of stately domes constantly unfolding a succes- sion of the grandest pictures." We soon enter the second canon, with a narrow^er gorge, the sides rising almost perpendicularly over a thousand feet high, the scene presented very like some of the valleys of Switzerland. As we passed Cinnabar Mountain, with its broad sf-ip of vermillion-colored rock, we come upon what is called the Devil's Slide, with walls hundreds of feet high, smooth and verti- cal, with bright red and brown interstreaked, presenting a beautiful contrast of brilliant colors. The heavy rains had swollen the Gar- diner River, and heavy rocks had slid down, rendering impassable in places the mountain road. Everywhere we see evidences of vol- I}, H 14 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. \. »........« canic eruptions ; the scene grows grander as we advance, and we begin to realize what wonders are in store for us during a week's stay in the Park. We see our first hot spring beside the river, and our driver, a rather face- tious character, observes " that he has often caught trout in the river, and then thrown his line over into the hot spring and cooked them." This does not seem to be merely a stage driver's hallucination, but is vouched for by others. The prospect up the canon was grand, indeed, but we soon were obliged to leave the top of the stage on account of ihe high wind, with forebodings of a cyclone. From the hot springs is visible the white formation which extends down the valley like a series of grand waterfalls struck into mar- ble, with exquisitely fiiagreed terraces, which inspired us with a feeling of awe not unlike that which we felt upon beholding Niagara Falls for the first time. The terraces are fif- teen hundred feet high, where we find beauti- ful pools, with scolloped edges, indented and fretted like the most pcrfe:t corals. On the top we find a broad plateau sev- eral acres in extent, with hot springs of e\cry description at hand. As the steaming water trickles from edge to edge over the white From Yellaivstone Park to Alaskq. 15 brims of these successions of natural vessels, it presents a beautiful sight. Our attention was called to one spring on the summit where all the colors of the rainbow blended in most exquisite harmony ; others more composite, now turquoise blue, now red, now green and yellow — colors given the water by the mineral deposits beneath. We did not remain long, as night was approaching, and climbing was fatiguing. There are fourteen marvelous ter- races from the top of which one can over- look them all ; but the altitude is such as to render breathing laborious. The geysers in Yellowstone Park are fre- quently compared to the Te Tarata springs of New Zealand, where the basins have the same general form, but instead of being com- posed of calcereous material, are siliceous. The Te Tarata covers an area of about twelve acres, but the springs near Hierapolis resem- bling more these springs, though they are not so extensive. Passing along the caiion, we soon come upon the middle or "bridal falls," described by some as of singular beauty and grace ; but with our minds absorbed by the unique beauty of the geysers, we scarcely esteemed them worthy of especial notice. The ride through the caiion was especi- 1 6 From Yellmvstone Park to Alaska. ally refreshing, the thermometer at sixty de- grees instead of at one hundred and nine, as on the Northern Pacific Railroad, a refresh- ing rain the night before adding freshness and invigoration to the mountain air, and we were exhilarated by the grand view of the mountains and lakes, coming every little while upon a beautiful open park, covered with flowers, whose green lawns were quite in con- trast with the charred and blackened trees of the lower valleys. Larkspur, columbine, the hare-bell and the evening primrose grew wild in beautiful profusion, and though they claim that they have frosts every night, in the morning the blossoms are uninjured. . We stopped for dinner at Norris' Geyser Basin, quite in trim for the excellent dinner of mountain trout and Rocky mountain sheep, which was served us. Formerly the road passed over the mountains three thousand feet high, which required a day to ascend ; but now we traveled over the road construct- ed by the government engineers, which passes through the canon of Gardiner river. We met a large number of teams carrying lumber and provisions, and the skill of the driver*^ was often taxed to the utmost in his endeavor to pass them on the narrow road ; but the \\\ Fro7n Yelhnvstone Park to Alaska. 17 drivers and teamsters are a happy lot, hailincj each other with a good word. At one place where we came into collision, the teamster hailed our driver: "We will go into camp if we cannot pass.'' To which our driver re- plied : " Well, we'll have lots of water, wood and grass." Our driver pointed out to us a herd of ante- lope, beautiful creatures, feeding in a meadow in the distance. Bears we did not see, and indeed very little large game. We stopped to take a drink from a lemonade spring, only wanting the sugar to make it very palatable. So many of the springs contain poisonous substances, that although the water looks limpid and clear, it is not safe to partake unless a sign is there denoting that the water has been subjected to chemical analysis. Along Beaver Lake, which was formed by the dams of the beavers, it is said, are the obsidian or volcanic glass cliffs, a species of lava, I doubt not, some two hundred feet high. Colonel Norris, late superintendent of the Park, found that he could not break the rocks by blasting, and being obliged to con- • struct a road through them, built huge Tires in the fissures, and when thoroughly heated, threw water upon them so as to fracture them ". I J) < Ml»iW ))>fc»ftWiBW t**Bf :*xr»:.* ■ . ^i^itib'WM>.'i!')«b}«:ii$Mil^ito±i|t4-'*^i'i«^>«]HiBKnS^^ 1 8 From Yell&ivstone Park to Alaska, \ We soon came to the Divide, and the beau- tiful " Lake of the Woods" by tlie roadside, where we see our first geyser. At the lower geyser basin is the famous fountain, which we were fortunate in seeing in motion, throw- ing the hot water fifty feet high, resembling some of the larger fountains in Versailles. It gave us warning by its rumble and roar, and we advanced cautiously. The springs and paint-pots are beautiful, indeed, the lat- ter curiously named, of various colors, black, yellow, green, etc., that blubber away like an old-fashioned pudding pot of my boyhood's remembni ice. One pool is fully twenty-five feet across, and looks like an enormous tub of white lead. We pass the Mammoth Geyser Basin, quite secluded in the wild wood, with here and there geysers that throw up water red as blood, others blue as turquoise, and others of mud. We ride along the canon of the Gibbon river until we come to the Falls of the Gibbon, but we do not delay long here. Some stages come at the forks of the Firehole river, from the Salt Lake City route, coming from the Union Pacific by the Utah Northern ; but they are obliged to ride over a hundred miles by stage, entering the Park at the wrong place, when we had only six miles to From YelliXivstone Park to Alaska. 19 drive to the Park by way of the Northern Pacific. We come, after ridinpf with springs and geysers in view in every direction, to "Hell's Half Acre," where is the largest geyser in the world, the famous Excelsior. Colonel Norris says that in eighteen hundred and eighty it showed its full power, elevating sufficient water to the height of from one hundred to three hundred feet to make the Firehole river a foaming torrent of steaming hot water, hurling rocks of ponderous weight like those thrown from an exploded mine, over the sur- rounding country. A telegram was received from the manager of the Yellowstone National Park Hotel, saying that there were s*• -: From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 23 ties. The observations and discussions with an old traveler of our party, who is also something of a philosopher as well as a scientist, were highly interesting and instruc- tive. Our first call was upon " Old Faithful," whose terrible rumbling was heard from a distance, and whose wonderful gush of water shot up at least one hundred and fifty feet, or higher, I suppose, than the spires of some of our city churches. As the wind drove away the steam from the boiling hot water, which stood in a solid column, we gazed in wonder on the grandeur which words failed to express. Our driver gave us an interesting story, which, of course, we were all expected to believe. In the winter, he says " that they place a toboggan over * Old Faithful ' geyser, and when there is an eruption it carries them to the height of one hundred and fifty feet, the stream freezes to ice, and they ride down and off into the country for miles." We spent the day in wonder and surprise, seated in the shade, theorizing upon the causes of these eruptions. They are not volcanic, but the result of chemical combinations, and probably extend all over the country as far as the hot springs of California. Some say that the geysers are failing in their power, 24 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. and it is predicted that they will soon be- come extinct ; but they will probably break out in new places. The area of Yellowstone Park is over two million of acres. Its surface is, in a large part, rolling, with several groups and short ranges of mountains diversifying it. In the eastern pprt, extending its whole length, and forming the watershed between the Yellow- stone and the Biglow, .stand the rugged vol- canic peaks of the Yellowstone Range. Nearly all the Park is covered with a dense growth of magnificent fine timber ; indeed, west of the one hundredth meridian there is no area so densely timbered, with the exception of Washington, now a state. The mean eleva .ion of the Park above sea level is between seven and eight thousand feet, which implies too cold a climate to admit of agriculture, ex- cept in certain very limited localities. It is safe to say that not more than one per cent, of this ever can, by any possibility, be used for agricultural purposes. Except along the northern border, grazing land exists only in small patches of a few acres each. There are not, so far as known, any nimes or mineral deposits within the Park. During the months of June, July and Au- From Yelloiv stone Park to Alaska. 25 gust the climate is pure and most invigorat- ing, with scarcely any rain or storms of any kind ; but the thermometer frequently sinks as low as twenty-six degrees. There is frost every month in the year. All through the Park are numerous hot springs, which are adorned with decorations more beautiful than human art ever con- ceived, and which have required thousands of years for the cunning hand of nature to form. Congress acted promptly on the recom- mendation of Dr. F. V. Hayden, United States Geologist, who explored this region, relative to this reservation for a National Park, in eighteen seventy-one and eighteen seventy-two. It would not have been possible at any subsequent period to have reserved it, for it would have been taken possession of under the preemption laws of the United States. To Dr. Hayden are we indebted for this grand National Park, which will be visited more and more by our own people and by travelers from di'Stant parts of the world to see the geysers and the grandest scenery in the world. Tiie greater part of the surface of the Park consists of high rolling plateaus, broken by A 26 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. I ! Stream beds, cliffs and canons. Several small groups of mountains diversify the surface ; among them, the Red Mountains in the southern part, rising seven thousand feet above the general level, or more than ten thousand feet above the sea ; and the Wash- burn group near the middle of the Park. The eastern border of the Park is occupied by a high rugged range, to which has long been attached the name of " Yellowstone Range. Index Peak, the highest measured in this range, exceeds eleven thousand seven hun- dred feet in height. In the northeastern corner of the Park is the southern extremity of the Gallatin Range, culminating in Elec- tric Peak, a magnificent summit, eleven thousand one hundred and thirty-five feet above the sea, which overlooks almost the whole Park. There are several lakes, the Yellowstone, Shoshone, Lewis and Heart. The shores of the Yellowstone Lake are generally flat, and timber-covered meadows occur at rare inter- vals. From the summit of Mount Washburn we have a grand comprehensive view of the Grand Caiion. The apparently bottomless gorge may be traced from its head, at the Great Falls to Junction Valley, a distance of : I ,i i From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 27 nearly twenty miles. The depth of the canon is from eight hundred to one thousand two hundred feet, and the width is almost as uni- form as the depth. The canon is witiiout doubt entirely one erosion, and has been cut by the waters of the Yellowstone river since the fllow of the Thyrolites, and probably very greatly since the conglomerate forming era. The Yellowstone rushes down from the Great Falls, forming one of the wildest torrents that the world can show. There are glaciers in the neighborhood of the Teton Mountains, at elevations much below twelve thousand feet, and in the midst of glacial times descended in immense sheets to four thousand and five thousand feet. It would, therefore, be a matter of surprise if traces of glaciers were not found here, not only in the high valleys, but upon surfaces -of the broad plateaus of the Park. John Coulter was the first white man who ever saw any of th^; springs or geysers in this wonderful region. He was connected with Lewis and Clark's expedition, and on their return, in eighteen hundred and six, left the expedition to go back to the headwaters of the Missouri to trap and hunt. After a nar- row escape from the Black-feet Indians, he 28 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. lived for some time with the Bannock Indians, who ranged through the country in which the Park is located. In eighteen hundred and ten he returned to St. Louis, and told wonderful tales of the region, which were not believed. " Coulter's Hell " was the term afterwards applied to the region by the hun- ters and trappers who heard of it from him, but had never been there. As far back as eighteen hundred and forty-four, James Bridger, one of the best and most noted of Rocky Mountain guides, is said to have des- cribed some of the wonderful springs and gey- sers, but his stories were supposed to be made out of whole cloth, and, although it is said, he endeavored to get some of the western newspaper men to publish some of his tales, they were so marvelous that no one would do it. Bridger, in one of his recitals, described an immense boiling spring, that is a perfect counterpart of the geysers of Iceland. As he was uneducated, and probably had never heard of the existence of such natural marvels elsewhere, there is no doubt but that he spoke of what he had actually seen. In eighteen hundred and seventy the Washburn party explored the region, and two of its number described its wonders in magazine articles. I 1 ; ii Iff i I OLD'FAITHl-rL GKV&ER, VKLLOWSTONE PARK. From Yellowstone Park .\> Alaska. 29 II. THE ** UNEXPLORED COUNTRY. — THE HEAUTIES OF YELLOWSTONE PARK. DURING the summers of eighteen hun- dred and seventy-one and seventy-tvvo, tlie geological survey of the territories, under Dr. Hayden, made their explorations of the Park, and gave the world the first scientific ac- count of the region. Within the limits of the Park are the sources of two of our largest rivers, viz., the Missouri and Columbia. We have had a great desire to visit the wonderful country, which was put down in our earlier geography as " Unexplored Coun- try," ever since we read Dr. Hayden's report of his explorations of the Yellowstone in eigh- teen hundred and seventy or seventy-two, published by Congress, and sent us by Hon. S. S. Cox, then our representative in Con- gress. Through Dr. Hayden's influence this country was devoted by Congress, in eighteen hundred and seventy-two, to the purposes of a National Park, under the control of the i' 30 From YeUo7vstone Park to Alaska. Secretary of the Interior, represented by a superintendent, whom we met at Mammoth Hot Springs, and who kindly aided us by offering to give us letters to his assistants on our route, to assist us through the Park. His men protect and carry out the law of Con- gress, which forbids the destruction, defacing or removal of any natural object of interest, however small ; and who protect the gnn^i, any violation being punished by a fine or im- prisonment, or both. To avoid trouble, not the least formation or petrifaction should be removed. The name, " Yellowstone Park," does not seem an appropriate one to us, and many persons get a wrong impression of this coun- try by the name Park. It is fifty-five miles long and sixty-five miles wide, and contains three thousand five hundred and seventy-five square miles, and is nearly as large as the State of Connecticut, situated in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, about one thousand miles from St. Paul on the east, and about the same from Portland, Ore., on the west. It is in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana Terri- tories, nearly in the north-western part of the first named. Our ride from the Upper Geysers was a From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 31 most enjoyable one. We were obliged to re- turn to the Lower Geyser basin and take a temporary road across the country. We pass over a diversified country, with picturesque mountain scenery, ascending the hills by a rough road of ten miles. At the top of the mountain we look back upon a grand panorama of mountains and valleys over- looking the Yellowstone Lake and the Yellowstone Park, and upon the Rocky Moun- tains, with the snow upon their tops. Not often do you witness a grander view. We come suddenly upon several small lakes, nestling in among the evergreens. One is called " Mary's Lake," which I admire on ac- count of its being the name of the dearest friend I have on earth. We soon see more hot springs in the distance, and come to Sulphur Lake, which smells strongly of brim- stone. Alum Creek is one of the small streams which flow into the Yellowstone, and out of its banks come red-hot, hissing springs of water, impregnated with alum, which gives it a green color. We see scarcely any game on the way, but one of the superintendents, whom we have for a passenger, shows us where a herd of elks had to be driven from the road so that the wagon could pass ; and M- 32 From Yclioiustone Park to Alaska. last sprinjaj when they were buildinpf the roarl near the obsidian cliffs, the snow was so deep that they had to take their men away. They left one man to guard their provisions in a tent. At night two bears paid him a visit, and he climbed up the pole of the tent, cut a hole in the top and caught hold of the limb of a tree, from where he saw the bears helping themselves to the hams, etc. In the morning they departed. Before night he expected their return and climbed a tree, and surely enough they came. He shot one, and in the morning was glad enough to return to his companions, telling them that he did not care to watch any longer, and finally told them the reason. They returned the next day and hunted the other bear until they shot him. As we pass the divide we go down the mountain and come out upon beautiful parks, interspersed with green fir trees and covered with beautiful flowers and green rrrass, as handsome as if laid out by a lanilscape gar- dener. We saw some of the most beautiful Norway spruce trees we had ever seen, except in Norway. We see Sulphur Mountains in the distance, and are told pure sulphur could be got from I From Ycllinostonc Park to Alaska. i^^t tliciii in great quantities, which shows itself in heaps of bright yellow crystals. We soon come upon the Yellowstone River, swiftly running to the canon, with its clear, limpid water. A storm has been threatening us, and all at once we had use for our rubber over- garments, as there was no cover to the wagon, and great hailstones were rained upon us with too much force for our comfort, and we lose somewhat the view of the rapids in the approach of the upper falls of the Yellow- stone. The scenery is grand, but we are glad to get to the temporary hotel, and dry ourselves by the warm stove and get a good dinner. We start out at once for the lower falls, through the mud, to get a view, and are well paid. Determined to get up at five o'clock in the morning and see the falls and the Yellowstone grand canon, we get a good night's sleep, with plenty of blankets over us, and are ready with Mrs. S. for a six-mile tramp. We were fortunate in providing our- selves with patent mosquito net galashes, as the mosquitoes and flies were terrible — the largest we ever saw, and terribly in earnest. Some one told us that there were seventeen different kinds of flies in the Park, and that " many of them weighed a pound." 34 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. I ;» We reach, with difficulty, " Lookout Point," and are disappointed at the view on account of the fog. We wait, amusing ourselves at throwing stones at the eagle's nest, full .of young eagles, which the old ones are guard- ing, and giving us warning by their screeches and cries. It is on a high tower by the side of the canon, in just such a place as you would expect an eagle's nest. Soon we are delighted to see the sun disperse the fog, and a grand scene commands our view. We look m one direction, and the sun shines upon the grand canon, with its different colored sides, many hued, bright and shining, as the sun shows himself upon them through the fog. The Arkansas canon was splendid, but lacks the bright-colored sides of the rocks which reveal a different color as you pass the eye down the cafion, one thousand to one thou- sand two hundred feet deep,, and the same size across the top, with the little stream of the Yellowstone, as it looks to us, which comes dashing down from the lower falls. We turn to the right, and see the falls of the Yellowstone, about three hundred and fifty feet high. We are on a precipice, and we grow dizzy as we cast our eyes down, and my wife cautions me to step back ; but having a From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 35 steady head, I do not fear, as I am entranced by the view of so many colors, like the colors of the rainbow. On the summit of the canon we see in the distance; projecting rocko look- ing like some old castles on the Rhine, one especially like Heidelberg Castle, another like a pulpit, with the preacher in earnest deliver- ing his sermon. We look in wonder, and re- gret to lea'e ; and, as v.'e return, step out upon the projections and cliffs on the way to get different views of the grand canon and falls. It is delightful to walk up and down the trail beside the canon, which is twenty miles long. We are higher than Mt. Washing- ton, and the air is so clarified that it is diffi- cult to breathe, and we cannot walk rapidly without resting. After rain, the air is cool and invigorating, and a six-mile tramp gives us a good appetite. We are disappointed in not finding upon the table some of the moun- tain trout, which are :.o plenty in the Yellow- stone. One of the boys stopping at the hotel in a few minutes caught a string of twenty- five to thirty, and the cook gave us what remained after their meal. Here they give us ham, salt meat, etc., when we all would like so much better the trout, which car be had so readily. We take another look at the 36 From Ycllowstmc Park to Alaska. !i r fi ! i; , \ !■ , upper falls, which are not so high as the lower falls. It falls one hundred and fifty feet, and cannot be painted from its peculiar scenery and associations. It is more picturesque and beautiful than the lower. These falls add great beauty to the scene. Either the canon or the falls alone would be grand, but when seen together make one of the most charming, awe-inspiring scenes in the world, and I have to yield my often expressed opin- ion that the " Yosemite Valley " stood out in all its glory beyond anything else in nature as God's grandest display of overpowering grandeur and inexpressible beauty. But these equal it, although it is difficult to compare them with the Yosemite ; both are beyond human description. All the descriptions I have read do not begin to equal the real sight to a lover of the sublime. There is nothing in the wide world like th'se two scenes. Not Ni- agara Falls, which plunges from only half the height of these falls, although the volume of water is far greater, but it lacks the surround- ings to give it the highest place among those glorious works which God has made for his people to wonder at and think of His al- mighty power. We leave here with regret, and take our wagon fourteen miles in a \ I 1 sight ng in ot Ni- fthe ne of und- liose T his al- gret, n a 'St /5 N < u a v. o 1-1 o .J J Ill M i m II if -If- 1 i ' ■ '« »! From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 37 new road cut through the pine forests, just wide enough to go pass, and when we met a wagon we were obliged to get out and cut down trees to let it turn out for us. Our ride is to Norris' Basin. On the way we get a view of Mount Washburn and some of the mountains near the lake. We did not visit the lake, as there is no steamer there from which we could see its beauty, and we are told that it does not equal Lake George or Como, and next year the Park Association ex- pects to have a road there, a steamboat on the lake, and a hotel. The mountains are not equal to those of Switzerland, but, alto- gether, where in the wide world can anyone see such geysers, hot springs, canons, falls, lakes, mountains and picturesque scenery? Our government ought to appropriate suffi- cient to make good roads, and give such pro- tection worthy of so grand a reservation, so that all can enjoy it. We met our friend, the grumbling Eng- lishman, who complains " that this is not a park, and that there is nothing here worth notice but the geysers and canons." He asked me : " Who gave those stupid names to the geysers ? " I replied vhat I thought that ti.ey derived their names from some peculiar TTP- V 1 I M n: ill i-ii n\ Ml ^1 38 y^/'r.v; Yei/oicistone Park to Alaska. appearance connected with each one. I asked him: " What do you think of Yellow- stone Lake?" He said: "I did not visit it. The lake was nothing but a body of water surrounded by land, which one could see anywhere without coming so far." This is a grand lake, with numerous mountains around it, each near eleven thousand feet high, and three more, each about ten thousand feet high, besides, in the Park twenty-five others quite high. Yet these mountains and lakes are nothing to our Englishman, and he was terribly disappointed that the geysers did not all go off for his benefit. We did not have time to visit the Hoodoo Mountains, which are east of the Park, on account of our steamer sailing from Puget Sound on the twenty-sixth. Those who have visited these mountains say that they arc of great altitude, very wild and difficult of access, and full of petrified forests and Rocky Mountain £' ^ep. We will have to wait visiting this country until another time. From the protection given the wild animals and birds in the Park by the government, the Park must eventually be full of elk, antelope, big horn sheep, foxes, coyotes, badgers, otter, beaver, mink, rabbit, squirrels, etc. We saw but few, as at mm^ From Ycltoivstone Park to Alaska. 39 this time of year they go to the moun- tains. What we did see were comparatively tame. We asked the superintendent if we should be allowed to kill a bear, if one ap- proached. He replied, cautiously, "don't let the bear hui l you." 1] i. i i I 1 40 From Ycllim'stone Park to Alaska. III. THE RETURN FROM THE PARK. — THE NORTH- ERN PACIFIC RAILROAD. — HELENA. — THE BEAUTIES OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER. OUR return from the tour of the Yellow- stone Park was devoid of interest, and we were glad to get a good rest at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, where we found letters and papers waiting us from home. We re- turn to Livingstone and continue our journey on the splendidly equipped cars of the Northern Pacific Railroad, with its elegant buffet cars, where one can get as good a meal as at most hotels, and at reasonable rates. The road is so smooth, but little motion is observed, and the ride is a pleasant one, except in this hot, dry, dusty season. We found it much more comfortable at home, when we expected as we got further north to find cooler weather. West of Liv- ingstone the scenery is much more interest- ing than east. We come to Gallatin, where the rivers Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin come ! I s4.'l>& From Yellcnvstone Park to Alaska. 41 into one channel, forming the Missouri river. The scenery here is grand, as the waters pass through the wild and rocky cafion ; and liere begins the Missouri river, the greatest in the United States, nearly four thousand five hun- dred miles long. We soon come to Helena, the capital of Montana, where we are met at the depot by Rev. Frank D. Kelsey and family. The Rev. Mr. Kelsey is pastor of a promi- nent church here, the Congregc.cional, and is highly spoken of as a successful, able minis- ter. One of the millionaire cattle dealers here said : "They did not need any ministers here, but it was a good place for Mr. Kelsey's promising boys." Helena is said to be one of the wealthiest places,//"*? rata., in the United States. There are five or six millionaires, and we were shown several private residences costing from forty thousand to sixty thou- sand dollars. Even some of the ministers take a hand in mining stocks. One made one thousand five hundred dollars, and was so elated that he put his own and his wife's money on a venture, and lost it all. Helena has a population of ten thousand. It is near some of the best gold and silver mines in the country ; within twenty-five miles there is said to be three thousand cjuartz %Sii^ii^XS^S^'^^-f:fiii^^ , 66 From Yeliowsionc Park to Alaska. awake, by a wailinj? and a howling which at first led them to believe that a thousand or more spirits of the damned had broken loose from the infernal regions and found refuge within the persons of as many native shamans, and through whom they sought to inaugu- rate a little sheol of their own. But it was only the natives slinging their children into the cold waters of the bay, and then " warm- ing them up," when they came out, by the ap- plication of the necessary amount of r 'joric through the medium of a bunch of spruce boughs well laid on. That there was '* wail- ing and gnashing of teeth," and a screeching and groaning calculated to strike terror to the soul of the uninitiated just awakened from his slumbers, is not to be wondered at. -The bodies of the voluntary as well as unwill- ing bathers mtiy be a little less aromatic now, but we don't look for any perceptible decrease in the mortality list in consequence. Though offering premiums as an incentive to cleanliness in the " ranch," the governor has given strict orders that the children shall not be put through any more such ablutionary exercises until the gentle spring and genial summer time comes again. From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 67 V. ALASKA. ITS HOUNDAKIKS AND RESOURCES. ITS EARLY HISTORY, ETC. T HE name of Alaska comes from Al-ay- ek-saor" Great Country." We had no correct idea liovv c^reat a country Alaska was until we began to read about it with a view to taking a tour there. We had thought of it as a vast country of mountains and ice, with out much value. One of the chief boundary lines between Alaska and the British Possessions is a line drawn due North from the top of Mount Saint Elias to the Polar Sea. The advantage obtained for England by this treaty is incal- culable, and was largely foreseen by British Statesmen at the time, and the imbecility of it on our part is just beginning to be seen, when we have to run through their country six or seven hundred miles to get to Alaska. One reason, no doubt, why Mr. Seward bought Alaska of Russia, was because he felt so keenly our disgrace. Congressional records prove mm 'U 68 /><-»/// Yellowsionc Park to Alaska. that we claim to go to the Russian Posses- sions, in north latitude fifty-four depjrees forty minutes, and it was siiown by maps in the archives of Holland that our claim was well founded. Great Britain, to our great cha- grin, has possession of fine harbors on the Pacific coast, and has a great railroad, the Canadian Pacific, running from Montreal to the Pacific, claiming a much shorter route to China and Japan^ and competing with our transcontinental lines. This deed alone of yielding this valuable country to England, without cause, was enough to stigmatize Polk's administration forever, and will ever remain as a stigma on the name of the Secre- of State, James Buchanan. Alaska contains five hundred and eighty thousand square miles, and is nearly fifteen times larger than Ohio, which has forty thou- sand square miles. Alaska is as large as all the United States north of North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, and west of the Missis- sippi river. The main land lies between fifty- four degrees forty minutes and seventy-one degrees north latitude, and between one hun- dred and thirty degrees and one hundred and seventy degrees west longitude ; and the western boundary, according to Russian From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 69 *. • treaty, is one hundred and ninety-three de- grees west of Greenwich — very near to Asia. Quoddy Light, on the east coast of Maine, is in latitude forty-four degrees forty-seven minutes, longitude sixty-six degrees, fifty- eight minutes west ; San Francisco is in lati- tude thirty-seven degrees forty-eight min- utes, longitude one hundred and twenty-two degrees twenty-six minutes; the yElutian Islands, the most western part of Alaska, are in fifty-three degrees north latitude, one hun- dred and eighty-seven and one-half degrees west longitude. Alaska is therefore just about as far west of San Francisco, as Maine is east, or about the center of the United States cast and west. The extreme length of Alaska, north and south, is eleven hundred miles, and its extreme breadth eight hundred miles ; a dis- tance greater, north and south, than from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico, and almost equal in extent, east and west, from the same lake to the Atlantic Ocean. The coast line of this country extends twenty-tive thousand miles, being two and one-half more than the Atlantic and Pacific coast-line of the whole United States. Peter the Great sent out an exploring ex- ii From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. peditioii under the command of Vitus Beh- i^in^^, a Danish Captain, who began his over- land journey in 1725, and not until 1741 did Ije discover Ahiska in latitude fifty-five degrees twenty-one minutes. Peter the Great died before the discovery was made. Thegreai Russian Fur Company was formed in 1783 by Siberian merchants, and held sway over the country for many years. Alexander Baranoff for many years ruled the country with an iron hand, at the head of thi • great Company. His history and rough experi- ences in this vast solitude are full of romance and are extremely interesting. In ^799 he came to Sitk£», and ia 1802 the Indians massa- cred all the iniiabitaiUs. Baranoff was ab- sient, and escaped. He ren;ained thirty years In Alaska, and died on his way to Siberia in i8r8, having been superseded by the Com- pany at the age of seventy-two. He seems t( aave been the great leader while Russia held Alaska. Alaska wiis purchased, with certain im- provements, March 30, 1867. After a good deal of negotiation and several offers by our Government to Russia through Secretary Seward, Alaska was delivered to the United States by the payment of seven million two From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 71 hundred thousand doHars, or less than two cents per acre. Secretary Seward, upon being asked once what he considered tlie greatest act of his life, replied, "The pur- chase of Alaska." He was derided and laughed at, at the time, and J'e purchase was called " Seward's folly," and many con- sidered that for the seven million two hun- dred thousand dollars we had got a vast country containing nothing but mountains and ice. But the climate of Sitka in winter is milder than that of New England, and the summer delightfully cool and bracing. The effect of the Japanese currents on the coast causes the mild temperature. The Alaska Commercial Company has paid nearly as much in royalty to the United States, and in rental of the Islands of Saint (leorge and Saint Paul, for the privilege of catching seals, as was paid for the whole of Alaska, and Secretar\r Seward is vindicated. The Czar of all the Russias, no do d:)t, hoi)ed the purchase would create a war be- tween the United vStates and Great Britain and he was glad of the opportunity to spite Eng- land, as he hated her with intense hatred. Congress seems to have neglected this country, as not worthy of afitention, for sev- w i': t '■ • t2 From YelloiK'stone Park to Alaska. n enteen years. Soon after *the purchase, adventurers of all kinds p')ured into the country. Mr. Bancroft says, '' Speculators, politicians, office-holders, tradesmen, gam- blers, and adventurous women flocked to Alaska. Stores, saloons, and restaurants were speedily opened. Squatter claims were put on record. Vacant lots were stacked out and frame shanties were erected. The prices of real estate promised very speedily to mak*' a total, at Sitka alone, equal to the purchase price of the whole territory." Some one relates that a log house, with lot, was held at ten thousand dollars. At the first charter election there were as many can- didates as voters. The Russians were offered by the Hudson Fur Company their passage paid to Russia, and all the better class availed themselves of the offer, and five years later there was less population than when Russia had possession. The neglect of Congress, to provide any f6rm of civil government or protection for the inhabitants, checked all progress and en- terprise, and a great collapse came, and the country was nearly deserted. Since the Northern Pacific Railroad has been built, and the develojmient of the Puget Sound From Yelloivstone Park to Alaska. 73 country, fisheries have been growing, and mining interests have received attention, and it seems as if a new era' was about to dawn upon Ahiska, and the steamers in the sum- mer are crowded w itii tourists and prospec- tors — the former to see the grandest scenery in the world. Not until May, 1884, did Alaska have a territorial government, and as the provisions could not take immediate effect, it added nothing to the development of the mining interest that year. The governor and civil officers were not appointed until July, 1884, and reached the country in September, at the close of the mining season. The act of Con- gress provides for a governor and four com- missioners, a district judge, a marshall and clerk. The l)ill creates the district of Alaska « land district, and among other things, pro- vides that *' the laws of the United States re- lating to mining claims and the right inci- pient thereto, shall, from and after the pas- sage of this act, be in full force and effect in said district," etc. " Provided, that the Indians or other persons in said district shall not be disturbed in the possession of any lands ar'ually in their use or occupation; also, that parties who have located mines or laUtSm 'WirmfmTtaea m '-^ I f I u / 1 1! 74 From Yelloivstone Park to Alaska. mineral privileges therein, under the United States, applicable to the public domain, shall not be disturbed therein, but shall be allowed to perfect their title to such claims by pay- ment as aforesaid ; and provided, also, that the land, not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, at any station now occupied as mis- sionary stations among the Indian tribes, in said section, with the improvements thereon, erected by and for such societies, shall be continued in the occupancy of the several re- ligious societies to which said missionary so- cieties belc ^^ until action by Congress. But nothing contained in this act shall be con- strued to put in force, in said district, the general laws of the United States." Mining matters were at a stand-still, as it took time for the officers to settle the contests and liti- gation in which every piece of property was involved, and all definite action was post- poned until last year. On account of this unsettled condition of the country, mining and other interests have not advanced. Governor Kinkead reports : " The mining interest, in my opinion, bids fnir to take front rank in value of product. I confidently expect that within the next de- cade the production of precious metals in the From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 75 district will be an important factor in the finances of the general government." High and precipitous mountains, densely covered with timber and chapparel, fallen and decaying trees, the earth covered with moss and vegetation to the depth of one or two feet, seem almost to forbid the progress of the prospector. We visited Douglas Island, nearly opposite Juneau, where we saw in operation one of the largest stamp-mills in the world. A company from San Francisco having located here a plant costing four hundred thousand dollars. The manager kindly showed us through the works and the mines, a short distance, where one hundred or more Chinese were busy at wo- '< blasting and picking out the gold quartz from the great mountain of qi'artz ; it is then run into the top of the mill which is on a level with the tunnel. The mdl is designed for the reduction of gold ore carrying sul- phurets and free gold, and has one hundred and twenty stamps, of nine hundred pounds each, with a crushing capacity of three hun- dred and sixty tons per day. The ore when it comes to the mill goes through the grizzlies and rock-breakers into the ore bins, from which it is drawn out directly into the feeders, mmmmm mmmmm It ' 1 ^U !''. ,1 f'v ^f ■ ¥ 'J 6 From Yelioiustone Park to Alaska. which feed it into the batteries, where it is crushed wet and amalgamated. Then from the copper plates it is taken to and passed over the free concentrators, whicli save the sulphurets and the tailings, and sluiced off. From the concentrator room the sulphurets are taken to the chlorination works, where they are treated for the gold which they con- tain, by the chlorine gas, and the gold comes out in fifteen thousand and eighteen thousand dollar bricks, which are shipped monthly by steamer to the mint in San Francisco. About one hundred thousand dollars per month is the product. This company expects to illuminate their mill with powerful electric lights, which will diffuse sufficient light to enable work to be carried on with the same facility in the night as in the day time. This company bought the claim of a prospector for one hundred and fifty dollars. Douglas Island is twenty miles in circum- ference, and is called a gold island. Proper- ties already claimed and partly developed there aggregate in value twice as much as the amount Mr. Seward paid for the whole of Alaska ; and Douglas Island is but one of the eleven hundred islands of the archipelago of which there are promises of mineral ■J. ■Si 1 ..^.;>^»i4^'.. «i a g^ >--.. -I "^f^'amKHiKie^ m ti ait* I From Yelloivstonc Park to Alaska. 77 . wealth. It was eiglity-seven years after Vancouver's surveys before the prospectors found gold on its shores ; but the ishind retained the old nomenclature, and is still Douglas Island, as Vancouver named it, in honor of his friend, the Bishop of Salisbury. While we were at Juneau, opposite Doug- las Island, on our return, a most dastardly outrage was perpetrated upon the poor laboring Chinese, who, we had noticed, were so industriously at work at the mines on Douglas Island. A band of lawless, lazy men — chiefly saloon-keepers and their hang- ers-on — held public meetings, and sent a committee over, demanding of the Chinese that they leave the island at once. They consulted Mr. Tread well (who had done more to develop the mining interests of Alaska, and call attention of the country to the great richness of Alaska in gold, by establishing his great stamp works, and proving to the world that not one-half has been predicted of the value of these mines). The Chinese said to him : '* You say go, we go. You say fight, we fight, you bet." Mr. Treadwell ad- vised them to submit, as there were less than one hundred of them, with only a few pis- tols, while there were twice the number in m- ■ •it ■"rii'ifli-iSniif iifiiitiii i'i"i"-^- -'-■ mm n j 1, 78 From Yeihwstonc J'ark to Alaska. the mob, well armed. They were taken to Juneau by the mob, and forced on two sloops, forty on one and forty-seven on the other. They were poorly clothed, and there was no room on the sloops for them to He down. They were sent adrift down to Fort Wrangell. We saw them a few miles from Juneau ; as there was a dead calm the vessels did not make much headway. There was a cold rain-storm, and the poor Oiinese were suffer- incf greatly. We learned that they arrived at Fort Wrangell, and would have suffered terri- bly, had not Mr. Treadwell sent his tug with plenty to relieve them, and as the little set- tlement was without any supply of pro- visions, it was thought some of them would starve. Fortunately, in a few days, the steamer Archon, Captain Carrol, came along and towed them back to Douglas Island. Governor Swinford, on hearing of their con- dition, immediately sent the United States steamer Pinta, Captain Nichols, to Wrangell. He brought them back, and took steps to pun- ish the parties who violated the law; but owing to the want of funds, the prosecution was abandoned. One, and principal, reason the mob give for their outrageous deed, is that they do not oatronize the saloons. Their op- From Yellowstone Park to Alaska, 79 position extends also to the Indians, whom they will not allow to work. In the vicinity of Sitka the most valuable pjold claims yet discovered are being devel- oped by a company incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin. Captain Cowles, formerly of Columbus, O., is Secretary and Treasurer of the Lake Mountain Gold and Silver Mining Company. He sent a sample of the quartz to an assayist in Boston, who reported that it contained one thousand eight hundred and forty dollars to the ton, and is likely to prove a bonanza to the company. Pros- pectors are numerous, and great discoveries of gold are reported in the Yukon country. We left some parties at Chilcoot, who were going over the Chilcoot Pass, where the In- dians have a trail, some thirty-five miles in length, to a chain of lakes about three hun- dred miles long, which connect with the head waters of the Yukon River. This river is not only one of the largest on the continent, but one of the largest in the world, and from this point, from which the miners strike it, to its mouth, is a distance of two thousand miles. VaUiai'!^ mineral discoveries have been made '^•ii the banks of the river, and miners have staked large claims. One is re- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V ^ 4 4' /» /. 7a 1.0 I.I 1.25 I S IS it' lis lllllio IIIIU U ill 1.6 1 ^ M.II ^\ U •'I <^ w /a ^/,. °% \> y ^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14S80 (716) 873-4503 •^ i\ w^ ^ \ \ o^ ^^^1^ -#.^ .->'- ,.v ^. ..^ f/^' % C\ \ O^ — ..' ■<« 8o Prom Yellmvstone Park to Alaska. ported on a vein of gold-bearing quartz six hundred feet wide. Tiie prospectors are con- vinced that gold exits all through the Yukon country, but its remoteness from all base of supplies, and the long, severe winters of the interior, left a mining season of four months too short to be profitable. Professor Muir, of California, who is one of the most scientific men of the West, has visited Alaska, and sees no reason why this may not become one of the richest mining countries in the world. He believes that the great mineral vein, extending up the coast of Mexico to British Columbia, continues through Alaska to Siberia. With British Columbia producing one million to two mil- lion dollars each year, and Siberia yielding twenty-two million dollars, why should not Alaska, with the same geological formations, be equally productive in gold and silver? Copper, cinnabar, iron, coal and marble are found in great quantities. When our lumber supplies fail us, as they are fast growing less in Michigan and Wis- consin, great things may be expected in Alaska in the future. From the time that we set sight on Alaska until we reached Chilcoot, the most northerly place our steamer reaches, From Yellotvstone Park to Alaska. 8i one is amazed' at the immense forests of fir trees which cover the mountains, islands and valleys, coming down to the waters edge, and reflected so beautifully in the deep, clear water. There are five species of valuable woods. Commercially speaking, they range as follows : yellow cedar, spruce, hemlock, elder and a species of fir or black pine. The yellow cedar, susceptible of taking a fine polish, is considered valuable for boat build- ing and finishing purposes. It sells for eighty dollars per thousand in San Francisco. It possesses a delightful odor, which, like camphor wood, it retains for a longtime, and manufactured into boxes and chests, is very valuable for packing furs and other goods, as it is said to be moth preventive. We brought away some photographs of a yellow cedar log, fifty feet long and seventy-four inches in diameter, and, it is said, they are frequently found one hundred feet high, with a diame- ter of four or five feet. Some of the enter- prising people of San Francisco built saw- mills in Alaska and shipped lumber to Cali- fornia, but the vessel was seized by the United States authorities, and the lumber confiscated. British Columbia offers great inducements, to settlers to develop the coun- 82 From Yellmvstone Park to Alaska. try and show to the world its value, even at a loss of a few trees that are of no value, ex- cept they are sawed into lumber and shipped where lumber is in demand, but, in Alaska no one is allowed to saw the trees except to use on the spot, and there are no laws giving any one a title to the land, and no one can own a home here. The Russians carried on ship building extensively in Alaska, and the time may not be far distant when ship build- ing will rank among the foremost industries of Alaska. At Fort Wrangell, Juneau and Sitka we saw at the stores valuable furs, especially bear and seal. The fur trade is exceedingly valuable, as the beaver, fox, marten, ermine, oiter and wolf are numerous. The cinnamon and black bear in great numbers are found in south-eastern Alaska, while further north, near the great Yukon river, the rein-deer roam undisturbed by man. The islands are full of deer. Captain Hunter, of our steamer Idaho, captured four deer in one of the narrow channels of the Alaska waters, out of quite a herd which were swimming across, wnich he sent to friends in San Francisco. I kept con- tinually on the lookout to capture some to put into Qur Franklin Park, at Columbus, From Yelloiiistonc Park to Alaska. 83 Ohio. The Alaska Commercial Company has a monopoly of the fur seal business, for which they pay to the United States an an- nual rental of fifty-five thousand dollars, and a royalty of two dollars and sixty-two and one-half cents for each seal killed, and are limited to the killing of one hundred thou- sand seals annually. The principal points where the fur seals are caught are the islands of Saint George and Saint Paul, belonging to the Pribyloff group, one thousand seven hundred miles west of Sitka. They have already paid nearly as much to our Government as Secretary Seward paid for the whole of Alaska. This company gathered last year nine-tenths of the world's supply of seal skins, and the company has made an immense fortune. These northern latitudes seem to swarm with fish and game. The satmon fisheries are the most numerous, and as they seem to be failing and dimin- ishing on the Columbia River from year to year, Alaska will probably become the main source of the world's supply. Some of the finest salmon in the world are found in Alaskan waters, and the largest ever caught, weighing over forty pounds, was at the mouth of the Yukon River. It is the chief oi ^^ ■w '! 84 From Yellmvstone Park to Alaska. food of the Indians, and they had come down from the interior at this season of the year to catch their winter supply. They have their own fishing waters, which have de- scended to them from their ancestors, and they regard the rights of each other to the different waters for their salmon fisheries with jealous care. In their huts you can see them seated on the ground around the' fire, cooking the salmon, after dressing them, on the coals and throwing the entrails out in the sand in front of their huts to decay, emitting a terrible stench. It is said they take ten million to twelve million a year, or three times as many as are required for the canneries of the Paci- fic Coast. At Naha Bay, as our steamer sailed in, the salmon were so thick that the steamer seemed to plow through them and turn up their silvery sides, giving us an idea of their beauty and great numbers. At Killisnoo there is a large company, called the North- west Trading Company, who have a large establishment for rendering fish oil, which is used, no doubt, for cod oil, and also for making " Lubin's Extracts." The company have just shipped one hundred and fifty tons ^*p From Yciltnvstone Park to Alaska. 85 of fish oil to Liverpool. This is the first shipment ever made direct to England from Alaska. They also shipped a car load to Londcyi and another to Dundee. It is there purified of its fishy odor, and then shipped back to this country as salad oil. Thus Alaska is entering into competition with the Mediterranean in supplying the civilized world with one of its own valuable condiments, and when we can learn to purify it of its " fishy odor," the olive groves of Greece and Algiers will have to yield to the waters of Alaska. One large firm from San Francisco had its superintendent and a party of Chinese on board our steamer, who were landed at Chilkat to start a canning estab- lishment, on account of the failure of the salmon fisheries on the Columbia River. There are not probably over one thousand white inhabitants in Alaska, and from forty to sixty thousand Indians, and only a few towns on the water courses ; none in the in- terior. Sitka is the capital. During the Russian occupation, the town of Sitka, al- though the centre of government and busi- ness, was far from being an inviting place. It is probable that the Russians cared little to make it so. They lived on terms of singu- MH i^Ai lif '1 86 From Yellou^stone Park to Alaska. W % lar familiarity, and even intimacy, with the Indians. Native servants commonly called their masters by their first name. BaranofY had by a native woman a daughter, of whom he was very proud. In 1805 a Rus- sian visitor found Baranoff living in what he could describe as little better than a hut. His bed during heavy rains was often afloat, and a leak in his roof was looked upon as too small a matter to receive attention ; and yet Baranoff was a man of education and real attainment, as well as a very able admin- istrator. Savage ways of life, and the savage want of a sense of refinement and cleanli- ness, had obviously been far too readily adopted. It was a majority had conquered — at least in the matters of social and domestic decency. As late as 1841, a traveler on his way around the world, declared Sitka to be the dirtiest and most wretched place that he had ever seen. Four years earlier another trav- eler gave an opposite verdict. Possibly these two visitors were in Sitka at opposite seasons of the year. Sitka in January and Sitka in July are very different places. One gentle- man who spent a year there told me that it rained three hundred days in the year. From Yciioii'stonc Park to Alaska. 87 Rain and fog without end might make even an earthly paradise, as a place of pro- longed residence, gloomy indeed. But there is no doubt that Sitka in those days was a most interesting and curious place. It may be that the town has lost somewhat of its ac- tivity and acquired picturesqueness as well as dirt, since the Russian flag was superseded by the stars and stripes nearly twenty years ago. We were all delighted one lovely August morning as we came in view of Sitka, which is beautifully situated on a level plateau, at the foot of high snow covered mountains, and on the bay of the same name, with about fifty islands in view, which are covered with thick verdure of fir trees of different sizes, and is a more beautiful bay than the Bay of Naples, which it resembles. There is an extinct volcano in view — Mount Edgecomb — which is three thousand five hundred feet high. Rising by a graceful elevation on one side from its long cape stretching far out in- to the western waves, displaying at its top the perfect rim of its crater leaning gently over towards the town, and its other side running abruptly into a bridge of peaks that drop down lower and lower, until they are lost in the interminable mass of mountains II' ! i H 1 J I I 88 From Yeliinostone Park to 4/aska. to the north, it stands a most notable land, mark and beautiful back-ground to the island- gemmed Bay of Sitka. Professor Libbey.of Lieutenant Schvvatka's command, is the first person to ascend it, and found it more of a volcano than had been supposed. Sitka seemed like a gala day, with its inhabitants all out of doors, coming down to the s.teamer to get their mail, which comes only once a month. All business is stopped ; even the schools are dis- missed. Many of the ladies were stylishly dressed and quite attractive in their appear- ance. A cannon on the steamer gave the note of warning that the steamer was approaching. Not only the two or three hun- dred white people came out, but the same number of Indians came out from their cabins in the Indian village, or rancheric^ as they call it ; and the basket-makers brought their bas- kets, and every Indian woman wore silver bracelets ; one on each arm. These they make from silver dollars, and sell to visitors, as also various old horn spoons and medi- cine wands, moccasins, etc. They sprawl out on the floor, and with their heads resting on their hands they gaze at the people with stu- pid indifiference. From Ydiaivstone Park to Alaska. 89 The most conspicuous buildings on the highest part of the place, fronting the harbor, arc the two large establishments of the Pres- byterian Missions, which we mistook for the Government Buildings. We were shown through the old castle, which is high up on a rock, called Kateland's Rock, in memory of a chief who once lived there ; we reached the top by a stairway, and from there had a splendid view of the bay and mountains around. The old castle was built of logs, and covered with boards, and riveted to the rock, to prevent its being shaken by an earthquake. The castle is one hundred and forty feet long by seventy feet wide ; if it could talk, it could, no doubt, tell a wonderful history of the old Russian Governors who inhabited it and main- tained the style of the Russian nobility. History gives us vivid pictures of the social life of Sitka, while the Russians had posses- sion ; all the old furniture and ancient relics were carried off after the troops left, and we could see nothing reminding us of its an- tiquity but the old porcelain stoves in the cor- ners of the large rooms. Attorney-General Ball and wife occupy the first floor. Mrs. Ball in- formed us that when she talked of occupying the castle, she was informed that it was in- 71^ t f 90 Fr(fm Yeiiouistone Park to Alaska. w. Hi!; habited by a j?host, which hail been often seen, and no one dared to live there. " The story of the ghost, whose sad story is modeled on that of the 'Bride of Lammermoor.' By tradition the lady in black was a daughter of one of the old governors. On her wedding night she disappeared from the ball-room in the midst of the festivities, and after long search was found dead in one of the small drawing-rooms. Being forced to marry against her will, one belief was tl'.at she vol- untarily took poison, while another version ascribes the deed to an unhappy lover ; while altogether, the tale of this Lucia of the north- west isles gives just the touch of sentimental interest to this castle of the Russian Gov- ernors." Mrs. Ball informs us that she watched all the first night she occupied the castle and no ghost appeared, and she has no fears now. Lieutenant McLean, of the Signal Service, occupies the upper rooms for his office, and has just brought his bride from Washington to occupy other rooms. The houses on the street are made of logs, and all over the little town the houses had been white-washed, and instead of the dirty-looking town we had been told Sitka was, we found it clean and neat. From Yellmvstonc Park to Alaska. 9« White and Indian boys were playinjf base ball on the common or parade ground, and in every door we could see tlie pe()')Ie eagerly reading their letters, and it was interesting to watch the expression of their faces, which showed joy or sorrow according to the news which the letters contained. At the end of the street was the old Russian Greek Church of Saint Michael, with its eme- rald-green dome, its bulging spire, and chime of six silver bells, "/hich ring out their silvery tones echoing through the village. Tlie panel picture ot baint Michael over the door- way has lost its lustre. The church is built in the form of a Greek cross. There are a number of paintings in it ; one of the ** Last Supper," the crowns and vestments covered with silver. The church, like all Creek churches, contains large candle-sticks, candelabra, etc., of silver. It contains the Holy of Holies, into which no woman is admitted. We did not see any Rus- sians in Sitka, only the old priest, who in- forms us that he has an audience of about thirty-five Indians, and more are soon to unite. This, I believe, is the only Greek church in the United States, except on the Aleutian Islands, and it shows by its old faded look that the Greek religion does not flourish in this H P li 4 :Hl ^2 jFrom Yelloufstone Park to Alaska. country, and before many years this church, like the one in New York, will be abandoned. The government of Russia expends each year fifty thousand dollars for the support of their missions in Alaska, but they are fast dying out. It is interesting to visit the Indian village or rancherie. In the winter a large number of Indians are here, but many of them are now away catching salmon for their winter supply. Many of the houses were neat and clean, and had beds covered with white, and a stove in the room instead of a fire in the centre of the room on the ground, with the smoke going out of a hole in the roof. We learned that those who are educated at the Mission soon want to have things like the whites ; and those who were in such nice orc-er had been educated at the Mission. In almost every house we entered they would bring out, hidden away in a pile of rags, a lot of skins, furs and vari- ous Indian relics to sell us. We enjoyed a delightful walk to Indian river along the bay, for one or two miles, re- turning by paths through the dense forest of evergreens. Every little while leading us along by the shore of the river, we found plenty of yellow and black raspberries. The ^fmm^^^mm^mim^ mmmm^mm From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 93 grounds are arranged with paths and rustic bridges across the river, and we were all de- lighted with the little show of civilization, after riding over one thousand miles through a wilderness. Secretary Seward visited Alaska in 1869, and was greatly pleased with his purchase. He was received with great honors in Sitka, and carried away a great variety of Indian curios and souvenirs. By the custom of the Indians, the fur robes laid for him to sit on in the chief's cabin, were his. He, of course, had to give presents to the chiefs in return, which made his visit to Alaska a rnemorable one. A quantity of Alaska cedar was taken east, which was used for the inside finish of the Seward mansion at Auburn. A year later Lady Franklin visited Sitka, when she was eighty years old, and the room was shown us in the old castle which she had occupied, as also had Mr. Seward, when there. Lady Franklin hoped to find some trace of her husband who was lost in the Arctic explo- ration. It was reported to her that he had been heard from, and this remarkable woman, at her great age, sailed from England and came here to try to trace the rumors. It was a long journey, in vain, and she died five ■" »'li* !i! ii 94 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. years afterwards ; this being her second trip to the Pacific coast in search of her husband. Alaska seems to have been considered of no value by our government, and since Mr. Sew- ard's death has been almost abandoned, until within a year or two. The military sailed away after ten year's occupation, and no civil government was established, and the in- habitants were in a terrible condition. The Indians committed various depredations with immunity from punishment. Even white men were murdered, and the murderers had to be sent to Oregon for trial. There were only about three hundred white people to three times as many Indians. The white peo- ple made application for protection to the British Admiral at Victoria, who, without waiting for red tape orders, reached there in March, 1879, to the great relief of the in- habitants. Our Government finally sent a little revenue cutter — Oliver Wolcott — which was too small to be of any service, and the Indians defied and laughed at the menace, so the British Captain remained until the United States steamer Alaska came in April. The only protection the people have had was from the navy, and the commanders of From Yellowstone Park to Ataska. 95 the Jamestown, which succeeded the Alaska, sailed through all parts of the Sitkan archipe- lago, and controlled the Indians and institu- ted many reforms among them. The com- mander, Captain Glass, seemed to be governor, judge and marshal of Alaska, and displayed great ability and exercised justice and humanity in a way to win the respect and control of the Indians. He made treaties of peace between the Indian tribes, and, in fact, kept a navel protectorate over Alaska. Captain Merriman, and others who suc- ceeded him, were equally efficient in govern- ing the Indians and acting as umpire in their quarrels. He seemed to have a paternal interest in the Indians, and when he left Sitka, crowds gathered at the wharf to say farewell to the wise and paternal commander. Those who succeeded Captain Merriman found the Indians peaceful, and they spent much time in visiting the different islands, and looking after the mineral interests of Alaska. While we were at Sitka, the United States steamer Pinta, Captain H. E. Nichols, was in the harbor in control of the navel affairs. He is a most intelligent gentleman, and, from a long conversation with him, I have no doubt 111 ill ii 96 JP'rom Yeilo7Vstone Park to Alaska, will sustain the reputation he gained while engaged in the coast survey in the southern part of Alaska. His surveys were valuable to us through the charts he made for the "Alaska Coast Pilot." The people of Sitka speak in high terms of the navel officers, quite in contrast with the former military operations. On account of the character of the country it is impossible for a land force to be of any service. The Government, after seventeen years from the time of the purchase of Alaska passed a bill, introduced by Senator Harri- son of Indiana, now President, ( it passed the Senate and House of Representatives, and was approved by the signature of Presi- dent Arthur), creating Alaska a Territory, but not a land district. Hon. John H. Kin- kead, ex-Governor of Nevada, who had once resided in Sitka, was made first Governor, and other officers were appointed, and reached their destination in September, 1884. Gov- ernor Swinford, of Michigan, was appointed Governor of Alaska, and an entire change of affairs made in 1885 by the present adminis- tration. Congress seems to be awake to the possi- bilities of the great country, and is slowly w From Yclloiv stone Park to Alaska. 97 passing laws to help its development, through schools, by an appropriation of twenty-five thousand dollars, and in other ways. People visiting Alaska will enlighten the public as to that country not being a territory of mountains, icebergs and glaciers alone. The growth of the forests is almost tropical in its nature, certainly semi-tropical, and the " entangled wildwoods " look like Louisiana or Florida. Very little is known of the flora of Alaska, but it is stated that on Baranoff Island more than three hundred varieties of wild flowers are found. Among the more valuable grasses, of which some thirty species are known to exist in the Yukon territory, is the well-known Kentucky blue grass. The meadow-wood grass is abundant here. The blue-joint grass, which grows from three feet to five feet in height. Many other grasses grow abundantly, and contribute largely to the whole amount of herbage. Ten species of Elyonus almost deceive tnc traveler with the aspect of grain fields maturing a perceptible kernel, which the field mice lay up in store. At Juneau and Sitka we saw the Indian wo- men weaving grasses into mats, baskets, dishes, etc. Articles of clothing for summer use, such 98 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. '.'K !.[)! fc, m as socks, mittens and a sort of hat, and vari- ous articles to sell to travelers as Indian curios ; were also offered. " In the winter, the grasses collected in the summer for the purpose, and neatly tied in bunches, are shaped to correspond with the foot and the seal-skin sole of the winter boots worn in that country. There they serve as a non-conductor, keeping the foot dry and warm, and protecting from the confusion." Some of the mosses of Alaska are of special economic value as a substitute for curled horse hair in the manufacture of mattresses, cushions, and for like purposes. Wild hops, wild onions and wild berries grow in profusion ; crab apples ; the largest gooseberries we ever saw were in the garden of Mr. Vanderbilt, at Sitka. Currents, black and whortleberries, raspberries ; we picked, on Indian River, very large red and white sal- mon berries ; there are also chicker berries, pigeon berries and angelica. Almost every flower is succeeded by a berry. The " Coast Pilot," by Professor W. H. Dall, of the Smithsonian Institution, represents the country between Norton Sound and the Artie Ocean as " a vast moorland whose level is only interrupted by promontories and isolated From Yclloiustonc Park to Alaska. 99 tr.)untains, with numerous lakes, bogs and peat beds. Wherever drainage exists, the ground is covered with luxurious herbage and pro- duces the rarest as well as the most beautiful plants. The aspect of some of these spots is very gay. Many flowers are large and their colors bright, and, though white and yellow predominate, other tints are not uncommon. Summer sets in most rapidly in May, and the landscape is quickly overspread with a lively green. The extreme heat and constant sun- shine cause it to produce rank vegetation. From my own observation, I have no doubt that Alaska will prove, when developed, as valuable a country as Norway, and far supe- rior to Russia. The Aleutian, or Seal Islands, as they are called, are twenty-six hundred miles from San Francisco, and about fifteen hundred miles northwest of Sitka ; all communication with them is by way of San Francisco. There are seventy islands in all ; but the two small islands of the group are called Saint George and Saint Paul. The former is ten miles long, and about five miles wide ; the latter is thirteen miles in length by six in breadth. St. George has a population of only ninety-two, four only of whom are white ; loo From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. Saint Paul has about three hundred, fourteen of whom are white. On the shores of these rocky islands, it is said, nineteen-twentieths of all the seals of the world are caught. Many of the ladies who wear seal garments are not aware that they are a product of our own country. The skins are nearly all shipped to Europe, because of the perfection of the dye — the art being said to be possessed by only two firms in London and Paris, which gives them a monopoly of the trade of the world. There are dyers in this country, but they do not have the skill to give so rich and dark a color as the English and French. The art of dyeing originated with the Chinese. The seal catching season lasts only about seventy days, and, in the meantime, the in- habitants have nothing to do but to go to the Russian church. When Secretary Seward purchased Alaska, in 1867, the value of the seals was not taken into account. Congress passed a law in 1869, making the Aleutian Islands a govern- ment reservation, and restricted the killing of the seals to one hundred thousand an- nually. An average seal will measure six and one-half feet in length, and weigh four i From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. loi hundred pounds. When in Juneau we saw a skin that measured seven and one-half feet. The company were to furnish the inhabit- ants with a certain amount of subsistence and fuel, to maintain schools for the children and to prevent the use of fire-arms on or near the sealing grounds. The contract expires in 1890, and it is said that an immense fortune has been made by the wise and fortunate investment of these San PVancisco business men. The stock of the company is divided into twelve shares, and pays a dividend of about one million dollars per year. This company has also a contract which amounts to a monopoly of the fur trade on Behring and Copfer Islands, and at other points on the Kamtchatka Coast, and forty or fifty other trading ports in Alaska. It was a great curiosity for us to visit the offices and storage-room while we were in Sail Francisco, and see the tens of thousand of seal, fox, mink and marten skins hanging from the rafters, and choicest of bear, deer, beaver and lynx skins piled up in their great store-rooms. Sea otters and cod fisheries have become an important industry. Judging by the rn- 102 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska, % hoarse and shrieking cries of the seals at the seal cliffs, near San Francisco, we should think the three million seals, which are said to gather on the rockeries of Saint Paul and Saint George Islands, would make a terrible noise above the roaring of the ocean in a storm as the waters dash against the rocks ; and, it is said, during summer fogs the pilots are guided to the islands by the noise. The killing of the seals by the natives is thus described : ** They start out before dawn, and running down the shore, get between the sleeping seals and the water, and then drive them inland, as they would so many sheep, to the killing ground a half mile inland. They drive them slowly, giving them frequent rests for cooling, and gradually turning aside and leaving behind all seals that are not up to re- quisite age and condition. When the poor tame things have reached their death-ground, the natives go around with heavy clubs and, by one blow on the head, kill them." On one trip, in 1883, the steamer Saint Paul brought down sixty-three thousand seal-skins, valued at six hundred and thirty thousand dollars, and the tax paid to the government amounted to one hundred and sixty-five thou- sand three hundred and seventy-five dollars. ' From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 103 There are said to be ten different tribes of Indians on the coast of Alaska, and as many more inhmd. At the taking of the last census there was an effort made to take the number of Indians in Alaska, but without success. The number is estimated to be from forty to fifty thousand. They do not look like our North American Indians, but many of them look like the Mongolians. Hon. James G. Swan, correspondent of the Smithsonian Institution, at Port Townsend, on whom we called, thinks the whole population up to the Arctic belt are of Aztec origin, and gave us many reasons, on account of similarity of language, features, implements, handiwork, carvings, and religious emblems and cere- monies. He showed us in his office some old silver idols which he said resembled in size, feature and figure, the Chiriqui idols of the Isthmus of Panama. Mr. Newton II. Crittenden in- fers "from incidental evidences, that Ilydahs are castaways from Eastern Asia, who first reached the islands of Southern Alaska." Mr. Edward Vining, in his book entiled " The Discovery of America, or the Uncele- brated Columbus," inclines to the Chinese origin, and reiterates the story from theorigi- f 104 From Yel/o7i>stone Park to Alaska. h I M I jr. I ...1' m nal Chinese source of the landing of Ilwin Shin and a party of Buddhisst Monks on the coast of Mexico about A. I), five hundred. The Indians and Chinese working together at the Treadwell mines, on Douglas Island, cer- tainly resemble each other. Their houses are built of logs, and often covered with boards hewed out with an adze. They are quite ingenious in wood carving, as indicated by the heraldic emblems on their totem poles. The various articles of carved bone, metal, stone and silver, which they offer for sale, are always original and unique. The women wear silver pins in their lower lips. Many of the articles enumerated they sell for silver dollars, which they make up into other articles for sale. They will not take in pay- ment gold or greenbacks, they want silver only. "Oh, that all the silver dollars could go to Alaska."' When educated in the schools, the Indians would make good citizens, if they could be employed at some regular business ; but in Alaska there is, outside of the few mines and fisheries, nothing for them to do, and most of them go back to their tribes, who ridicule them about their education ; so they resume the old Indian habits, and some of them be- f ii from Ycliou'stoftf Park to Alaska. 105 come more uncivilizecl than ever. The girls can find nothing t(j do, unless as servants, and the demand for them is so limited that the supply is excess. This is a serious (pies- tion, and is diflicult to solve until Alaska he- comes settled with whites, and her resources are developed. The Indians of Alaska seem much more in- telligent than the North American Indians, Hon. V. Colfax, special Indian Commissioner to Alaska, said in his report : " I do not hesi- tate to say that if three-fourths of them (Alaska Indians) were landed in New York as coming from Europe, they would be selected as among the most intelligent of the many worthy emigrants who daily arrive at that port." The Indian inhabitants are divi- ded into four general divisions — Koloshians, Kenanians, Aleuts and Eskimo. These are subdivided into many tribes and families. The Presbyterians are doing a good work in Alaska, with their five or six missionary stations at Fort Wrangell, Juneau, Chilcot, Sitka and some other places. We visited their schools at Fort Wrangell and Sitka, and were delighted with the success, as apparent from the appearance of the boys and girls, and from the answers given by them ; they [(' in f' «^ i-# -> 106 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. were certainly as prompt and correct as from white children of the same age in our schools. Everybody but the missionaries seem to decry their work, and think nothing can be done to Christianize or civilize the Indians, " When the children are educated at the schools and return to their homes, they go back to their old habits and customs, and become leaders o,f all kinds of wicked- ness and deviltry, and that their education only teaches them to be mean." But any one looking into the homes of the educated, who have attended the schools, will see a marked difference. They are cleanly clad, have neat homes and clean beds, with a little stove to cook their food and warm their rooms. Almost every Indian cabin is full of smoke, as there are no chimneys, and they all have disease of the eyes, and are short lived from filth and improper food. Educa- tion teaches them to avoid these, and in time the children will become good citizens. It may take time, but it v/ill surely come. A paper is published at Fort WrangeM, under the direction of Rev. Mr. Young, and the type is set and the work all done by the Indians. It is called the Glacier. Rev. Mr. Williard, at Juneau, preaches to *>::. -: From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 107 to nine different tribes of Klinket Indians, who are gathered here in this town because of its being a mining centre. We see them here just from their forest homes, in all their deg- radation. Rev. Mr. White has just come here to take charge of the work among the whites, who are fully as difficult to Christian- ize as are the Indians. In common with all savage people, the In- dians regard their women as slaves, and com- pel them to do the hardest work, while they look lazily on, enjoying the luxury of a pipe, and often require their services with harsh words and cruel blows ; they are inferior in looks and less in number than the men. Their inferiority rises, probably, from the cruel and harsh treatment they receive, and their small number is, in great measure, caused by the too prevalent custom of infan- ticide. Spared in infancy, the lesson of in- feriority is early burned into the lives of the girls. While mere babes they are sometimes given away or betrothed to their future hus bands, and when they arrive; at the age of twelve or fourteen years, among the Tinneh and the Thrinkets and others, they are offered for .sale. I'^or a few blankets a mother will sell her own daughter f(»r base purposes for a i M, i;[ lo8 J^rom Yellowstone Park to Alaska. week or a month, or for life. Said a great chief: "Women are made to labor; one of them can haul as much as two men can. They patch our tents, make and mend our clothes," etc. A majority of the slaves are women. Poly- gamy, with all its attendant evils, is common among the tribes. Those wives are oft'^n sis- ters ; sometimes a man's own mcther or daughter are among his wives. It a man's wives bear him daughters, he continues to take othe»* wives until he has sons. One of the chiefs is said to have forty wives. After marriage they are practically slaves of their husbands. We have remarked that the wo- men wear silver pins in their lower lips. Upon arriving at a marriageable age the lower lip of the girl is pierced and the silver pin is inserted, the flat head of the pin being in the mouth and the point projecting through the lip over the chin. After marnage the pin is removed from the woman's lip and a spool- shaped plug, called a labut, about three- quarters of an inch in length, is then substi- tuted. As the woman grows older, larger labuts are inserted, so that an old woman may have one two inches in diameter. The method of warfare among the Alaskan \M ":i From Yello7v stone Park to Alaska. 109 IndiVins is an ambush or surprise. The prisoners who are taken are made slaves, and the dead are scalped. The scalps are woven into a kind of garter by the victor. They believe in the transmigration of souls from one body into that of another, but not into that of an animal ; and the wish is often expressed that in the next change they may be born into some powerful family. Those bodies that are burned are supposed to be warm in the next world and the others cold. If slaves are sacrificed at the burial of their owners, this relieves the owners of labor in the next world. Their religion is a feeble Polytheism. All the Alaskan Indians are held in abject fear by the sorcerer and medicine men. \/itchcraft, with all its awful consequences, is of univer- sal belief. The medicine man, or sorcerer, or showman, as he is often called, demands large rewards before he begins his incanta- tions to heal the sick ; and if he fails, he al- ways declares that the failure is due to witch- craft. He then commences to find the witch, and never fails. Hand over hand, as if fol- lowing an invisible cord, he traces the witch, who is then lorturi-d to death. He or she, as the case may be, is bound with the head ■■■ ^^■p no From YeUoivstone Park to Alaska. '.i u drawn betv/een the knees, and usually placed l)eneath the floor of some uninhabited hut un- til death takes place. As the women do all the business, no con- tract is made without their consent. Pro- fessor Wright, of Oberlin, Ohio, made ar- rangements at Juneau for a canoe and two In- dians, to accompany him on his excursion to Muir Glacier, and they were to meet his party at Douglas Island. He was disap- pointed in not having them on hand. He finally learned that the wife of one objected, and wanted the price doubled for the canoe and the services, and she must accompany the party, to which he did not consent. Other Indians came, and a new contract was made after an hour's bargaining. He got the price reduced from twenty-five to twenty-four dol- lars for four week's use of the canoe, and one dollar and fifty cents per day for the services of the Indian, The wife and daughter made the contract, and received the money in ad- vance, and the money was placed in the hands of a third party to pay the wages of the In- dian on his return. No matter what contract the husband may make, even if the money has been paid, the wives claim the right to undo the contract and demand a return of & From Yi'lUmistonc Park to Alaska 1 1 1 what has been paid. Wlien tlie Indians Ix.- come educated anfl Christianized, they want to he married l)y a minister. In several In- dian homes the women had their marriage certificate neatly framed and hung up in lh«* room. They t(M)iv it down and broiu^ht it to us with pride and pleasure beaminuf in tlieir countenances. As the Indians approach a gkicier, meeting the floating ice, carefully avoid striking pieces of ice, Jest they offend the ice spirit. We had a delightful stay at Sitka. As we left our steamer we met the whole population, as it seemed, out of doors ; you could see the people along the street, in the doors of the stores and houses reading their letters, some- times aloud to their friends. It was interest- ing to watch their faces and catch the expres- sions of joy or so/row. The contrast between the number of beautiful women and the squalid row of Indian women w£is very marked. We think the society of Sitka is highly cultivated, judging from what we saw of it at their homes and at the grand bail given by the Sitkans in honor of our passen- gers. At the close, a grand banquet was given by Captain Hunter, and when we left, three cheers were given with a vim from the steamer 112 From Yelloivstone Park to Alaska. V- i iH.;: I ■ to the Sitkans. We were entertained at the Mission buildings, the most commanding in the place, by the Rev. Mr. Austin and his assistants, who have charge of the Mission, where there are about seventy-five or eighty pupils, many of whom showed great pro- ficiency. We were kindly invited to Lieutenant Emmon's house to see the museum of Alaska furs and Indian curiosities, arranged in ar- tistic style, and also to Mr. Vanderbilt's, to see his painting of " Muir Glacier," by Hall, of Chicago ; no painter, however, can do justice to so grand a sight. Mrs. Vander- bilt has been in Alaska for a number of years ; she is a native of Ohio, and seems contented and happy with her beautiful children, and artistically arranged house, with a garden of flowers and vegetables, showing that they can be cultivated here. We never saw larger gooseberries or more thrifty vegetables. Sitka is an old town, established by the Russians as their capital of Russian America. The first boat load of Russians to land there were put to death, in 1741, by Indians. Old Sitka is just north of the present place ; it was abandoned in 1800 on account of a mas- icre, by the Indians, of all the Russians. T^T" From Yc/lowstofic Park to Alaska. 113 in lis .n, ty o- The present site was built upon in 1804, by Governor Baranoff. Alaska was under mili- tary rule for many years, and Sitka became a tumble-down old town. Since Congress passed a bill giving Alaska civil government, every interest in Alaska is looking up, and Sitka is catching the spirit of improvement. All the old prospectors who are familiar with Mount Saint Elias, say that the ascent to the top is almost impossible. A party re- turned a few days since who had tried to ex- plore the mountain ; they could only ascend seven thousand two hundred feet, while the mountain is nineteen thousand five hundred feet in height, and they were prevented going higher than they did on account of the clouds. The snow line is at the base of the mountain, and several miles of glacier had to be trav- ersed before the party reached the base prior to making the ascent. They were four days in reaching their destination. Lieutenant Schwatka reports discovering an unknown river, of great width, full of mud, which he named Jones river, in honor of the editor of the New York Times. Lieutenant Schwatka reports also finding a number of mountain peaks no before reported. On the whole, the discoveries do not seem to be of much valu^ II" is' !f 'i it '■> m '''!■ i«if I 1 iii ^ I if IT4 /''n>/// YclUmistonc Park to Alaska. to tlie history of Alaska. Lieutenant Schvvat- ka reports "the resources of Alaska are great, but that some interests like that of mining, as in other sections, was uncertain. " Other inter- ests or products are," he said, " thoroughly assured, but need development." The fishe- ries he mentioned, am(mg other things, as very promising, but needing a population cUong the Pacific coast to develop the enter- prise. The fur seal interests lire leading at present. Mount Saint Klias was the first point of land discovered by Vitus Behring, a Russian, who first discovered Russian America, in June, 1741 ; he called the mountain Saint Elias, on account of its being discovered on Saint Elias Day, and the name has clung to it ever since. Above Sitka, nearly at the foot of Mount Saint Elias, in the sixteenth degree of latitude, near the Arctic circle, delicious strawberries were found as sweet-flavored as in any other latitude. The Indians picked them, and the supply lasted four days. Old pioneers, like Dick Willoughby, pro- phesy that the top of the mountain will never be reached. Dick is quite a character here; he came from Virginia in 1853, and knows the From Yellinvstone Park to Alaska. 115 whole country, and lias several mitiinuj claims staked out. He gave us some specimens of quartz with free gold, and some with gold and sulphuret, and others with gold and sdver, and much valuable information. He ought to be the richest man in Alaska, from Ins knowledf^e of its gold deposits ; but, like all prospectors, will probably let them slip through his hands. All intoxicating spirits and opium are pro- hibited in Alaska, by act of Congress. Colo nel French, Collector, publishes a notice in the " Alaskan," stating that he has " seized one box containing nine bottles of whiskey, marked benzine ; eighteen bottles of whiskey, marked Calisaya bark ; four barrels of sugar, each containing a ten gallon keg of whiskey ; one barrel ground coffee, containing a five gallon keg of whiskey;" showing how de- termined the whiskey men are to smuggle in whiskey, as they make great profits out of it. While we were at Killisnoo, we were amazed by seeing marching up and down the wharf, Indian Chief Jack, dressed in full uniiorni. He changed his dress three times. The last was of costly furs. He formerly engaged in a revolt against the whites, but suddenly changed, and the Killisnoo Company now ii6 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. % ; pay him a salary as a sort of chief of police. He sold the ladies of the party some splendid Chilcoot Indian blankets, at forty dollars each. He has two or three pretty Indian wives, and one lady amateur photographer wanted to photograph them, but they were not inclined to allow it. The Chief and our Captain finally succeeded in bringing them in front of the camera, and I have no doubt they will make an attractive picture in their Indian dress. There are but two white families among the fifty to one hundred Indian families here. One of these is Russian; the Count, who had to flee his country on account of being a Nihi- list, has a beautiful wife and children. Our ladies were invited to his house to a Russian tea. The tea was served hot in glass tumb- lers, with lemon. The hostess explained that the hot tea did not break the glasses because of the silver spoon being in the tumbler. The other was an intelligent family from Maine. Both families seemed quite con- tented, and, I should judge, must exert a good influence upon the Indians, as we have seen nowhere more order or neater Indian homes and better dressed Indians. The old chief got up a grand Indian war dance for our From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. 117 btMielit, which was exciting enough for tliose who held never before witnessed one. At Juneau we met an enterprising young man of twenty two years, from Boston, who had been well educated, and frt)m one of the old rich families, lie liad Yankee pluck, and was determined to strike for himself. He came to Oregon a short time ago, and bought six cows. lie brought them up here by steamer, to start the milk business, as there are no cows here, and gets twenty cents per quart for his milk. lie is making ten dollars a day, and expects to clear three thousand dollars next year. As a general thing, this is no place for men to come expecting to make fortunes or secure a home. The miner has to lie idle for a great part of the year on account of the rain, and it is with difficulty he can get his products to the market. There are no territorial laws, except those relating to locating mining claims. The lands cannot be sold or cleared for agricultural purposes ; the trees cannot be cut for commerce, and all who have come here to open saw-mills are obliged to go over the line into British Columbia, w^here a liberal policy invites people to develop industries. There they c^n buy all the lumber they want, ii8 From Vcllinvstonc Park to Alaska. ■'> ii I 'i '.(' .!■; and ship where they please. A bill, we understand, has been introduced in Congress to open an overland commercial route be- tween the United States and Asiatic Russia and Japan. Major Powell, Superintendent of the Geological Survey, says that a railroad is feasible over this vast extent of country, and that the difHculties to overcome are not ji^reater than in the construction of the trans- continental railroads now in operation. When this is accomplished, what may we not expect from the development of this great territory, which is fifteen times greater in extent than Ohio. Tourists are just beginning to come to Alaska, and we predict that before many years there will be a great rush to witness the grandest scenery in the world, and enjoy over two thousand miles of salt-water breezes without the annoyance of sea-sickness, as the route lies almost entirely inland, and is not without attractions from the time you leave Tacoma, Washington, until you anivc: at Chilcot, where you can have porterage about thirty miles over the mountain to the lakes and Una River, one of the tributaries of the great Yukon River, which is navigable one thousand eight hundred miles, and rises From Ycllcnvstouc Park to Alaska. 119 near the Pacific Oc^an, runs north and then southwest, and empties into Hehnng Sea ; in all it runs two thousand miles. We have visited the Yosemite Valley, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, etc., and we can truly say that in this tour of Alaska we see in one j^rand panorama all these places combined, only on a much more grand and magnificent scale. Better accommodations than we now enjoy will come with the influx of travelers, though we must say that Captain Hunter of the Idaho is one of the most obliging oflficers that ever commanded a steamer ; always willing to get down his charts and point out the different bays, sounds, straights, seas and inlets, moun- tains, islands, etc. We were favored with delightful weather, which was an exception, as the steamer which preceded ours had fog and rain nearly all the way. I should advise all coming here to bring heavy winter clothing, as we had need of ours the whole distance. Glacier is the name given to the immense masses of ice which accumulate on the peaks and slopes and in the upper valleys of lofty mountains. The phenomena of glaciers form one of the most interesting subjects of scien- tific investigation, whether we regard their 120 From YcUowstonc Park to Alaska. l! 1 formation, structure or appearance. In all parts of the globe they have the same general characteristics ; but though the glaciers of other countries have often been described by geographers and naturalists, it is chiefly in respect to those of Switzerland that we pos- sess detailed information. In that country, as indeed in every other, those parts of the mountains that rise above the line of congela- tion, are covered with perpetual snow, which being partially thawed during the summer months is, on the approach of cold, converted into ice, thus constituting what is called a glacier. The ice so formed descends along the slopes of the mountain into the valleys, by which the ridges are furrowed where it accumulates into large beds or fields, present- ing, where the descent is gradual, a very level surface, and with a few crevices, but where there is a rapid or rugged declivity, being rent with numerous chasms. These chasms are frequently many feet wide and more than one hundred feet deep. Their formation, which never takes place in winter, but is frequent during the summer, is accom- panied with a loud noise, resembling thunder, and a shock which makes the adjacent moun- tains tremble. They are subject to change ;l From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. \2\ every day and almost every hour, and it \% this circumstance that renders the ascent of glaciers so dangerous to travelers, and they are covered with elevations rising from one hundred to four hundred feet. Though the snow line of the Alps is found at an elevation of about eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, some of the glaciers descend so far downward that their lower ex- tremity is not more than three thousand five hundred feet above it. We noticed this par- ticularly in the valley of the Chamouni, where the singular spectacle is presented of huge pyramids of ice, of a thousand fantastic shapes in juxtaposition to the most luxurious pastures, or towering in majestic grandeur in the midst of verdant forests. The principle of descent of glaciers is two- fold, one of a slow and gradual character like the dunes of France, by which a progressive movement of about twenty-five feet annually is effected ; the other ol a rapid and impetu- ous kind, in which a portion of the ice having been disrupted from the main body glides down the mountain's side, accumulating as it goes, and precipitating into the valleys beneath immense stones, fragments (A rock and other substances to which it had adhered. 122 From Yellowstone Park to Alaska. m v) \: Mil \\'\ :! \ \ m Philosophers and naturalists have attrib- uted this downward movement of a glacier to various causes. Saussure maintained that it was nothing more than a slipping '^pon itself, occasioned by its own weight ; on the other hand, Agassiz ascribes this motion to the ex- pansion of the ice resulting from the congela- tion of the water which has filtered into it and penetrated its cavities ; while Mallet is inclined to attribute it to the hydrostatic pressure of the water which flows at the bot- tom and makes rents in the mass. When the debris which the glaciers accum- ulate in their descent has been deposited in the valleys, it constitutes what in Savoy is termed their moraine or border, an essential feature in the Alpine glaciers. These bor- ders present every variety of aspect, but their most usual appearance is that ct unfathom- able bogs and morasses, wholly destitute of vegetation, and, in many instances, fraught with infinite peril to the traveler. The moraine of the Alaska glaciers resem- bles a military fortification ; alongside the Davidson glacier and at the foot of the Muir glacier, it was piled up on the side of the water with bowlders, sand and debris difficult to climb over. I^rom Yellowstone Park to Alaska. The Alpine glaciers occupy a superficial extent of one thousand four hundred and eighty-four square miles. From Mount Blanc to the borders of the Tyrol they are reckoned about four hundred, of which the greater number varies from ten to fifteen miles long and from one to two and one-half wide, and one hundred to six hundred feet ';eep. Besides the grand and picturesque cippearance they present externally, their lower extremities are sometimes excavated by the melting of the ice into the form of immense grottoes adorned with the finest stalactic crystalizations, whose brilliant azure tints are reflected on the foaming streams and torrents which generally issue from these caverns, forming altogether so beautiful and imposin_2J a picture, as to defy the most faith- ful pevvnl to adequately pori;ray. v e .',<^' never forget our walk, with our alpensa .'-s, across the Mere de Glace, feel- ing our wa^ along, lest we fall into the deep crevasses two to three hundred fret down. At the Rhone glacier are seen some of the finest sights in Switzerland ; every minute during our descent some fresh impression of thf ■nngnitude of its frozen billows and its yav, f '■■ • .;q crevasses came in sight. At the foot i24 From Yellowstone Park to Alaskrt !-• I bl III 1)/ fi ■ ! I I of the glacier we get a grand view ; it extends fifteen miles, and looks like Niagara Falls frozen over, on the American side of the Falls, extending fifteen miles up the Niagara River. This glacier is the source of the river Rhone, which flows onward to the sea at Marseilles, five hundred miles away. It has been said to issue " fro. i gates of eternal night at the foot of the i ar of the Sun," and really poetry is excusable in sight of such a scene of unparalleled grandeur. The ice cavern and grotto are magnificent. The Aletsch glacier is said to be the largest in Switzerland and is about twenty, miles long by four miles wide. Here Agassiz per- formed a series of experiments on glacial action, and proved that this glacier moves at the rate of eight inches a day, or eighty-five yards per year. In high arctic latitudes, while the line of perpetual snow comes down to the sea level, the phenomena of glaciers are displayed on the grandest scale. Thus they were seen by Dr. Kane in latitude seventy-nine to eighty degrees, spreading over the western coast of Greenland, and sloping so gently toward the water that the effect of an inclined plane was perceived by looking far into the interior ■■m From Ycllo7c>stonc Park to Alaska. i2«; towards the eist. In this long range the angle of the slope was from seven to fifteen degrees. From this glacier to the southern extremity of Greenland, a distance exceeding one thousand two hundred miles, Dr. Kane imagines a deep sea of unbroken ice may ex- tend along the central portions nearly the whole length of the continent — a sea "that gathers perennial increase from the watershed of vast snow-covered mountains, and all the precipitations of the atmosphere upon its own surface." " Here was a plastic, moving semi-solid mass, obliterating life, swallowing rocks and islands, and plowing its way with irresistible march through the crust of an in- vesting sea." On our tour through Norway we visited several glaciers, one said to be sixty miles long. Dr. Joseph Hooker speaks of a glacier in the Himalayan Mountains which presents a vertical height of fourteen thousand feet. Iceland, Spitzbergen, the Caucasus and Altai have their glaciers, but in central Europe, in Switzerland, Savoy, Piedmont and the Tyrol, it is said they cover one thousand four hun- dred and eighty-four square niles. As we approached the glaciers of Alaska, espcvjially the great Muir glacier, and climbed h ' i>