THE
YUKON TERRITORY
THE NARRATIVE OF W. H. BALL, LEADER OF THE
EXPEDITION TO ALASKA IN 1866—1868
THE NARRATIVE OF AN EXPLORATION MADE IN 1887
IN THE YUKON DISTRICT
BY GEORGE M. DAWSON, D.S., F.G.S.
EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF AN EXPLORATION
MADE IN 1896—1897 BY WM. OGILVIE, D.L.S., F.R.G.S.
INTR OD UC TION B Y
F. MORTIMER TRIMMER, F.R.G.S.
WITH MAP OF THE TERRITORY
FIFTY WOODCUTS AND TWEN7^Y-TWO FULL- PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
DOWNEY & CO. LIMITED
12 YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON
1898
{The publishers thankfully acknowledge the permission granted by the HIGH
COMMISSIONER FOR THE DOMINION OF CANADA to print Parts II. and
III. of this volume, .]
Yfcf
INTRODUCTION.
REAT public interest during the past six months has
been directed to that remote territory in the North-West
corner of the continent of North America which may be geo-
graphically described under the comprehensive term of the
Yukon Territory. And in the succeeding pages will be found
all the information of economic and scientific value that so
far has been gathered on the spot, and prepared for publica-
tion by trained and responsible observers acting in an official
capacity.
In San Francisco last spring the present writer had the
advantage of meeting a number of times with practical men —
miners and prospectors — from the Yukon, who had come South
for the winter season and were then returning northwards.
Some of them were men known previously to the writer in
Colorado and in other Western mining districts, but who
since then had drifted off towards the arctic circle, in the roving
manner characteristic of Western miners.
Comparing the accounts of the Yukon country given to me
by these with what is set out in the chapters following here, I
find there is little that can profitably be added.
The gold discoveries that have attracted so much attention
have been made on some of the smaller tributaries of the main
Yukon River. Dawson City settlement is the centre of the
trading and supply point of this district. This place, as the
VI INTRODUCTION
map shows, is in Canadian territory, and not very far from the
point where the Yukon River is crossed by the international
boundary line.
The range from which the gold-bearing side-streams come
down to join the Yukon may be described as the arctic prolonga-
tion of the fundamental range of the continent of America ; a
range dotted at intervals, greater or less, with gold and silver
camps from Klondyke to Cape Horn. The source of the Yukon
gold is a significant point, as the permanent character of the
mineral-bearing lodes of the Rocky Mountains (as the range is
known north of Mexico) has been so long and thoroughly
established wherever they have been uncovered — though as far
as information goes, the fountain head, the mother lode of the
Klondyke placers, remains to be discovered yet.
This mother lode, unless all precedents fail, will be found
somewhere up the mountain sides towards the sources of
these same streams the placers have been formed on, or on
the summits of the range.
The placers in the valleys have been formed by the gathering
through long ages of fragments detached from exposed portions
of permanent reefs ; by weathering or water action — the gold
finding its way slowly to the lowest level.
In this connection it is worth perhaps recalling — as some
persons have seen in these rich Klondyke discoveries a possible
solution of the present deadlock in the commercial ratio
between gold and silver — that the uncovering of placer gold has
sometimes in the Rocky Mountains led to the uncovering of
silver-bearing ores, instead of gold, by prospectors seeking for
the mother lode. A notable instance of this is the great silver
camp at Leadville, originally a gold placer camp ; and other
cases might be cited.
A question asked sometimes, but not often answered, is, How
does gold come in these veins ? how are they formed ?
INTRODUCTION Vli
An answer to this interesting question comes from China,
where philosophers long ago have solved the problem to their
satisfaction by a theory which if it has no other merit has that
at least of novelty. My authority here is a Chinaman, a
trader, and a man of education whom I used to know in Idaho.
Our planet's centre (so Chinese professors hold) is full of
molten gold, and whenever any orographic catastrophe in the
past has occurred of magnitude sufficient to fracture the earth's
crust right down to the seething molten mass below, some of
the gold is squeezed out to the surface through the cracks.
This theory though crude is plausible, and simple.
Since the Klondyke " rush " set in a great deal has been
written descriptive of the difficulties and the hardships to be
encountered, and probably these have not been exaggerated.
But the story of all big " gold rushes/' and of many small ones,
too, has been of hardships to be faced in the preliminary struggle.
Only in days gone by there was less known to the outside
civilized world of what was happening. In these latter days it
is different, and now an increase of knowledge is apt to be
confounded with an increase of facts.
Still, there does remain the severity of the Arctic winters,
which must always be a drawback, though in the end this
drawback will mean nothing more serious perhaps than a slower
development. The climate of the Yukon Basin proper, in its
upper half, that is in the share of it which falls within the
Canadian Dominion, is in marked contrast to the climate of
the seaboard.
This interior country has a comparatively dry and clear
atmosphere, with a limited precipitation, though here the cold
is intense. Along the sea front of the Coast Range, on the
other hand, the conditions are reversed completely as to mois-
ture, and the degree of cold is by comparison quite moderate.
In the lower or Western half of the Yukon Basin a gradual
Vlll INTRODUCTION
increase of precipitation marches with the fall of the land
westward towards the river's mouth.
Communication with that section which has made so much
stir, is kept up at present under difficulties.
At its mouth, the Yukon River is navigable for a very short
period — from the beginning of July to the end of September ;
but on its upper part it is navigable from May until the middle
of October. Travellers seeking the easiest route go by steamer
during the open season from one or other of the ports on the
Pacific Coast to St. Michael's on Behring Sea, near the Yukon
mouth, transferring there to river steamers which make the
trip to Dawson City, distant some sixteen hundred miles. The
duration of the river trip depends somewhat on the risks and
chances of the river navigation.
The route of which most has been heard since the rush first
started is one by trails across the Coast Range at the Chilcat
and neighbouring passes, starting from tide-water at the head
of the Lynn Canal, as an arm there of the sea is known.
The advantage of this route is its shortness, and once the
Coast Range difficulties have been passed, the head-waters of
streams navigable for boats flowing to the Yukon are quickly
reached. Down these the trip is continued, going with the
stream all the way to Dawson City, and without serious
obstacles other than portages at several points necessitated by
dangerous rapids. The distance, as measured in miles, from
tide-water on the Lynn Canal across these passes to the head of
navigation, is small, but the difficulties to be overcome at the
crossing of the passes make the trip a serious undertaking,
until some very necessary engineering outlay has been made
upon the trails.
But the route said to be the coming main route to the
interior, and one growing already in favour in spite of the
primitive conditions of the trail, is that entering by the
INTRODUCTION IX
Stikine River ; a very full description of the features along the
course of which river is given in Dr. Dawson's itinerary, starting
from Fort Wrangel at the river's mouth.
Arrangements are reported to have been completed for open-
ing up this route by the building of a railway from the head of
navigation on the Stikine to the head of steam navigation on
the Lewes, this being one of the main Yukon branches, — the
length of the gap to be filled being about two hundred miles.
The Stikine Valley climate contrasts phenomenally with that
of the interior. The mean annual temperature in the Dawson
City region being as low as 16° Fahrenheit, while at Wrangel,
near the Stikine mouth, 47° Fahrenheit is given as the corre-
sponding figure.
So favoured indeed is the Stikine Valley, that, on his trip
through there, Dr. Dawson met with the humming-bird.
F. MORTIMER TRIMMER.
February, 1898.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
TRAVELS ON THE YUKON AND IN THE YUKON TERRITORY IN
1866-1868, BY W. H. BALL .
PART II.
EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT ON AN EXPLORATION MADE IN
1887 IN THE YUKON TERRITORY, N.W.T., AND ADJACENT
NORTHERN PORTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, BY GEORGE
M. DAWSON, D.S., F.G.S. ... . . 243
PART III.
EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF AN EXPLORATION MADE IN
1896-1897 BY WM. OGILVIE, D.L.S., F.R.G.S. . . 383
INDEX ........... 424
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Dog Driving near the-Vasolia Sopka Frontispiece
St. Michael's Redoubt ......... To face i r
Diagram of Innuit Topek . . . . . . . . . .13
Bidarra .............. 15
Bidarka .............. 15
Interior of Fort Darabin, from above . . . . . . . .46
Nulato and the Yukon from the Bluffs ........ 47
Wolasatux barrabora in winter . . . . . . . . .65
The Koyukuk Sopka from above ....... To face 77
Pipes 81
Tohonidola ............. 82
Mount Hohonila from the Melozikakat ........ 84
Looking out of Nowikakat Harbour ........ 87
The Twin Mountains from the Melozikakat Mouth .... To face 93
Young Nuklukahyet tyone .......... 94
Nose Ornament of the Yukon Indians ........ 95
In the Ramparts ............ 96
Looking back at the Rapids .......... 97
Looking back at the end of the Ramparts ..... To face 100
Fort Yukon in June, 1867 103
Knife of Kutchin manufacture .......... 105
Sakhniti 107
Red Leggins ........... To face no
Diagram of Innuit casine . . . . . . . . . .127
Kegiktowruk in the fall ......... To face 128
Toponika and Tolstoi Point from the Sound . . . . . ,, 130
Ingalik grave ............. 132
Lobrets and Earrings ........... 140
Amulets ....... ...... 141
Bone needle-case H2
Innuit fire drill 142
Pigulka 143
Innuit grave I46
Innuit fish-hook and sinkar . . . . . . . . . .148
XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Innuit sled of Norton Sound . . . . . . . . . .165
Hudson Bay sled, loaded . . . . . . . . . .165
Ingalik sled of the Yukon . . . . . . . . . .166
Jearny's barrabora . . . . . . . . . . . .176
Yukon grouse snare ........... 178
Different kinds of snow shoes .......... 190
Snow goggles of the Yukon Indians ........ 195
Site of Kwikhtana barrabora . . . . . . . . . .210
Lofka's barrabora . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Klan-ti-lin-ten To face 215
Kantags and wooden ladle . . . . . . . . . .216
Anvik Stareek .......... To face 217
Indian pottery '............ 218
Ingalik birch canoe ........... 219
First Premorska Village ........... 223
Ekogmut grave . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Ekogmut bow ............ 228
Village on the Lower Yukon during the fishing season . . . To face 228
Andreaffsky ............. 230
Kullik . . ' 234
The Emperor goose . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Ivory bodkin . . . . . . . . . . 236
Seine needle ........... . 236
Innuit drawings on bone ........... 237
On the Upper Pelly River, nineteen miles above the Macmillan . Tojace 252
Junction of Forty Mile and Yukon Rivers ..... ,, 274
Tahl-tan Valley, at Trail Crossing ....... ,, 292
J. Le Duis House — Sixty Mile post . . . . . . ,, 302
Dease River above " First Lake," looking west . . . .. ,, 310
Lake Lindeman, looking up from Outlet . . . . . . ,, 336
White Horse Rapids ......... ,, 364
Miles Canon ........... ,, 366
Junction of Forty' Mile and Yukon Rivers (left-hand view) . . ,, 376
Junction of Forty Mile and Yukon Rivers (right-hand view) . . ,, 378
The Frozen Yukon, from Dawson City . . . . . . ,, 412
PART I.
TRAVELS ON THE YUKON AND IN THE YUKON
TERRITORY.
CHAPTER I.
Arrival in Norton Sound. — Circumstances of previous visit. — News of the death of
Robert Kennicott. — Change of plans. — Receive my appointment as Director of
the Scientific Corps, and determine to remain in the country. — Landing, organiza-
tion, and departure of the vessels. — Departure of the Wilder for Unalaklik. —
Russian peechka. — St. Michael's Redoubt and Island. — Russian traders. — Ste-
panoff. — Natives and their houses. — Skin boats. — Departure from the Redoubt.
— Journey to Unalaklik. — Detention at Kegiktowruk. — Seal-hunting. — Innuit
graves. — Bath as enjoyed by the Innuit. — Character of the coast. — Depar-
ture from Kegiktowruk. — Topanika. — Arrival off the mouth of the river. — Ice-
cakes. — Arrival at Unalaklik. — Cockroaches. — Native clothing. — Descrip-
tion of the post and village. — Deficiency of medical supplies. — Departure for
Nulato via Ulukuk. — Iktigalik and its inhabitants. — Telegraph stew. — Escape
of dogs and return to Unalaklik. — Russian baths. — Disagreeable trip to Iktigalik.
— All gone on my arrival. — Second return to Unalaklik. — Impromptu theatricals.
— Departure for Ulukuk. — Deserted village. — Arrival at Ulukuk. — Springs. —
Transportation of goods. — Arrival of Mike with the brigade from Nulato. — De-
parture for Nulato. — Parhelia. — Mysterious caterpillar. — First view of the Yu-
kon. — Arrival at Nulato.
ON the 24th of September, 1866, the clipper ship Nightin-
gale came to anchor half a mile southeast of Egg Island,
Norton Sound.
A driving storm from the north and northeast obscured the
atmosphere, and covered the deck with an inch or two of half-
melted snow and hail. The waves were yellow with sediment,
churned up by their own violence, and the very white-caps had
a sullied look which spoke of shallow water. We were drawing
nineteen feet, with a rise and fall of the waves of at least twelve
feet more, and the breeze was freshening. This did not leave
a very large margin under the keel, and the well-known rapidity
with which a north wind will diminish the depth of water in
the Sound, sometimes making a difference of a fathom in the
course of a few hours, added to the anxiety of our ship's officers.
Our indefatigable commander, Captain Scammon, was seriously
ill. Altogether, the circumstances attending our arrival in the
vicinity of Redoubt St. Michael's were not propitious.
4 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
A little more than a year before, we had visited this point in
the bark Golden Gate. We left a party to make the prelimi-
nary explorations, previous to deciding on the line on which it
was proposed to build the international telegraph. This party
was under the command of the Director of the Scientific Corps,
Robert Kennicott, whose previous experience in the Hudson Bay
Territory to the westward had fitted him above all others to fill
the arduous post of commander of the explorations in Russian
America. Several members of the Scientific Corps were of his
party, and to their combined labors we looked hopefully for a
solution of the problem of the identity of the Yukon River with
the so-called Kwikhpak of the Russians. This identity was
stoutly upheld by Mr. Kennicott, though persistently denied by
many, who looked upon the so-called Colvile River, flowing into
the Arctic Ocean, as the true mouth of the Yukon, while they
considered the Kwikhpak as a distinct river. The question was
regarded as uncertain by all. Information received from the
Russians, however, soon put the matter beyond a doubt, and
we looked to Mr. Kennicott and his party as the favored few who
were to pass the terra incognita between the limit of Russian
explorations and the Hudson Bay Territory, and thus complete
the exploration of the Lower Yukon.
Though their equipment was not such as we could have wished,
and though grave doubts prevailed as to the value of a miniature
steamer, of which much had been expected, still we left all of them
in the highest spirits, and with the heartiest wishes for their
success, as we sailed slowly away from Stuart Island, September
17, 1865.
During the year which had passed many changes had taken
place in the organization of the Expedition. No word had been
received from the party even through the Russian mail, which is
carried overland from St. Michael's every winter to Nushergak
and thence by sea to Sitka.
Various detentions kept the vessels of the fleet lying in San
Francisco Bay long after they should have reached the shores of
Bering Sea, and it was only in the month of July that the Expe-
dition finally set sail. We had been lying in Plover Bay several
weeks, during which time a rumor had reached us that an explor-
ing party had been at Grantley Harbor during the winter, and that
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 5
one member of the party had been badly frost-bitten. All were
supposed to be alive and well.
Now that we had again come within reach of our friends and
companions, our anxiety may be imagined. The state of the
weather and our distance from St. Michael's, almost twelve miles,
prevented our landing in a body. A boat with two officers was
despatched late in the afternoon, but the distance and the still
increasing storm forbade us to expect their return that night.
My own impatience was so great that I soon abandoned the
attempt to sleep, and accompanied the officer of the deck in his
inclement night-watch, pacing up and down in the rain and
sleet ; and I almost fancied that there was something derisive in
the whistle of the wind through the rigging and insulting in the
masses of slush which the swaying cordage occasionally threw in
our faces.
The next morning the storm continued with little abatement.
About noon we saw the steamer George S. Wright, which we
knew had arrived with the commander of the expedition a day or
two before, getting up steam behind the point of Stuart Island.
About four o'clock in the afternoon she came out and anchored
under the lee of Egg Island near us, and we soon saw a boat put
off from her. Every glass was pointed at her, and every eye was
strained for a glimpse of some familiar face ; but the long hair and
beards, the unfamiliar deer-skin dresses and hoods defied recog-
nition.
Pressing forward to the gangway, as the first man came over
the side, my first question was, " Where is Kennicott ? " and the
answer, " Dead, poor fellow, last May," stunned me with its sudden
anguish. I stayed to hear no more, but went to my cabin as
one walks in a dream.
So he was gone, that noble, impetuous, but tender-hearted man,
who had been to me and many others as more than a brother !
During the past two years many had had bitter controversies with
him, but all felt and expressed their grief at his untimely death.
He was one who made enemies as well as friends, but even ene-
mies could not but respect the purity of motive, the open-handed
generosity, the consideration, almost too great, for his subor-
dinates, and the untiring energy and lively spirits which were
the prominent characteristics of the man.
6 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
The details of his explorations and death will be found else-
where. His body had been tenderly cared for, brought down the
Yukon from the point where he died, placed in a vault at the
Redoubt, and was to be taken home in charge of Mr. Charles
Pease, who had been his friend from boyhood, and Mr. H. M.
Bannister, both members of the Scientific Corps. This would
leave the Corps without a single representative in the whole of
Russian America north of Sitka.
My own plan had been, to explain the operations of the Corps
during the past year to Mr. Kennicott, and if approved by him
to cross to the Siberian side and obtain such information and col-
lections as opportunity might offer, and especially to determine
by the barometer the height of the different volcanoes for which
Kamchatka is renowned.
Under the circumstances, however, and considering the infor-
mation in regard to North American natural history and geology
more important than that relating to the other continent, I re-
solved to remain at St. Michael's or in the valley of the Yukon
during the ensuing season. I determined to use my best energies
to complete the scientific exploration of the northwest extremity
of the continent, as it had been planned by Mr. Kennicott, and
which comprised the exploration of, —
First, the region between Fort Yukon, at the junction of the
Yukon and the Porcupine, and Nulato, the most eastern Russian
post on the former river ;
Second, the region between Nulato and the sea, westward across
the portage, and south by way of the Yukon to the sea ; and, —
Lastly, the whole region bordering on Norton Sound and the
sea to the north and south of it.
Toward this considerable collections and many observations
had been made at St. Michael's, but little had been done in
other parts of the country.
Captain Charles S. Bulkley, U. S. A., Engineer-in-chief of
the Expedition, having signified his desire that I should succeed
Mr. Kennicott as Director of the Scientific Corps, and learning
that I desired to remain in the country, ordered me to act as
Surgeon in general charge of the district between Bering Strait
and the Yukon. I submitted my plans for the scientific opera-
tions of the coming year to him, and they met with his entire
approval.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 7
Great expedition was necessary in making my preparations.
The continued north wind began to tell on the depth of water
in the Sound, and on Saturday we grounded with every swell.
Luckily the bottom here is an impalpable soft mud, without any
stones, otherwise the old Nightingale would have left her bones
there ; and as it was, every few moments she came thumping
down, with a severity that shook everything, from truck to
kelson.
The following morning it cleared off, and those who were
to remain took their seats in a large scow loaded with coal, which
was to be towed ashore by the steamer Wilder. The Wilder was
one of two small stern-wheel steamers, built in San Francisco,
and brought up on the deck of the Nightingale, designed for
river navigation. They were shaped much like an old-fashioned
flat-iron, and were just about as valuable for the purposes
required ; being unable to tow anything, or to carry any freight,
while in a breeze of any strength it was no easy matter to steer
them.
Sitting pensively on the larger lumps of coal, we had ample
opportunity of studying the defects of our tug, and it became an
interesting matter as to what we should do if she should break
down before reaching shore, as seemed likely. A cold and
extremely penetrating rain gave us a foretaste of the concom-
itants of exploration, and rendered our departure anything but
romantic. Indeed, I could not help thinking that we bore much
more resemblance to a party of slaves en route for the galleys, as
Victor Hugo describes them, than to a party of young and ardent
explorers, defying the powers of winter, and only anxious for an
opportunity to exhibit our prowess.
We finally arrived in safety at the landing, near the Russian
trading-post of St. Michael. Having pocketed some biscuit, I
was provisioned, and, picking out a soft plank in a back room,
I rolled myself in a blanket, and after some difficulty got to sleep.
The rain continued ; the Russians were holding an orgie, with
liquor obtained from the vessels ; the dogs howled nearly all
night ; the roof leaked, not water, but fine volcanic gravel, with
which it was covered. If this is a sample of the country, I
thought, it is not prepossessing !
On rising in the morning I found, as might be expected, that
8 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
I was likely to feel for some time the effect of my new style of
bed in a way that was anything but agreeable.
On Monday, the ist of October, 1866, the Nightingale sailed
for Plover Bay. All was activity on shore, preparing the Wilder
and all available boats for a trip to Unalaklik, the seaboard
terminus of the portage to the Yukon, at the mouth of the Una-
laklik River. My friend, Mr. Whymper, the genial and excellent
artist of the expedition, proposed to leave for Unalaklik on the
steamer.
The work of construction and exploration had been divided.
The larger number of men, and the work to be done in the region
west of the Yukon, had been placed in charge of Mr. W. H.
Ennis and several assistants. Here the work of exploration had
been mainly finished, and construction, exclusive of putting up
the wires, was to be immediately commenced.
The work of exploration and future construction, to the north
and east of Nulato on the Yukon, was intrusted to Mr. F. E.
Ketchum, to whom, with Mr. Michael Lebarge, the honor of
exploring the region between Nulato and Fort Yukon had fallen
after Kennicott's death.
Mr. Ketchum, who bore the title of Captain in the service of
the Expedition, was thoroughly qualified for the execution of the
trust committed to him. He had been eminently faithful to Mr.
Kennicott during his arduous explorations, and had successfully
carried out his plans after his death.
I proposed to accompany him to Nulato, the place best suited
for the prosecution of the scientific work, and as he had decided
to remain for a while at St. Michael's, after consultation with him,
we secured a room in the Russian quarters together.
On Tuesday the steamer, in charge of Captain E. E. Smith, with
a Russian pilot, started for Unalaklik. As we were waving our
congratulations, to our dismay we saw her come to a stand-still,
plump on a rock at the entrance of the cove. It seemed as if her
career were about to come to an ignominious conclusion, but after
a good deal of labor she worked off without damage, and proceeded
on her way.
We returned to our quarters, where we built a fire in the
Russian stove. These stoves are a " peculiar institution," in use
throughout the territory, and worthy of description. Here they
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 9
are built of fragments of basalt, the prevalent rock, and smeared
inside and out with a mortar made of clay. A damper in the
chimney is so arranged as to shut off all draught, and is taken
out when the fire is made. After the whole has been thoroughly
heated by a wood fire the coals are removed. The damper is put
in, thus preventing the escape of hot air by the chimney, and
without further fire this stove will warm the room for twenty-four
hours. It is admirably suited to the climate and country, and its
o'nly objectionable point is the amount of room it occupies. A
good deal of cooking, baking, &c., can be accomplished in a large
one, and the remainder is done in a building erected for the pur-
pose, and called the povdrnia. The Russian name for this stove is
peechka, but an iron stove, such as is used in the United States, is
called a kaneela. The foundation of the peechka is of wood, filled
in with volcanic gravel, and covered with brick or slabs of lava.
In Russia they are generally built of brick entirely, and are often
tiled over on the outside with painted tiles, such as are yet to be
found in some of the older houses in New England.
Our beds, as in all the houses in this part of the territory, were
made on a platform raised a few feet from the floor, and about
seven feet wide. Mine consisted of a reindeer skin with the hair
on, and with one end sewn up, so as to make a sort of bag to put
the feet in ; a pillow of wild-goose and other feathers is essential
to comfort ; this, with a pair of good blankets, is all that one needs
in most instances. Sheets are unknown in this part of the world,
and counterpanes are almost so.
Our time was well occupied in getting everything in readiness
for transportation, if the steamer should return as we hoped. If,
as was probable, she found ice in the Unalaklik River, she would
have to go into winter quarters at once.
Meanwhile I took a careful survey of the old trading-post, or
Michaelovski Redoubt, as the Russians call it.
By order of Baron Wrangell, Michael TebenkofF, an officer of
the Russian American Company, established this post in 1833.
It is stated by different writers to be in latitude 63° 33' or 63° 28'
north, and longitude 161° 55' or 161° 44' west of Greenwich.
Few points were established by the Russians with the accuracy
deemed indispensable in modern English or American surveys.
It is stated by Tikhmenief that, in 1836, the Unaligmuts of the
I0 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
vicinity attacked the Redoubt, which was successfully defended
by Kurupanoff, the commander.
It is built of spruce logs, brought by the sea from the mouths of
the Yukon and Kuskoquim, which annually discharge immense
quantities of driftwood. This is stacked up by the Russians in
the fall, for miles along the coast north and west of the Redoubt,
and is carried in winter to the fort over the ice by means of dogs
and sleds. No other fuel exists on the island and adjoining
shores. These are entirely destitute of wood, if we except low,
scrubby willows and alders, which are found in the vicinity of
water. St. Michael's is situated on a small point of the island of
the same name, which puts out into the sound and forms a small
cove, abounding in rocks and very shallow. Here a temporary
landing-place is built out into water deep enough for loaded boats
drawing five feet to come up at high tide. This is removed when
winter approaches, as otherwise it would be destroyed by the ice.
The shore is sandy, and affords a moderately sloping beach, on
which boats may be drawn up. A few feet only from high-water
mark are perpendicular banks from six to ten feet high, composed
of decayed pumice and ashes, covered with a layer, about four
feet thick, of clay and vegetable matter resembling peat. This
forms a nearly even meadow, with numerous pools of water, which
gradually ascends for a mile or more to a low hill of volcanic ori-
gin, known as the Shaman Mountain.
The fort is composed of log buildings with plank roofs, placed in
the form of a square, and with the intervals filled by a palisade about
ten feet high, surmounted by a chevaux-de-frise of pointed stakes.
This is also continued round the eaves of the buildings. There are
two outlying bastions, pierced for cannon and musketry, and con-
taining a number of pieces of artillery of very small calibre and
mostly very old-fashioned and rusty, except two fine brass howitzers
of more modern manufacture. The principal buildings are the com-
mander's house, — consisting of two private rooms, an armory and
a counting-room, or contorum, — a couple of buildings used as store-
houses, a bath-house, and separate houses for the married and
unmarried workmen. There is a flag-staff leaning apologetically
as if consciously out of place, and a gallery for the watchman, who
is on duty day and night, with reliefs, and who tolls a bell on the
hour stroke to notify the inmates that he is not asleep. One of
THE YUKON TERRITORY. II
the bastions is without cannon, and is used as a guard-house for
refractory subjects.
Outside of the stockade are several other buildings, — a small
storehouse used for furs, a large shed where boats are drawn up in
winter, a blacksmith's shop, and a church. The latter is octagonal
in shape, with a small dome, surmounted by a cross, and a beam
bearing a bell at the side of a small porch which covers the door-
way. Other small buildings are scattered about ; a sun-dial is to
be found not far from the church, and a noticeable feature in the
fall is the stacks of bleached driftwood, which, from a distance,
look not unlike tents or bastions.
Between the point on which St. Michael's is built and the main-
land, a small arm of the sea makes in, in which three fathoms
may be carried until the flagstaff of the fort bears west by
north. This is the best-protected anchorage, and has as much
water and as good bottom as can be found much farther out.
At the southwest extremity of this arm, known as Tebenkoff
Cove, we enter a narrow and tortuous channel, often not more
than fifty feet wide, which separates the island of St. Michael
from the mainland. This has been aptly named the Canal by
the Russians, and it divides midway into two branches which are,
it seems to me, equally tortuous, though they are styled the
Straight and the Crooked respectively.
The mainland near St. Michael's gradually rises from the Canal
and the adjacent shores into low basaltic hills, with a rugged and
rocky, though not elevated coast.
The inmates of the fort — with the exception of Sergei Stepan-
off Rusanoff, an old soldier, who commands not only this, but all
the trading-posts in the District of St. Michael, under the title
of Uprovalisha — may be divided into three classes : convicts,
Creoles, and natives.
/"The workmen of the Russian American Company were, al-
f most without exception, convicts, mostly from Siberia, where
vhe Company was originally organized. They were men con-
victed of such crimes as theft, incorrigible drunkenness, burglary,
and even manslaughter. These men, after a continued resi-
dence in the country, naturally took to themselves wives, after the
fashion of the country, since Russian subjects in the Company's
employ were prohibited from legal marriage with native women.
12 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
These connections are looked upon with a different feeling from
that which prevails in most communities, and these native
women mix freely with the few Russian and h^lf-breed women in
the territory who have been legally married. 'Their children are
termed Creoles, and formerly were taken from their parents and
educated in Sitka by the Company, in whose service they were
obliged to pass a certain number of years, when they became
what is called "free Creoles," and were at liberty to continue in
the service or not, as they liked. Many of the most distinguished
officers of the Company were Creoles, ^mong them Etolin, Kush-
evaroff, and Malakoff.
There are a few Yakuts in the service of the Company, and these,
with some native workmen, who are generally of the tribe which
inhabits the immediate vicinity of the post, compose the garrison.
The regular workman gets about fifty pounds of flour, a pound
of tea, and three pounds of sugar, a month ; his pay is about
twenty cents a day. Some of the older men get thirty cents arid
a corresponding addition to the ration of flour. They work with
little energy and spirit as a general thing, but can accomplish
a great deal if roused by necessity. Small offences are punished
by confinement in the guard-house, or boofka, and greater ones by
a thrashing administered by the commander in person ; those who
commit considerable crimes are forced to run the gauntlet, receive
one or two hundred blows with a stick, or in extreme cases are sent
for trial to Sitka, or, in case of murder, to St. Petersburg.
The present Uprovalisha, Stepanoff, has been in office about
four years. He is a middle-aged man of great energy and iron
will, with the Russian fondness for strong liquor and with un-
governable passions in certain directions. He has a soldier's con-
tempt for making money by small ways, a certain code of honor
of his own, is generous in his own way, and seldom does a mean
thing when he is sober, but nevertheless is a good deal of a brute.
He will gamble and drink in the most democratic way with his
workmen, and bears no malice for a black eye when received in a
drunken brawl ; but woe to the unfortunate who infringes discipline
while he is sober, for he shall certainly receive his reward ; and
Stepanoff often says of his men, when speaking to an American,
" You can expect nothing good of this rabble : they left Russia
because they were not wanted there."
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 13
The commanders, or biddrsJiiks, of the smaller posts in the Dis-
trict of St. Michael are appointed by Stepanoff, who has absolute
authority over them, and does not fail to let them understand it,
making them row his boat, when the annual supply-ship is in port,
as Alexander might have called his captive kings to do him menial
service. But Stepanoff trembles before the captain of the ship or
an old officer of the Company, much in the same way that his
workmen cringe before him. This sort of subserviency, the fruit
of a despotic government, is characteristic of the lower classes of
Russians ; and to such an extent is it ingrained in their characters
that it seems impossible for them to comprehend any motives of
honor or truthfulness as being superior to self-interest.
The native inhabitants of this part of the coast belong to the
great family of Innuit. The name of the tribe is Unaleet, and their
name for the village, half a mile west of the Redoubt on the island
of St. Michael, is T'satsiimi. The few families living there bear
the local designation of Tutsdgemut, much as we should say
Bostonian or New-Yorker. The village comprises half a dozen
houses and a dance-house, built in the native fashion ; that is to
say, half underground, with the entrance more or less so, and the
roof furnished with a square opening in the centre, for the escape
of smoke and admission of light.
Diagram of Innuit Topek.
They are built of spruce logs, without nails or pins, and are
usually about twelve or fifteen feet square. The entrance is a
small hole through which one must enter on hands and knees, and
is usually furnished with a bear or deer skin or a piece of matting
to exclude the air. Outside of this entrance is a passage-way,
hardly larger, which opens under a small shed, at the surface of
the ground, to protect it from the weather.
14 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
They are about eight feet high in the middle, but the eaves are
rarely more than three or four feet above the ground. The floor
is divided by two logs into three areas of nearly equal size, the
entrance being at the end of the middle one. This portion of
the floor is always the native earth, usually hardened by constant
passing over it. In the middle, under the aperture in the roof,
the fire is built, and here are sometimes placed a few stones.
On either side the portion separated by the logs before men-
tioned is occupied as a place to sit and work in during the day,
and as a sleeping-place during the night. The earth is usually
covered with straw, or spruce branches when obtainable, and
over this is laid a mat woven out of grass. Sometimes the
space is raised, or a platform is built of boards, or logs hewn flat
on one side. This is a work of such labor, however, that it is
seldom resorted to. The beds, which generally consist of a
blanket of dressed deerskin, or rabbit-skins sewed together, are
rolled up and put out of the way during the day. Almost all
sorts of work are done in the houses after the cold weather sets
in. At this time, however, there did not appear to be any people
in the village, and Captain Ketchum told me that they would not
return for a week or two, being absent at Pastolik, where they
were killing the beluga or white whale. A solitary old woman,
perhaps of exceptional ugliness, spent her time picking berries,
which were abundant near the village.
Sunday, October jth. — A party of natives of the Mahlemut
tribe arrived, in a skin boat, bringing letters from Unalaklik,
saying that the boats had arrived safely at that point. The tur-
rets or bastions of the Russian post were being fitted up for the
accommodation of the officers, and winter quarters for the men
were being arranged and made comfortable. The ground was
well covered with snow, and we were advised to use all practi-
cable expedition in reaching Unalaklik by water, before the forma-
tion of ice should interfere with navigation. The thermometer
averaged 9° Fahrenheit during the day, and no time was to be
lost.
We therefore made arrangements for starting the next day, —
Captain Ketchum and myself in one boat, Mr. Westdahl our
astronomer, and a party of natives, with two others.
The skin boats, in which most of the travelling by water is done,
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 15
are of three kinds. One is a large open boat, flat-bottomed and con-
sisting of a wooden frame tied with sealskin thongs, or remni, and
Bidarrd.
with the skins of the seal properly prepared, oiled, and sewed to-
gether, stretched over this frame and held in place by walrus-skin
line, or md/iout. This kind of boat is known among all the In-
nuit by the name oomiak, and is called a bidarrd by the Russians.
Bidarka.
Another, a smaller boat, for one man, is made essentially in the
same way, but covered completely over, except a hole in which the
occupant sits, and around the projecting rim of which, when at sea,
he ties the edge of a waterproof shirt, called a kamldyka by the
Russians. This is securely tied around the wrists and face also ;
the head being covered by a hood, so that no water can by any
means penetrate to the interior of the boat. This boat is called
by the natives a kyak, and by the Russians a biddrka.
The other kind is used only by the Russians, and was copied
from those of the Aleutians, differing from the last only by being
longer and having two or three holes ; it is adapted to carry two or
three people. These boats are admirably light and strong, and
extremely valuable for making short journeys. It is, with persons
skilled in their use, all but impossible to swamp them, and the
Russians have introduced them into every part of the territory
as an invaluable adjunct to exploration. They call them simply
two or three holed bidarkas. They are propelled by single or
double ended paddles, and attain an extraordinary speed.
Monday, 8t/t. — The weather being clear and fine, the wind
nearly fair, we determined to put off for Unalaklik. We left St.
Michael's about noon, Westdahl leading, but the wind hauling
ahead we ran closer in, and left him making a long tack, which
Ketchum was rather apprehensive would be unsuccessful, as it is
1 6 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
impossible, or almost so, to beat against the wind with one of
these flat-bottomed skin boats.
About eight o'clock p. M. we put into a small rocky cove about
twenty-two miles from the Redoubt. ~ This, from two small rocky
islets which protect it, is known to the Unaleets as Kegiktowruk,
a word derived from kikhtuk, meaning an island. There is quite
a village on the high bank back of the cove, and the inhabitants
came down and helped us to haul our boat up on a sort of ways,
built of round logs, held in place by large masses of rock. These
are necessary, as the cove is very shallow and so full of rocks that
the skin boats are very liable to be cut on them at low tide.
There were no signs of the other boats.
The village is notable on account of the number of graves
scattered over the plain about it, and also for the large size of the
dance-house, or casine as the Russians term it. This building is
to be found in almost every village, and serves for a general work-
room, a sort of town-hall, a steam bath-house, a caravanserai for
travellers, and a meeting-house for celebrating their annual dances
and festivals.
It is usually the largest and cleanest house in the village, and
generally empty at night, so that travellers prefer it to one of the
smaller and more dirty and crowded houses. In the present case
we were quartered in it very comfortably.
We immediately sent out our teakettle, in this country always
made of copper, and ^universally known as the chynik, — tea be-
ing chy in the Russian, a derivative from the original Chinese
chah.
Chy being ready, we imbibed deeply, and filling up the chynik
with water we dispensed the diluted fluid to our native friends, in
the bountiful tin cups provided by the Company. A small hand-
ful of broken biscuit added to the acceptability of the treat and
disguised the weakness of the chy. This is the invariable and
expected tribute to the hospitality of the natives from all travellers
who avail themselves of the casine and other accommodations of
the village ; for which the Innuit have not yet learned to charge
by the night's lodging.
Appreciating the banquet, and warmed to enthusiasm by the
hot water, an old blear-eyed individual seized an article something
between a drum and a tambourine, and began to beat upon it with
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 17
a long elastic rod. He was joined by all the old men in the
vicinity, in a dismal chorus of
Ung hi yah, ah ha yah, yah yah yah, &c.,
keeping time upon his drum with an energy which showed that the
vigor of his youth had not departed from him.
Four or five of the young men began to dance, posturing in
different attitudes, moving their arms and legs, stamping on the
floor, all in perfect accord with one another, and keeping accurate
time with the drum. We were too tired, however, to appreciate
this exhibition, and signified as much to the company, who finally
left us to enjoy a good night's rest.
Tuesday, gth. — We were awakened by an officious native, who
put his head in, bawling at the top of his lungs that the weather
was bad, very bad indeed, and that we could not get away to-
day ; after which pleasing piece of information he left us to our
own reflections.
On getting up and going out I found that the sky was cloudy
and the wind adverse, and ordering one of our Mahlemuts to put
on the chynik, I went down and reported the situation, which
involved our remaining a day or two where we were. Breakfast,
consisting of chy, with sugar, — but of course no milk, — biscuit,
and a savory piece of bacon, was duly discussed ; and after a com-
forting pipe, we were quite ready to bear our detention with the
true voyageur's philosophy.
I went out, and soon made the acquaintance, by signs and the
very few native words which I had picked up, of a fine-looking
young Mahlemut, who was also on his way to Unalaklik with his
family. The interview commenced by his begging for a little
tobacco, upon receiving which he was so delighted as to take me
to his tent, a poor little affair, made of unbleached sheeting pro-
cured from the Russians. Here he introduced me by signs to his
wife and child, the latter about two years old. The former was
not particularly ugly or pretty, but was engaged in manufacturing
tinder, which rather detracted from the neatness of her person.
This tinder is made out of the fur of the rabbit, the down from the
seed-vessels of the river poplar, or cotton lint obtained from the
Russians ; either of which is rubbed up with charcoal and water,
with a very little gunpowder, and then dried. The rubbing pro-
1 8 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
cess was just going on, and I was thankful that etiquette did not
require hand-shaking, among the Innuit of Norton Sound. The
husband was a fine-looking, athletic fellow, standing about five
feet five inches, with a clear brunette complexion, fine color, dark
eyes, and finely arched eyebrows. The flat nose, common to all
the Eskimo tribes, was not very strongly marked in him, and a
pleasant smile displaying two rows of very white teeth conquered
any objection I might have felt to his large mouth. The baby
looked like any other baby, and was notable only from never show-
ing any disposition to disturb the peace.
Returning after awhile to the casine, I observed that the aper-
ture in the roof was closed by a covering composed of the intestines
of seals, cut down on one side, cleaned, oiled, and sewed together
into a sheet, which is sufficiently translucent to admit the light
while it retains the warm air.
The universal salutation of the Innuit is Chammi ! Chammi !
and as likely as not, some greasy old fellow will hug you like
a brother upon a first meeting. As they are given to raising a
certain kind of live-stock, this method of proceeding is not likely
to suit the fastidious.
A note arrived from Westdahl by a native, one of his crew,
saying that on account of rough weather he had been obliged
to put into a small cove, some miles south of us, had cut his
bidarra on the rocks and wet almost everything.
Ketchum immediately despatched four men with a needle, some
twisted thread made of deer sinew, called gila, and a piece of seal-
skin prepared for use, technically known as luvtdk. These, with
some grease to rub on the seam, are all that is needed to repair
any injury done to the skin of a bidarra or bidarka.
Wednesday, \Qth, — The water of the little cove in front of the
village was white with foam when we rose in the morning : evi-
dently we were not to get away yet. We walked over to a small
bay on the other side of the point on which Kegiktowruk is situ-
ated. Here we found a cache, that is to say, a kind of small log en-
closure about six feet square, covered with logs held down by heavy
stones. In it were the bodies of four small hair seal, called nerpa
by the Russians and niksuk by the Mahlemuts. They are covered
with short, stiff hair of a greenish silvery tinge, with darker spots
surrounded by dark rings, especially on the back. The young are
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 19
very beautiful, covered with long, silky, silvery hair, softer than in
the adult and without the dark spots. They are about eighteen
inches long, and the adults not more than four feet. The flippers
have five long nails and are covered with hair like that on the
body. The eye of the seal is black, very large and liquid,
almost human in its expression, and the whiskers are placed like
those on a cat ; the bristles are perfectly transparent, three-sided
and twisted, looking like glass threads, about four inches long.
The blood of these seal is very black, and so is the flesh, both
having a slightly disagreeable odor when fresh. They are caught
in rawhide nets. There is a much larger seal (like Phocajubatd)
which is called maklok by the natives ; the name has been
frequently applied to both species, but erroneously. The fat or
blubber is about an inch and a half thick, very white and firm.
The natives eat it, as well as the meat, and trade it with the
Indians of the interior. The oil is used for burning, and the
casine is lighted by means of four saucer-shaped dishes full of
dry moss or sphagnum soaked in this oil, which give out quite
as much smoke as light.
Returning, our attention was attracted by the numerous
graves. These are well worth the careful attention of the eth-
nologist; many of them are very old. The usual fashion is to
place the body, doubled up, on its side, in a box of plank hewed
out of spruce logs and about four feet long ; this is elevated sev-
eral feet above the ground on four posts, which project above the
coffin or box. The sides are often painted with red chalk, in fig-
ures of fur animals, birds, and fishes. According to the wealth
of the dead man, a number of articles which belonged to him are
attached to the coffin or strewed around it. Some of them have
kyaks, bows and arrows, hunting implements, snowshoes or even
kettles, around the grave or fastened to it ; and almost invariably
the wooden dish, or kantdg, from which the deceased was accus-
tomed to eat is hung on one of the posts.
There are many more graves than present inhabitants of the
village, and the story is that the whole coast was once much more
densely populated.
On arriving at the casine we met some men carrying long sticks
of light-wood, and were requested to remove our bedding and other
traps from the building, as the inhabitants were about to take a
20 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
bath. This we did, much to our disgust, and adjourned to one of
the houses till it should be over, as a cold wind was blowing.
These baths are made by building a very hot fire in the casine,
the middle part of the floor being removable, so that the earth
may be exposed. Here the fire is built, and when it has sub-
sided into coals the gut cover before mentioned is put over the
smoke-hole, and the inmates proceed to bathe themselves in an
unmentionable liquid, which is carefully saved for this and other
purposes. Strange as it may appear, this habit was not con-
tracted without reason, for the alkaline properties of this fluid
combine with the oil with which they are smeared, and form a
soapy lather, which cleanses as thoroughly as soap, which they
cannot obtain, and removes the dirt, which water alone would not
do. After this they wash off with water and retire to certain
shelves, which are placed near the roof of the building, and repose,
wrapped in a deerskin, until the lassitude produced by the bath
passes away.
We waited as long as possible before entering the casine, but as
evening came on we were obliged to return to it. As might be
supposed, the ammoniacal odor was nearly stifling, and only the
raw, blustering weather prevented us from sleeping outside.
Thursday, nth. — To our great delight the sea had gone
down a good deal and the wind was fair. -We bundled our
things into the boat, and although short-handed — two of our
men having remained with Westdahl — we put out about eight
o'clock, and just as we rounded the point saw the other boats,
which had repaired damages, following. The character of the
shore is abrupt and rocky from the Redoubt to Kegiktowruk,
thence to Golsova River, known by the two small islets or rather
rocks in the vicinity, and finally around Tolstoi Point to a
place called Topanika. There are very few points at which
a boat, especially a skin boat, can land even in perfectly smooth
weather, and in rough weather only two between Tolstoi Point
and the Redoubt. The first of these is the Major's Cove, so
named because it was the first point at which Major Kennicott
landed, after leaving St. Michael's with his party. The other
is Kegiktowruk. We passed Tolstoi Point and reached To-
panika in safety. Here there is, except at high tide, a narrow,
shelving beach, backed by perpendicular walls of sandstone in
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 21
bluffs from twenty to one hundred feet high. This beach con-
tinues all the way to the mouth of the Unalakh'k River, the bluff
growing gradually lower, until near the mouth of the river there
is only a marshy plain behind the beach. As the wind was light
we sent two of our men ashore with a long mahout line to "track"
the boats along the beach. We were now about ten English miles
from Unalaklik. The wind blowing fair and freshening, we took
our men on board and made a straight course for the mouth of the
river. Meanwhile it was growing dark. I had been snoozing
under a deerskin for an hour or two, as the air was very cold,
but finally took up the paddle to warm myself, when Ketchum's
experienced ear caught the crunch of ice, and in a minute we were
into it. Large cakes about four inches thick covered the surface of
the water, and we all had our hands full in staving them off, as
they would have sunk the boat had they nipped us. We were not
far from shore ; the lights at the trading-post at the mouth of
the river were plainly visible. We fired several shots, but appar-
ently without rousing any one, and were obliged to go nearly a
mile north of the post to find a bit of beach sufficiently clear of
ice to land upon. Having succeeded in hauling the boat above
high-water mark, we stumbled amongst the driftwood with which
the beach was strewn, up to the fort or trading-post, which
was closed, every one being asleep. We soon roused them, how-
ever, and after a regale of tea and bread I appropriated the bed
of a Russian, and sank to slumber, surrounded and overrun by
not less than thirty thousand adult cockroaches and their families.
Friday, \2th. — Rose with the determination of going some-
where where there were no terrakdnoff, as the Russians call the
insects with which their apartment was infested. I obtained a
tent, pitched it, and moved most of my traps out into it. Planted
a flag-pole and threw the ensign of the Scientific Corps to the
breeze, with the resolution to carry the blue cross and scallop,
before the year was out, where no other flag had yet floated, if
that were possible.
I began to provide myself with suitable clothing, such as the
natives wear. First, an artegi, or parka, as the Russians call it.
This is a shirt of dressed deerskin, with the hair on, coming down
to the knees, and to be confined by a belt around the waist.
There is no opening in the breast or back, but a hood large
22
THE
enough to cover the hea
needed. This garment
hood with strips of wh
both of which are high
hood the wolfskin is broa
where the longest hairs
when the hood is drawn
which is not unbecomi
shield the face from a
parka is exceedingly wa|
while in exceedingly col
or wiperotky, as the Rus
i!
4
i
ill .
rhaps
turned in, inside of the I
skins, according to the f|i
known as net dress, is trie
The skins of Parry's marmot (Spermophilus Parry i) and the musk-
rat (Fiber zibethicus) are praised for their durability, and wipe-
rotky parkies are neat and light, but do not last long. On the
whole the needress is as strong, durable, and warm as any, and
almost as handsome when well trimmed.
The next most important articles are the torbassd or Eskimo
boots. These are made of the skin of the reindeer's legs, where
the hair is short, smooth, and stiff. These are sewed together to
make the tops of the boots, which come up nearly to the knee,
where they are tied. The sole is made of sealskin, or luvtak pre-
pared in the same way as for making boats. This sole is turned
over at heel and toe, and gathered like the skirt of a dress, so as to
protect those parts, and brought up on each side. It is of course
nearly waterproof and rather durable, but can be easily replaced in
half an hour by a new one if necessary. It is wetted before being
sewed, which makes the sealskin flexible, and the proper formation
of the toe is aided by the teeth of the seamstress. In wearing
these boots, which are made much larger than the foot, a pad of
dry grass, folded to the shape of the sole, is worn under the foot.
This absorbs any moisture, serves as a non-conductor, and protects
the foot from the inequalities of ice or the soil. The whole fur-
nishes a warm and comfortable covering, indispensable to winter
travel. There are a pair of strings, one on each side, which are
tied about the ankle, supporting it and preventing the foot from
slipping about in the boot.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 23
Deerskin breeches are worn by the natives, but are rarely
needed by white men when provided with clothing of ordinary
warmth and thickness.
The value of a good parka is at present about six dollars.
Boots and other articles are usually obtained by barter. Ten
musket-balls and a few caps are the regular price for a pair of
torbassa, a pair of deerskin mittens being worth from four to six
balls ; ornamental gloves and other articles are more or less
costly, according to the amount of work and the scarcity of the
article at the time. So far, the natives have not yet learned to
make a well-shaped thumb to gloves and mittens, a triangular
shapeless protuberance serving their needs, but they may be easily
taught a better mode of manufacture.
A deer or bear skin in the raw, dry state is used as a bed, and
a blanket of dressed deer or rabbit skins, in addition to a pair of
woollen ones, completes the list of articles needed for winter
travel, though a small pillow is a great addition to one's com-
fort. A deerskin is worth, at the regular price, about sixty
cents.
For a number of days nothing occurred of special interest.
Captain Ketchum delayed starting across the portage to the
Yukon for Nulato, as it was still doubtful whether all the small
rivers were securely frozen over. I found my nights in the tent
not uncomfortable, though the thermometer ranged from twenty-
eight to zero of Fahrenheit. Waking one morning, I found myself
so deeply snowed up that I had a good deal of difficulty in get-
ting out of the tent. It proved to be only a drift, however. A
tin dipper of water frozen the first night showed no signs of
melting.
The Russian trading-post at this point is much smaller than
the Redoubt. It is in rather a decayed condition, and has only
two glass windows, the remainder being made of gut, as used by
the natives. Glass is a rare article here.
The stockade is built after the same plan as that at St.
Michael's, and encloses one barrack building, with a room for
the commander, a store, cook-house, bath-house, and a shed for
storing oil, &c. ; it is defended by two square bastions pierced
for cannon. The guns had lately been removed, and the
turrets fitted up for the accommodation of our officers. They
24 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
were of the most antiquated description, and likely to do as
much damage by the breech as by the muzzle.
The fort is situated on the right bank of the Unalaklik River,
where it empties into Norton Sound. It is said to have been
built in 1840 and 1841.
To the north are two assemblages of houses occupied by Innuit
of the Kaviak, Mahlemut, and Unaleet tribes during part of the
year, the latter being the only permanent residents. The village
was formerly situated on the left bank of the river, but, an epi-
demic occurring, they removed and built new houses on the
north side. The remains of the old houses and the graves may
be distinctly traced.
The steamer Wilder, with the assistance of several hundred
natives and our own party, under the direction of Captain Smith,
had been hauled up on the beach beyond the reach of the ice,
and might be considered as in winter quarters.
The Captain, who was an enthusiastic and successful sportsman,
gave me the first specimens I had seen of the beautiful snow-
white arctic grouse (Lagopiis albus\ which may be started in
coveys on all the plains around the mouth of the river.
The beach at Unalaklik is shelving and sandy, and is bounded
by a ridge, on which the houses are built. Back of this ridge the
land is low, and overflowed for some distance when the freshets
occur in the spring ; beyond this low strip, which is parallel
with the beach, it rises slowly and evenly, culminating in the
ridges of the Shaktolik hills, which trend in a northeast and
southwesterly direction, and attain a height of about a thousand
feet above the sea. Several miles north of the river they come
down to the shore in high bluffs of gray sandstone. The coun-
try to the south, already mentioned, is much the same, though
the hills are farther inland and attain a higher elevation. From
the beach near the fort, Besborough Island may be seen standing
sharply and precipitously out of the sea, about thirty miles north-
northwest. Egg Island and Stuart's Island, to the southwest, are
so low that it is only on a very clear day, with a faint mirage
to elevate them, that they can be distinguished. Covered with
snow and without trees, the easy slopes and gracefully rounded
hills have an aspect of serene beauty ; the effect on a calm moon-
light evening is delightful.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 25
Thursday, October 2%th. — Captain Ketchum having made up
his mind to an early start across the portage, we entered on the
necessary preparations for our journey. Appointing Lieutenant
F. M. Smith Acting Surgeon for the Unalaklik party, I divided
our exceedingly insufficient supply of medicines with him. The
liberal scale on which everything was purchased allowed of no ex-
cuse for the inefficiency and red tape which left fifty men for a year,
in a country where nothing of the kind was obtainable, with a sup-
ply of medicines which could be packed into a Manila cigar-box.
The proposed party for Nulato was composed of Captain
Ketchum in charge of that division, Mr. Frederick Whymper
the artist of the Expedition, Mr. Francis the engineer of the
Wilder, Lieutenant Michael Lebarge, a constructor who may be
called Scratchett, and myself. Mr. Dyer the quartermaster pro-
posed to join us later in the season. It will doubtless be noticed
that this comprised some six officers to one man, but it must
be recollected that the work laid out for the coming year in our
division comprehended only exploration, and that we relied on
the Indians in the vicinity of Nulato for such manual labor as
we should need. The following season we expected to receive a
large number of constructors, who should proceed to build the
line as soon as the route was determined.
We intended to travel with dogs and sleds, the universal and
only practicable mode of winter transportation in this country.
The sleds, harness, and so forth, I shall take another opportunity
of describing minutely, and will only state at present that the
dogs are about the size of those of Newfoundland, with shorter
legs, and of all colors, from white, gray, and piebald to black.
They are harnessed to the sled on each side of a line, to which
the traces are attached, — two and two, with a leader in front ;
and the usual number is either five or seven, according to the
load. They will draw when in good condition about one hun-
dred pounds apiece with the help of the driver, who seldom rides,
unless over a smooth bit of ice or with an empty sled. The sleds
of the Eskimo are heavy, and shod with bone sawed from the
upper edge of the jaw of the bowhead whale. These bones are
obtained in the vicinity of Bering Strait, and good ones are quite
valuable. The remainder of the sled is made of spruce wood.
They will carry from six to eight hundred pounds. The sleds
26 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
used in the interior are much lighter and differently constructed.
The Eskimo sleds are suitable only for travelling over ice and
the hard snow of the coast.
Saturday, 27th. — Having loaded four sleds and finding the
number of dogs insufficient, we sent down to the village and pro-
cured an additional supply, seizing any stray dog whose owners
were not forthcoming, and pressing him into the service. About
eleven o'clock, just as we were ready to start, an old woman, howl-
ing dismally, cut the harness of one of these conscripts and let him
go. He was, however, immediately secured, the old woman paci-
fied with a small present of tobacco ; and with a salute of one gun
from the fort and a volley of revolver shots from our friends we
started up the Unalaklik River on the ice. We got along very well,
with the usual number of small casualties, such as the loss of one
or two of the vicious dogs, who gnawed their harness in two, and
the breaking of the bones with which some of the sleds were
shod. We proceeded until darkness and an open spot in the
river arrested our progress, and we camped on the bank for
the night. The atmosphere being about ten below zero, we
all relished our tea, biscuit, and bacon, and the ever-grateful pipe
which followed it, before retiring. No tents are used in the
winter, as they become coated with ice from the breath of the
sleepers and are also liable to take fire ; so, pulling our blankets
over our heads, we slept very comfortably, with nothing above us
except the branches of the spruce-trees and the canopy of the sky.
The trees commence as soon as we get sufficiently far up the river
to be out of the way of the coast winds and salt air, and are prin-
cipally willows, birch, poplar, and spruce.
Sunday, 2%th. — Woke to the disagreeable discovery that four
of our dogs had taken advantage of the darkness to gnaw their
sealskin harnesses and decamp to Unalaklik. Pushing on, literally,
with only three dogs, and five hundred pounds on the sled, I found
rather hard work for a beginner. At last, about noon, we arrived
at the first Indian village, called Iktigalik, where we unloaded our
sleds, fed our dogs, and went into an Indian house built after the
Eskimo fashion and very clean and comfortable.
Iktigalik is a fishing village with a larger population in summer
than in winter. On the left bank of the river, which is about six
hundred feet wide, are eight or ten summer houses, built on the
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 27
bank, of split spruce logs driven into the ground, and roofed
with birch bark. The door is at the end facing the river, and is
an oval opening some three feet high. The houses are about
twelve feet square and entirely above ground, as in summer the
underground houses are full of water. Behind these houses are
the caches, called kradowoi by the Russians. They are simply
small houses, about six feet square and high, elevated from six to
ten feet above the ground on four upright posts. They are well
roofed and are used only as storehouses for provisions, dry fish,
and furs, and are thus elevated in order that dampness or field-
mice may not gain access to them ; much like an old-fashioned
corn-crib. Frames are also erected where the sleds, boats, and
snow-shoes may be put out of the way of the dogs, who are always
on the alert for any animal substance, and will eat sealskin and
even tanned leather with avidity, even when moderately well
fed.
On the other side of the river are two winter houses and several
caches. One of these houses was the property of an old and
rather wealthy Indian, as Indians go, who had been christened
Amilka by the Russians. Amilka was anxious to obtain the title
of Tyone, or chief, which is here merely a title and conveys no
authority except what age and wealth may bring with it. He
had been invested with the title by the explorers during the pre-
vious season, and, though an exceedingly mean old fellow, had
been of some assistance to them. In the house with him were his
wife, a very fine-looking Indian woman of considerable intelli-
gence ; and a young fellow called Ingechuk by the Russians, who
had a wife about four feet high, of whom he was exceedingly
fond and jealous. The other occupants were an intelligent fellow
known as Andrea, and his wife, an old, very ugly, but dignified
and hospitable woman. On our entering, she ordered some one
to clear a place, and spreading out a clean grass mat motioned to
us to be seated. Without relaxing her diligent oversight of the
children around her, of her work, or of a kettle that was boiling
by the fire, she sent out to the cache and obtained some dried
backfat of the reindeer, the greatest delicacy in this part of the
world ; cutting it into pieces of uniform size, she placed it on a
clean wooden dish and handed it to us, with an air of quiet dig-
nity quite unaffected, and as elegant as that displayed by many a
28 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
civilized dame when doing the honors of a palace. No return
was asked or expected, but a present of a few leaves of tobacco
was received with thanks. The backfat, when toasted over the
fire, has a rich nutty flavor and is extremely good.
The other house was occupied by a dirty old rascal called
Matfay, and another, equally dirty and more stupid, called Meesh-
ka. Matfay bore his greedy and deceitful disposition plainly im-
pressed on his countenance, and evidently felt aggrieved that we
had not honored his house with our presence, instead of sending
our Mahlemuts there, who would make him no presents.
Ketchum had actually gone into his place at first, thinking, as
the house was new, that it would be the cleaner of the two ; but
after a glance at it had beaten a hasty retreat.
These Indians belong to a branch of the family of Tinneh, or
Chippewayans, similar to those of Mackenzie River ; their tribal
name is Ingalik, or, in their own language, Kalyuh-khatdna, or
people of the lowlands. The tribe extends from the edge of
the wooded district near the sea to and across the Yukon be-
low Nulato, on the Yukon and its affluents to the head of the
delta, and across the portage to the Kuskoqufm River and its
branches. Many of the adults have been christened, but not
Christianized, by the missionaries of the Greek Church, and are
usually known by their Russian names. They retain and use
among themselves, however, their original Indian names.
Monday, 2tyh. — After a long night's rest, woke a good deal
refreshed, though rather stiff, and enjoyed our breakfast thor-
oughly. Francis and myself took a walk some distance up the
river, finding many open places in the ice. After our return I
made a few sketches of the houses and Indians, and obtained a
beginning of a vocabulary of Ingalik words. These Indians all
understand a little Russian, and by this means are enabled to
communicate with the whites. No one in the territory under-
stands any English. The Innuit, especially the Mahlemut dia-
lect, is so easy to acquire that the fur-traders learn it in prefer-
ence to attempting the difficult task of teaching them Russian.
Very few of the Innuit understand any Russian, while almost all
the Russians understand some Eskimo. On the other hand,
the Indian dialect is so much harder to learn than the Russian,
that the Indians pick up Russian with facility, while none of the
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 29
Russians, except an old interpreter named Tele'ezhik, know more
than a few words of the Indian dialects.
In the afternoon Ingechuk brought us some white grouse and
some fresh reindeer meat. Of the latter a delicious dish was con-
cocted, which I will describe for the benefit of future explorers.
It was invented by the members of Kennicott's party during the
first year's explorations. The frozen reindeer meat was cut into
small cubes about half an inch in diameter. An equal amount of
backfat was treated in the same way. Hardly covered with
water, this was simmered in a stewpan for nearly an hour ; water,
pepper, and salt being added as needed. When nearly done, a
little more water was added, and the finely broken biscuit from the
bottom of the bread-bag slowly stirred in, until the whole of the
gravy was absorbed. This done, we sat down to enjoy a dish
which would have awakened enthusiasm at the table of Lucullus.
It was known among the initiated as " telegraph stew," and the
mere mention of its name would no doubt touch, in the breast of
any one of them, a chord of electric sympathy.
The Russian name for the reindeer is alene, perhaps derived
from the French. These deer are migratory, feeding on the twigs
of the willow and the fine white moss, or rather lichen, which is to
be found on every hillside. They frequent the hills during the
summer, and are driven thence only by the mosquitoes to seek
refuge in the water. In the fall and winter they prefer the more
sheltered valleys, and appear on the plains in immense herds in
the spring.
Tuesday, $oth. — Walked down the river, and, looking into some
deserted Indian huts, obtained some exquisite green mosses and
lichens which were flourishing there notwithstanding the cold
weather.
A number of sleds arrived from Unalaklik, bringing a large
amount of goods and provisions for transmission to Nulato.
On the rolling plain between the summer houses and the bases
of the Ulukuk Hills I found the larch (Larix microcarpa ? ) grow-
ing sparingly to the height of twelve feet, and abundance of alders.
The snow-covered sides of these symmetrical hills stood out with
striking beauty against the dark clouds which formed the back-
ground of a rich crimson and purple sunset.
Wednesday > ^ist. — Ketchum decided to send back all the heavy
30 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
Mahlemut sleds, and kept nine dogs to assist us in taking the
goods up to Nulato on the light Ingalik sleds. The weather, being
above the freezing point, was so warm as to render the prospect
of our being able to cross the Ulukuk River on the ice rather
dubious ; it would have been useless to start until we could cross
it, as it is only a few miles from Iktigalik. After the sleds had
started for Unalaklik, we let out the dogs from an empty summer
lodge where they had been confined to prevent their following
their comrades down the river.
At this period of our explorations arose the famous controversy
between two of our party, in regard to the relative merits of beans
and rice as articles of food. However insignificant the subject,
such was the earnestness and even eloquence developed on both
sides, such was the array of facts brought forward to sustain the
several arguments, that the interest of every one was awakened
in the discussion. This lasted late into the night, and was renewed
immediately the following morning. I am sorry to be obliged to
record, however, that, as in many other discussions, both literary
and scientific, no definite result was arrived at, although each was
convinced against his will of the valuable properties of the escu-
lent defended by his opponent.
Thursday, November \st. — The weather was still warm and snow
falling fast. We made the discovery that nine or ten of our dogs
had apparently decided to hold a town meeting in Unalaklik, and
had accordingly left for that place. This was exceedingly pro-
voking, as it would render our starting impossible in the event of
a sudden cold snap. I therefore proposed to Ketchum to go
back to Unalaklik and get the dogs, and Francis offered to do the
same thing. The decision was postponed till the next day.
Ketchum, finding dry fish likely to be scarce, called on the Indians
to bring out what they had to spare, and purchased it. This fish
is principally salmon and some small white fish, and is dried in
the sun without smoke or salt. It is the principal staple of food,
under the name of nkali, for all travellers, both men and dogs ;
being very light and portable, yet full of oil ; of not the most
agreeable flavor, it is at least strong if not strengthening. Occa-
sionally one does get hold of a clean, well-dried ukali, that tastes
very well when broiled over the fire ; though in my own case the
use of it invariably produced heartburn. The ration for a dog is
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 31
one salmon weighing from a pound and a half to two pounds, or
as many smaller fish as will amount to the same. They will travel
on less, but the best policy is to feed your dogs well, and you may
then, with proper attention, be sure that they will work well and
rarely run away.
At this time Ketchum made an arrangement with Lofka, a
newly arrived Indian, and Andrea, to accompany him in a pro-
posed winter trip up the Yukon, and paid them partly in advance.
Friday, 2d. — Francis and I started at nine o'clock for Unala-
klik to bring back the missing dogs. Found the walking good but
wet, and we occasionally had to take to the bank. The distance
is twenty-two English miles in a direct line, but at least thirty by
the river, which is exceedingly tortuous. We arrived at the post
at two o'clock, just in time for a glorious Russian bath and a hot
cup of tea. These baths are an institution to be proud of. Every
Russian trading-post in the territory is furnished with a bath-house,
and once a week all the inmates avail themselves of it. As they
reckon time according to Old Style in the Russian colonies, their
Sunday falls on our Saturday, and as a consequence bath-day
comes on Friday. The apparatus is very simple. A rude arch
of loose stones, of the hardest obtainable kind, is built, and more
stones piled over it, so that a fire made beneath the arch can pen-
etrate between them. There is no chimney, but a trap-door in
the roof. A large cask full of water heated for the purpose, and
another of cold water, generally with ice floating in it, and a suc-
cession of benches one above the other, complete the equipment.
When the stones are thoroughly heated and the smoke has all
passed out, all coals are removed and the trap-door is shut ; any
smoke or coals remaining will make the eyes smart and the bath
very uncomfortable. Each one leaves his clothing in an outer
room, and on entering wets his head and throws hot water on
the heated stones until as much steam is produced as he can
bear. He then mounts as high on the benches as he finds com-
fortable, and the perspiration issues from every pore. He then
takes a sort of broom or bunch of dried mint or birch twigs, with
the leaves still on them, which is prepared at the proper season
and called meenik. With this he thrashes himself until all im-
purities are thoroughly loosened from the skin, and finishes with
a wash off in hot water and soap. Then taking a kantag, or
32 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
wooden dish, full of ice-cold water, he dashes it over himself and
rushes out into the dressing-room. This last process is disagree-
able to the uninitiated, but is absolutely necessary to prevent tak-
ing cold. I have known cases of acute rheumatism brought on by
omitting it. The dressing-room is spread with straw and always
communicates with the outer air. The temperature is often many
degrees below zero ; but such is the activity of the circulation, that
one dresses in perfect comfort notwithstanding. A warm dressing-
room would be insupportable.
These baths cannot be recommended for those with a tendency
to heart disease or apoplexy, but to persons in a healthy condition
the effect is delightful ; rheumatic patients are frequently cured by
their means, with proper precautions. One of these baths will re-
move all traces of extreme exertion or fatigue as if by magic, and
they may be advantageously followed by a few cups of hot tea
and an hour's repose.
After our bath we found to our disgust that the dogs had been
sent back, thanks to the energy of Mr. Dyer, and must have passed
us on the way, while making a short portage. The weather be-
coming disagreeable, we were soon reconciled to our disappoint-
ment, and were snugly ensconced in one of the bastions, which
had been hung with reindeer skins for comfort and warmth dur-
ing the severe winter, relating our experiences over the ever-
grateful cup of tea, while the sleet was driving and the storm
howled outside.
Saturday, ^d. — The weather continued warm and disagreeable.
The ice was very wet and bad, and we concluded not to return to
Iktigalik to-day. The village beyond Iktigalik is called Ulukuk,
and many of the Russians call the former village New Ulukuk, as
it was built since the latter, by Ulukuk Indians, the point being a
good one for the fisheries.
The mouth of the Unalaklik River is obstructed by a bar, over
which at low tide there is only a few feet of water, except in a
narrow and tortuous channel, which is continually changing as
the river deposits fresh detritus. Inside of this bar we get two
or three fathoms of water for a few miles, but the river has only a
few feet in the channel, most of the summer, from the mouth to
Ulukuk. The tide-water comes up a mile or two, and from this
cause it is difficult at times to procure fresh water for drinking
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 33
purposes, as the well water is disagreeably brackish. The same
trouble is found at St. Michael's, where the only good water is
obtained from springs on the mainland, near the shore opposite
the island. There are many of these springs near the shore along
the coast, and they are unfrozen all winter, the water having
a temperature of 28° to 30° Fahrenheit, even when the air is
several degrees below zero. Whether this is due to any latent
volcanic heat cannot yet be decided, but the islands of Stuart and
St. Michael, as well as the coast as far north as Tolstoi Point, are
composed of basaltic lava, full of amygdaloidal cavities and crys-
tals of olivine, and, in many places, roughly columnar in five-sided
pillars.
Sunday, Ajh. — In the morning a strong northeast wind was
blowing, with the thermometer about 16°, and a great deal of
loose snow driving about. I determined, in spite of the remon-
strances of the others, to delay no longer, and, putting some bis-
cuit and ukali in my pocket, I started alone, about eleven o'clock,
for Iktigalik. The wind sweeping over the broad plains near the
mouth of the river was so violent, and the sleet was so blinding,
that I was unable to face it, and was obliged to go from side to
side of the river diagonally. In doing this I was misled by a
branch of the river, and proceeded several miles before I found
out my mistake. Retracing my steps, I took the right direction,
and reached the wooded part of the river, where the trees made a
shelter from the force of the wind and driving snow, late in the
afternoon. I found the ice rather soft and covered in many
places with drifted snow, so that the travelling was very laborious.
To add to my annoyances, it soon became very dark, and I had to
grope my way over ice-hummocks and through snow-drifts until
nearly worn out by the exertion. Passing round a bend in the
river, the ice gave way under me, and I had only time to
throw myself on one side, where it proved more solid, and I got
off with a wetting up to my knees. Taking off my boots and
socks, I wrung out the water and put them on again, when they
froze immediately. Nothing but the want of an axe prevented my
camping then and there ; but a howling, which came evidently
from no great distance, reminded me that it might not prove
healthy to sleep without a fire. I trudged along, and, to my great
delight, about eight o'clock, the moon rose, and I soon saw the
3
34 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
high caches of the village standing out against the sky. I
heard no dogs, however, and on reaching the entrance of
the house on the bank I found it closed with a block of wood.
Climbing on to the roof and looking through the gut cover, I
thought I saw a glimmer as of live coals where the fire had been.
My shouts finally aroused Ingechuk, who was the only occupant.
Ketchum had evidently gone, and I had my labor for my pains !
Between the small stock of Russian which I had picked up, and
the little Ingechuk knew, I finally managed to make out that
they had left that day and gone to Ulukuk. I made him boil the
chynik, and changed my wet clothes, which were frozen so hard
as to be difficult to get off ; and then, after taking my tea, retired
with a feeling that I had earned a good night's sleep.
Monday, $th. — Not wishing to take another useless tramp, I
prevailed on Ingechuk to take a note to Ketchum, if he was at
Ulukuk and if he wished me to join him ; and feeling rather stiff,
I remained in the house, writing and resting most of the day.
About the middle of the afternoon, Francis arrived. He had met
an Indian with a note from Ketchum, on the river, and knew that
he was gone, but had kept on to Iktigalik. Soon after, Ingechuk
returned with a note from Ketchum, who was on the point of
starting for Nulato, and advised us to return to Unalaklik and
come up with the next brigade of sleds.
Tuesday, 6tk. — Breakfasted on some fine salmon trout (koko-
limya of the Indians, and kolsheh of the Russians) which Ketchum
had sent down to us. These fish, when broiled in their skins on
a stick over the fire, are exceedingly fine eating, but if fried or
cleaned before cooking lose much of their flavor.
Leaving some of our things with Ingechuk, to follow us the next
day, we started for Unalaklik about eleven, and reached it about
five o'clock in the afternoon ; our return created some amuse-
ment. The ice being very glairy made the travelling very disa-
greeable, and we were well satisfied when we came to our jour-
ney's end.
Adams, one of the original party, now justly known as the
pioneers, had left for the Redoubt in a bidarra, but had not re-
turned ; some fears were excited that he might not be able to
do so until the sea ice had fully formed. Temperature varied
from 15° to 20°.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 35
For several days we remained in statu quo. Our time was
taken up in increasing our knowledge of Russian and the
Mahlemut dialect, in preparations for another attempt to cross
the portage, and in reading a variety of matter provided by the
kindness of some of the officers who did not remain in the coun-
try. Several evenings were pleasantly diversified by an amateur
theatrical performance, aided by several violins. Many capital
personal hits were made, which, being taken in good part by the
victims, were productive of a great deal of merriment.
Monday, 12th. — Started for Iktigalik about ten o'clock, with
two Mahlemuts, Shurugeluk and Ichiluk by name, commonly
known as Shuggy and New-Years, the latter having been hired
the previous year by Mr. Kennicott on New-Year's day. We had
two heavily loaded sleds of Mahlemut make, drawn by five and
four dogs respectively, dogs being scarce. The party consisted,
besides the two Eskimo above referred to, of Messrs. Dyer and
Francis, and myself, — Mr. Francis and I, not wishing to be idle,
having volunteered to assist in transporting the Nulato goods to
Ulukuk. By making several short portages, the distance was
materially reduced, and we arrived in good condition at Iktigalik
about two o'clock in the afternoon.
Tuesday, i^th. — After breakfast, loaded up one Mahlemut and
one light Ingalik sled and started at half past ten for Ulukuk,
which is about eleven miles from Iktigalik by several portages
and the river. About half-way on a bend of the river were two
roofless deserted houses, once a summer fishing village, called by
the Indians N'tsoh. Unromantic as it may appear, the sight of
these poor ruins, indicating probably a death in the midst of the
primeval woods, could hardly fail to produce a touch of emotion
in any mind less occupied than that of the hardy and careless
voyageur. They formed a rude, half-effaced, but effective monu-
ment of human sorrow, in a country where humanity seems
hardly to have taken root, existing as it does, only by a constant
struggle for the necessities of life.
Pursuing our way up steep banks and down sharp declivities
requiring the greatest care in the management of dogs and sleds,
over the ice-bound river and the rolling plains, dotted with clumps
of larch and willow, we finally struck the river at a sharp bend,
just below the point where the village of Ulukuk is situated.
36 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
Here a large number of springs exist, some of them below the
bed of the river, whose waters are never frozen, an open patch
being found here during the most severe winters. The water in
these springs, measured by a standard thermometer of Greene's
make, was not very warm, but retained a temperature of thirty-
two to thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit during extremely cold
weather. I counted seven springs in the gravel beach near the
village, all without any ice about them ; most of them continue
open during the entire year, but are covered by the river during
the spring freshets.
The village contains five winter houses, a small casine, and a
row of high caches. It is situated on the right bank of the river,
which is here about two hundred feet wide ; about four miles to
the eastward the Ulukuk Hills rise to a height of about two thou-
sand feet. At this time they were snow covered of course, but
they are free from snow during the summer.
The open water in the river makes it somewhat difficult to ap-
proach the village with sleds from below, the banks, though low,
being steep and covered with small trees. Snow or ice, placed
upon the smooth pebbles from beneath which the springs were
flowing, soon melted, though the weather was at zero. With the
atmosphere at eight below zero, the temperature of one spring,
which gave out beautifully clear water with a slight saline taste
like bicarbonate of soda, was thirty-two degrees ; another, quite
tasteless, was thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit.
The water in the river, at the edge of the ice, which was about
eighteen inches thick, had a temperature of thirty-one degrees. A
remarkable abundance of fish frequents the vicinity of this patch of
open water, especially the delicious salmon trout for which Ulukuk
is noted, and a small cyprinoid fish not elsewhere observed.
Amilka has a house in this village also, and into it we took our
baggage and rested ; an old Indian called Sammak roasted some
trout for our evening meal, while with some fresh alene meat and
backfat Dyer concocted one of those appetizing telegraph stews
previously mentioned.
Wednesday, i^tk. — Francis and our two Eskimo started off
with three sleds to bring loads from Iktigalik. Several sick Ind-
ians came to me for treatment, their own medical knowledge be-
ing confined to steam-baths and to counter-irritants in the form of
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 37
bleeding by means of a large number of small cuts and the actual
cautery. They have no knowledge of the uses of the indigenous
herbs of the country or of any medicines.
I purchased a fine pair of snow-shoes about five feet long for a
sheath-knife, and Dyer obtained a large number of the river trout
from the Indians. I cannot understand why Kane and other
Arctic travellers could not preserve fresh provisions in a frozen
state, for winter use. In this country immense quantities of meat
and fish are so preserved without taint all the year round. Exca-
vations are made in the earth to the depth of two or three
feet, where it is usually frozen, and the contents are thus pro-
tected from the rays of the sun.
Towards evening Francis and the sleds returned with heavy
loads of goods from the other village.
Thursday, i$tk. — It being my turn to take charge of the bri-
gade, I started with the dogs and men about half past ten, with
empty sleds. Reached Iktigalik about two o'clock, and by means
of a little diplomacy induced Ingechuk and Ami'lka to lend me
their dogs, and also got hold of another sled.
Friday, i6th. — Rose early, and after chy peet, as the Russians
call a meal of bread and tea, harnessed up the dogs, and, taking
all the remaining goods, except some dog feed, started about half
past eight and arrived at Ulukuk about noon. Cached the goods
and repaired sleds and harness.
News arrived from Ketchum in the afternoon, by an Indian who
brought a sled and a worn-out dog from a point called Vesolia
Sopka, or Cheerful Mountain. He said that Ketchum had passed
that point with three sleds en route for Nulato, but that the roads
were very bad, the snow being deep and soft. One of our party
had been trading with Lof ka, who, having an ear for music, bought
an accordeon, giving in exchange two dogs, one of which was sup-
posed to be running wild in the woods. Lofka knew nothing of
the use of the instrument, and it was a moot question which had
the best of the bargain. The instrument having been used to
play " Tramp, tramp, the boys are marching " for some four
months, about twenty-four times a day, was, to say the least, not
in a condition to be much injured by Indian fingering.
After waiting a day for the return of the Nulato brigade which
was due, Dyer returned to Unalaklik, leaving Francis and myself
38 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
with nothing to do but eat, drink, and sleep, which was extreme-
ly tedious, as the days were very short. We finally determined, if
the brigade did not arrive the next day, we would get a few dogs
together and carry a load to Vesolia Sopka. If it were a small one
it would be of assistance, and anything would be better than con-
tinued idleness. A large number of Indians arrived from dif-
ferent quarters, and I improved the opportunity to enlarge my
Ingalik vocabularies. One of them went out, and returned with
three brace of beautiful ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbelhis.) I also
purchased some small fish, which were devoted to the. interests of
science.
Wednesday, 2\st. — Heard a howling early in the morning
and an outcry among the Indians, and jumped into my clothes
just in time to catch a sight of Mike's pleasant face coming
up the bank, with two Russians, six sleds, and nearly forty
dogs behind him. A rapid interchange of news ensued, while
unharnessing the dogs and putting the sleds up on the stages
provided for the purpose. Mike was delighted to find that the
work of carrying the goods from Unalaklik to Ulukuk had been
taken off his hands. The Russians were to go on to Unalaklik,
and we should immediately proceed to Nulato. Ketchum sent
word to me to come up immediately, as my services were likely
to be needed ; but unfortunately he was obliged to ask Francis to
wait for the next brigade, as the supply of provisions at Nulato
was exceedingly small. Nulato, as the natives say, is emphati-
cally a " hungry " place. We all regretted the provoking neces-
sity which deprived us for a time of the society of our lively and
energetic companion. He therefore made arrangements for
returning a third time to Unalaklik with the Russians.
Thursday, 22d. — Rising early, the sleds were soon in readi-
ness, and, buying a lot of fresh trout, for our own use and to send
by the Russians to Unalaklik, we started about noon for Vesolia
Sopka ; our party consisting of six Indians, one man to each
sled, besides Mike and myself. The road was excellent, and we
did not require snow-shoes ; the dogs were in good condition, and
we progressed very well.
After leaving Ulukuk, crossing the river and a belt of spruce
timber of small size and about a mile in breadth, we came to
open rolling land, between the river and the base of the hills.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 39
This country is almost level, with hillocks here and there, and
occasional clumps of low willows. This prairie-like plain is called
a tundra by the Russians.
From Ulukuk to the river at the Vesolia Sopka is about four-
teen miles,* the greater part of which is over the tundra, which is
occasionally intersected by small streams falling into the Ulukuk
branch of the Unalaklik River, and forming deep gullies, which,
until filled with snow, are difficult to pass with loaded sleds. The
dogs have sometimes to be unhitched and the sled carefully eased
over the ravine and lifted up the opposite bank, — a work fre-
quently of no small labor.
The Vesolia Sopka forms the termination of the range of the
Ulukuk Hills, but is somewhat lower and detached from the rest.
It attains a height of about eight hundred feet above the sur-
rounding plain, and has an even and beautifully rounded summit.
At its base, hidden by large and very tall spruce and poplar, runs
the Ulukuk River. We crossed the stream, which is about two
hundred feet wide, and soon reached a spot where the Russians
are accustomed to camp, on the opposite bank, from which the
Sopka (Russian for cone or peak, particularly a volcanic one)
probably derived its name of Vesolia (cheerful). Near this point
a small stream, known to the inhabitants as Poplar Creek, en-
ters the river. This is an excellent locality for trapping, as the
numerous fox and marten tracks testified. We boiled the chynik
and partook of a cheerful meal of bacon and biscuit, and then
pushed on by moonlight, over wooded hills, to an Indian summer
lodge, or barrdbora, built of spruce poles and birch bark. Here
we camped, and passed a rather uncomfortable night, as the frail
walls retained the smoke and admitted the cold wind. This point
is about eight miles from the Sopka.
Friday, 2$d. — Rose early, and after reloading the sleds and
discussing chy, with accompaniments of bacon, biscuit, ukali, and
molasses, we passed on over hillsides sparsely wooded with spruce
and alder, through valleys, and up and down some rather bad
hills, occasionally along the river on the ice. About dark we
came upon some open tundra, just beyond a low marsh, known as
Beaver Lake, as it is covered with water in the spring ; here a
strong north wind was blowing full in our teeth, carrying the
* Unless otherwise stated, English statute miles are meant.
40 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
snow along the ground in blinding sleet. The atmosphere was
six below zero. The other sleds were some distance behind, but
as our sled carried the teakettle and axes, we felt pretty sure the
Indians would follow, though much against their will We strug-
gled on until we arrived at an old camp of Ketchum's, where one
tree mocked us with its inefficient attempt at shelter. We de-
cided to camp here, no more suitable locality being within reach.
By placing the sleds to windward, with a piece of cotton drill
stretched around them, we managed to keep off the driving snow
a little. The hot tea in our tin cups burned the hand on one
side, while the keen wind gnawed it on the other. Smoking was
out of the question, and we lay down, using the bacon as pil-
lows, and watched the dogs, who, growling their disapprobation,
sheltered their noses with their tails, and, more fortunate than
ourselves, soon sank into unconscious slumber.
Saturday, 2^tk. — About four o'clock in the morning an old
Indian called Ivan, from Nulato, came along with his son. They
pulled their own sled, and had a few marten skins with which they
were going to Unalaklfk to buy oil for winter use. Shortly after,
we broke camp and proceeded. About nine o'clock the sun rose,
attended by three beautiful mock suns, or parhelia. One was
nearly thirty degrees above the real sun, and there was one on
each side, similar, but more brilliant. All were connected by an
arch resembling a rainbow, except that it was of an orange color
with a dark reddish band on the inner side, and threw out rays
of light from the outer edge. About a quarter of another similar
arch was reversed, touching the lower arch at the point where the
upper mock sun was seen, and a cross of brilliant light was noticed
at each junction of the arch with the mock suns. This beautiful
exhibition continued for six hours, from sunrise to sunset, and
Mike tells me they are not uncommon here in winter.
Shot a Canada jay, or whiskey jack (Perisoreus canadensis], with
a dark brown "woolly bear" caterpillar in his mouth, just killed.
Where it had come from was a mystery I do not pretend to solve,
probably from beneath the snow.
We decided to camp early, as we were all very tired, and after
descending a deep declivity called by the Russians Perivdlli> we
stopped on the bank of a small stream, made a good camp, en-
joyed our supper, tea, and pipes, and slept soundly.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 41
Sunday, 26th. — Off at six. Passed over the flanks of some high
hills, from one of which I caught my first glimpse of the great
river Yukon, broad, smooth, and ice-bound. A natural impatience
urged me forward, and after a smart tramp of several miles we
arrived at the steep bank of the river. It was with a feeling akin
to that which urged Balboa forward into the very waves of a
newly discovered ocean, that I rushed by the dogs and down the
steep declivity, forgetting everything else in the desire to be first
on the ice, and to enjoy the magnificent prospect before me.
There lay a stretch of forty miles of this great, broad, snow-
covered river, with broken fragments of ice-cakes glowing in the
ruddy light of the setting sun ; the low opposite shore, three miles
away, seemed a mere black streak on the horizon. A few islands
covered with dark evergreens were in sight above. Below, a faint
purple tinged the snowy crests of far-off mountains, whose height,
though not extreme, seemed greater from the low banks near me
and the clear sky beyond. This was the river I had read and
dreamed of, which had seemed as if shrouded in mystery, in spite
of the tales of those who had seen it. On its banks live thousands
who know neither its outlet nor its source, who look to it for food
and even for clothing, and, recognizing its magnificence, call them-
selves proudly men of the Yukon.
Stolid indeed must he be, who surveys the broad expanse of the
Missouri of the North for the first time without emotion. A little
Innuit lad, who ran before the dogs and saw it for the first
time, shouted at the sight, saying, amidst his expressions of
astonishment, " It is not a river, it is a sea ! " and even the Indians
had no word of ridicule for him, often as they had seen it.
A half-mile above the point where we struck the river bank
is a cluster of winter houses and caches, which goes by the
name of Kaltag. Thither we turned our steps, a piercing
northwester sweeping down the river being an effectual argument
against further progress. We entered one of the houses, a large,
clean, and well-constructed building, where we found a very old
man known as Kaltag Stareek by the Russians (stareek meaning
old man), and his wife, with another woman, busily at work on
some winter clothing. They made room for us, spread some clean
mats, and Mike, who was a general favorite, especially among the
indigenous female population, by a present of a pair of scissors
42 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
induced the old woman to give us three or four ptarmigan, with a
promise of six more on his next visit. He then proceeded with
the aid of some rice to concoct a stew which did great credit to
his culinary abilities.
We went out together to feed the dogs, and returning unex-
pectedly, I found one of the Indians investigating with his fingers
the recesses of a spare chynik which contained our molasses.
Such incidents are not uncommon, when travelling with the na-
tives.
After discussing our supper and congratulating ourselves on
the accomplishment of the portage without storm or accident, we
turned in early, to enjoy a good night's rest and thereby prepare
for an early start the next day.
Monday, 26th. — Pushed off quite early, travelling on the middle
of the river, finding the ice, which seemed so even and smooth
from the bank, to be broken, strewed with numerous cakes,
and diversified by hummocks, over which about eighteen inches
of snow had already collected. Here and there were patches
of smooth ice, evidently of recent formation, and once or twice
a light cloud over an opening indicated that the surface was
not entirely frozen. Numerous long islands, covered with
spruce, poplar, and willow, obstructed the view of the opposite
shore, which is quite low, while here and there we could catch
glimpses of the summits of the Kaiyuh Mountains, a range of
high hills to the eastward. The right bank consists of rounded
bluffs following each other like waves, reaching a height of
fifty to one hundred and fifty feet, caused by the bending of
the strata, which are composed of layers of brown tertiary
sandstones of Miocene age. The sides of these bluffs, with the
ravines between them, are well wooded with spruce and birch,
which often attain a considerable height. The left bank is uni-
formly low and densely wooded. The thermometer to-day fell to
thirty-two below zero, but the air was still, and travelling was not
uncomfortable. About six o'clock we reached a broad ravine,
through which a small brook ran, and where an Ingalik named
Alikoff had built a small house, known as AlikofFs barrabora.
This is about twenty miles from Kaltag, which, I forgot to state,
is about twenty-five miles from Ivan's barrabora and thirty-six
from Nulato, perhaps a few miles more by the road we took.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 43
Here we decided to camp for the night, and found the house,
which was empty, rather smoky and uncomfortable.
Tuesday, 2jth. — Making an early start for Nulato, we proceeded
up the river, the temperature being about twenty-eight below
zero. About eleven o'clock, arrived at an open space nearly two
miles long, bounded on the south by a sharp bluff known as the
Shaman Mountain. Here a seam of coal had been reported, and,
stopping for a moment, I ascertained that the report was correct.
Reserving a careful examination for some other occasion, I started
ahead of the dogs, following the old tracks on the snow, and soon
left the brigade behind me. In half an hour I reached a point on
the river where a party of three Russians were engaged in setting
fish-weirs under the ice. An old fellow, whose head shook like that
of a Chinese mandarin, informed me that the post of Nulato was
only a mile beyond. A steady walk of nearly an hour convinced
me that it was nearer three miles, but I soon espied the stockade
and two turrets at no great distance. Ascending the bank, I
went into the enclosure, and, inquiring for the Americans, was
directed to a low building on one side. On entering I was
soon shaking hands with Ketchum, and with Whymper, who
was already engaged in sketching.
We were congratulated on our quick trip from Ulukuk, and
exchanged items of news. The noise of the dogs was soon heard,
and we were busily engaged in unloading and storing the goods,
as well as unharnessing the dogs, who seemed as glad as anybody
that their journey had come to a satisfactory conclusion.
CHAPTER II.
Arrival at Nulato, and introduction to the Creole bidarshik. — Description of the post
and its inhabitants. — Adjacent points. — History. — The Nulato massacre and its
cause. — Barnard's grave. — Daily life at Nulato. — Larriown. — Koyukun Indians.
— Ingaliks. — Kurilla. — Plans for the coming season. — Examination of a coal-
seam. — Nuklukahyet chief. — Christmas festivities. — New Year's and erection of
the first telegraph pole. — Aurora. — Keturn of Ketchum. — Collections in Natural
History. — Indian rumor. — Cannibalism. — Russian ingenuity. — Founding of Fort
Kennicott. — Departure of Ketchum and Mike on their winter journey to Fort
Yukon. — Arrival of our bidarra. — Trip to Wolasatux' barrabora. — Scarcity of
food. — First signs of spring. — Robbing a grave. — First goose. — Indian children.
— Rescue of the bidarshik. — Anecdote of Major Kennicott and erection of a mon-
ument to his memory. — Formation of alluvium. — Preparations for our journey. —
Breaking up of the ice on the Yukon.
HAVING finally arrived at Nulato, which I proposed to
make my head-quarters, and having rested from the fa-
tigue of the journey, I was introduced to Ivan Pavloff, the bidar-
shik or commander of the trading-post. He was a short, thick-
set, swarthy, low-browed man, a half-breed between a Russian
and a native of Kenai, and was legally married to a full-blooded
Indian woman, named Marina, the widow of a previous bidarshik,
by whom he had a large family of children. He appeared to be
a good-humored fellow, though the Indian clearly predominated
in him. While evidently understanding nothing of the object of
the collections and observations which I proposed to make, he yet
assured me that I should be welcome to any information or assist-
ance I might need. A disagreeable servility marked his inter-
course with the Americans and full-blooded Russians, the latter
regarding him with unconcealed contempt on account of his
Indian blood, notwithstanding his responsible position. This
accounted for the expression which might often be observed
on his face while conversing with him. It seemed a mixture
of stupidity and low cunning, as if he were apprehensive that
some covert ridicule, or attempt at overreaching, lay hidden in
the conversation addressed to him. He was an insatiable drinker,
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 45
and ungovernable as a mad bull when drunk, though at other
times quiet and unexcitable. He was continually pestering us
with requests for liquor, until I was obliged to poison all the
alcohol intended for collecting purposes. Notwithstanding his
faults, most of which were hereditary, he brought up his chil-
dren and treated his wife as well as his light allowed him to
do. He had a large proportion of generosity and hospitality
in his character, was unusually free from any disposition to
immorality, and was never known to sell any furs, purchased
by him and belonging to the Russian American Company, to
any of our party, as he might easily have done. He could not
read or write, and the accounts were kept by an assistant called
Yagor Ivanovich. He cherished in his heart a dislike to the
Americans on account of their superior energy and intelligence,
which led them to regard him with no very respectful eye. When
he was drunk, the bitter and unfounded prejudices which he cher-
ished came to the surface ; otherwise we should hardly have sus-
pected them. I have been thus careful in drawing his portrait,
not because the individual is of any particular consequence, but
because he is in many respects a type of the largest class of
the civilized inhabitants of Russian America. They are known
among the Russians as Creoles. The other inhabitants of the
post of Nulato were two Russians, the only whites beside our-
selves, named KarpofT and Paspilkoff (the Pomoghnik, or assist-
ant, who kept the accounts, was a Creole, like the bidarshik) ;
an old Yakut, named Yagorsha, who was a curiosity in himself;
two half-breeds ; and a few Indians ; while a nearly equal number
of Indian women were employed in and about the post.
The fort was a large one, two sides and a part of the third
formed by buildings, the remainder a stockade, thus enclosing
a large yard. On one side was a long structure, containing two
rooms, which served for the bidarshik and his assistant and their
families. These rooms were separated by a covered space from
the rest of the building, which contained a magazine for trading-
goods and furs, a store-room where fish were kept, and another,
which was principally occupied by our goods. Opposite to this was
another building of the same size, containing one large room, sepa-
rated in the same way from a small one, in both of which workmen
and their families lived. Each of them was surmounted with a
46
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
turret pierced for guns, and in one of these were two antique, rusty,
and almost useless six-pounders. The third side was occupied
by a low-studded building, about twenty feet long and ten wide,
which we occupied ; a shed, where fuel might be kept dry ; the
bath-house, and a shed used to cook in, and called by courtesy
\\\e povdrnia, or kitchen. The front of the yard was closed in by
a stockade about sixteen feet high, of pointed logs set upright in
the ground, and was provided with a large gate. The houses
were of round logs ; the roofs, nearly flat and covered with earth,
could be reached by means of steps provided for the purpose.
The windows were all of the parchment, or seal intestines, before
mentioned, and the buildings were warmed by the universal
peechkas, the seams of the walls being calked with dry moss.
Interior of Fort Derabin, from above.
Directly across from the fort, which faces the river, is a low
island, less than a mile long. The river is narrow here, being
by exact measurement only a mile and a half wide. The lati-
tude of the fort is nearly 64° 42' north, and the longitude 157° 54'
west. The variation of the compass is nearly thirty-two degrees
to the eastward.
A mile and a furlong east-northeast is a small creek, a raging
torrent in the spring, called Klat-kakhdtne by the Indians, literally
" Stop-a-bit River." Half a mile west-southwest is the mouth of
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
47
the Nulato River, from which the post takes its name, though it
was originally called Fort Derabin, from its builder and first
bidarshik. Between these two streams the land is low, gradually
rising from the river into low hills, and for the most part densely
wooded. A short distance from its mouth the Nulato River
Nulato and the Yukon from the Bluffs.
receives two streams of no great size. Its total length is about
twenty miles, inclusive of windings. The opposite bank of
the Klat-kakhdtne rises abruptly into a rocky, precipitous bluff,
affording a fine view down the river. Not far below the mouth
of the Nulato the river-bank rises, but not so abruptly, into bluffs
48 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
about one hundred feet high, with higher hills behind them.
Neither deer nor moose are often found in this vicinity.
In 1838, Malakoff, a Creole, explored the Yukon as far north as
Nulato. Here he built a small trading-post, without a stockade,
consisting of several small houses. This was occupied during
the summer and fall, but in consequence of the scarcity of pro-
visions, at the approach of winter the Russians, under Notarmi
the bidarshik, left it and returned to the Redoubt. On their
return, in the spring, it was found that the Indians, jealous of the
permanent settlement of the whites in their immediate vicinity,
had destroyed it by fire. The same thing was repeated in 1839,
the buildings being burned and contents carried off.
In 1841, according to Tikhmenief, the historian of the Russian
American Company, Derabin was sent to Nulato and rebuilt the
fort, after arranging the difficulty with the natives by means of
numerous presents given to the most influential chiefs. Yet, not
having benefited by previous experience, the post was composed of
several detached log-houses, strongly built, but several hundred
yards apart, and without a stockade or other efficient means of de-
fence. Other buildings were added as necessity called for them,
and in 1842, Lieutenant Zagoskin, I. R. N., a special explorer of the
Company, arrived, and assisted at the erection of some of these.
For ten years, though frequently threatened, the little settle-
ment escaped injury, Derabin meanwhile carrying on a lucrative
traffic with the natives for furs. In the spring of 185 1, Lieutenant
Barnard, of H. M. S. Enterprise, arrived at Nulato with the bidar-
shik, in search of information in regard to the fate of Sir John
Franklin. He was a member of Captain Collinson's Expedition,
and, with Mr. Adams a surgeon, and one man, had been left by
the Enterprise at St. Michael's the preceding fall Being prob-
ably a blunt, straightforward Englishman, with no knowledge
of Indian character and suspicion, he made the remark, in the
presence of others, that he intended to " send " for the principal
chief of the Koyukun tribe of Indians, whose head-quarters were
on the Koyukuk and Kotelkakat Rivers, and who were then hold-
ing one of their annual festivals, about twenty-five miles from
Nulato. This unfortunately-worded remark was conveyed to the
chief in question, through some of the Indians at the post, by a
passing native.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 49
This chief was the most wealthy and influential in that part of
the country, widely known and distinguished by a remarkably
large and prominent Roman nose, from which he had received
a name which, literally translated, means " humpbacked nose."
He was not accustomed to be " sent " for. When the Russians
desired to see him they respectfully requested the honor of his
presence. His Indian pride rose at the insult, and he immediately
called a council to discuss the rumor. The shamans were of
course first consulted, and they unanimously declared that it
boded no good to the chief in question. The council then de-
cided that, if the report proved true, they would, with all the
Indians there assembled, go together to the fort and demand
satisfaction. They waited some time, and finally were about to
disperse to their homes, when a single dog-sled appeared on the
river.
This sled was accompanied by Ivan Bulegin, a Russian, and an
Indian workman of the Nulato tribe, who had been sent up to see
if any information were attainable, and if so, to bring down the
Tyone of Koyukuk.
The ill-fated Bulegin drew his sled up on the bank, sending the
Indian who accompanied him for water to boil the chynik. Sit-
ting down on his sled to rest himself, he was approached stealth-
ily from behind and, being struck on the head with an axe or
club, was instantly killed.
The sled was dragged away and plundered ; when the Nulato
Indian returned and saw what had been done, he turned to run,
but the Koyukuns called to him, saying, " Are you not one of us ?
We will not hurt you." Overcome by fear, he returned and un-
willingly assisted in the atrocity which followed. Bulegin's body
was stripped, the flesh cut in slices from the bones, and the sav-
ages, infuriated like wild animals by the sight of blood, roasted
these remains and devoured them. An Indian, who noticed the
reluctance with which Bulegin's companion joined in the horrid
feast, crept up behind him and drove his knife up to the hilt in
his neck. The fighting men present then stripped themselves
of all incumbrances except their bows and arrows, and, putting
on their snowshoes, set out at once for Nulato. Less than a
half-mile below the trading-post were three large winter houses,
crowded with Ingaliks of the Nulato tribe, — in all, about a hun-
4
50 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
dred men, women, and children. These houses were situated near
the river-bank, a few rods northeast of the mouth of the Nulato
River. It being in the month of February, and an unusually
warm spring, the Nulato Indians had taken the precaution to clear
away the snow from above their birch-bark canoes, forty or fifty of
which were lying about. Intending to forestall retaliation for the
death of Bulegin's companion, the Koyukuns approached with the
greatest quietness, not to disturb the sleeping inmates. The canoes
were seized, broken up, thrust into the apertures in the roofs and
the narrow underground entrances of the houses, and fired. The
frightened inhabitants, wakened by the noise and crackling of the
flames, endeavored vainly to force a passage through the fire.
Some of the men, seizing axes, cut their way out through the
wooden walls, but were mercilessly shot down by the arrows of
the Koyukuns. Many were suffocated in the smoke. A few
women were taken by the victors, and one or two children were
able to save themselves in the woods, through the negligence or
pity of the conquerors.
A young man called Wolasatux, renowned for his skill with the
bow, escaped to the mountains, eluding the vigilance of the pur-
suers by his swiftness of foot. All the rest were smothered or fell
beneath the knives and arrows of the assailants. But little noise
was made, except by the screams of the women and the shouts of
the destroyers, for at that time the Indians had no guns. The
slumbers of the Russians were not disturbed.
It is said that two Indian women who were employed at the
fort, having risen early to boil the chyniks for the morning meal,
heard and understood the cries of the victims, but, overcome by
fear and anguish at the death of their kindred, stupidly shut
themselves into the cook-house, and did not alarm the Russians.
The Koyukuns next made for the trading-post, and found the
bidarshik, just risen, sitting behind one of the houses. Saying
to Ivan, one of their tribe who had been employed at the fort
as interpreter, " If you do not kill the bidarshik, we will kill
you," they forced him to consent. He approached Derabin and
stabbed him in the back repeatedly, so that he fell to rise no
more. The Russian interpreter, a man said to have understood
seven languages, happening to come out, saw the act, and turning
unarmed to the Indians, upbraided them for the murder, but fell
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 51
in the doorway, pierced with seven arrows. Rushing over his
prostrate body, they entered the house. Barnard was lying on
his bed reading ; at the sight of the hostile Indians he raised him-
self up to reach his gun, which hung above his head. Twice he
fired, and twice the barrel was struck upwards, the balls taking
effect in the ceiling. An Indian shaman — christened Larriown by
the Russians — and his brother seized the arms, and one plunged
his knife into the Englishman's abdomen, so that when it was
withdrawn the intestines followed it, and he fell back mortally
wounded. Several shots were fired, and one struck Larriown in
the groin. Three children and their mother were killed; their
father, Teleezhik, being absent in the Kaviak peninsula, as inter-
preter, with Captain Bedford Pirn.
Leaving the bidarshik's house, the Indians next attacked the
casdnner, or room where the workmen lived, where there were
two Russians and several Creoles. They had barricaded the door,
and being at some distance from the other house, knew nothing
that had happened. One of them aimed through the window at
the crowd of Indians ; when the other, hoping to avoid blood-
shed, advised him to fire above their heads, in hope that they
would disperse. The crowd separated, but did not retreat, and
only answered by a shower of arrows. The next shot, better
aimed, killed one of the Indians, when a panic seemed to seize
them, and they immediately retreated with their booty and pris-
oners to Koyukuk. Larriown sat in great agony in the outer
room of the bidarshik's house. A Russian lay in the inner room,
helpless from fever, who had been overlooked by the Indians in the
excitement. His wife, an Indian woman named Maria, brought
him a loaded pistol, and held him up while he fired at the sha-
man. His trembling hands could not direct the ball, and Lar-
riown dragged himself out to the river-bank. Here he found a
Koyukun woman, who had been staying at the fort, with her
baby on a little sled, which she was drawing by a band over her
forehead. He threw the child into the snow, and ordered her to
draw him to Koyukuk. She refused, and he stabbed her to the
heart ! How he finally got away, no one knows. Thus ended
the Nulato massacre.
An Ingalik, named Lofka, was sent by the Russians with a
letter to the Redoubt. He placed it in his boot, fortunately, for
52 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
he was stopped on the river and searched by two Koyukuns, who
suspected his errand. Finding nothing, they let him go.
Mr. Adams, the surgeon, immediately started, with Teleezhik
and a party of Russians, for Nulato. Captain Pirn, having re-
turned from his adventurous journey frost-bitten, could not ac-
company him, and remained at Unalaklik.
The Russians had sewed up the wounds ; but, before Mr.
Adams arrived, Lieutenant Barnard was dead. It only remained
for him to perform the last sad offices and to erect a cross over
his grave, with the following inscription : —
LIEUTENANT J. J. BARNARD,
OF H. M. ENTERPRISE,
Killed Feb. 16, 1851,
BY THE KOUKUK INDIANS.
F. A.
The Russian American Company, as is the wont of trading
companies, never took any measures of retaliation for this mas-
sacre. Larriown, and Ivan, the murderer of the bidarshik, are
frequent visitors at the fort. Presents were sent to the Koyukun
chiefs, and there the matter ended. A stockaded fort was soon
built on the present site, and the graves of Barnard and Dera-
bin lie a stone's throw behind it. The excavations where the
Indian houses stood are still to be seen, and form the graves of
those natives who perished by the massacre.
On the 29th of November the indefatigable Mike started
again for Ulukuk. I occupied myself with putting my instru-
ments in order for meteorological observations. The thermome-
ter, a standard one, registered thirty-six below zero. Our cook
and principal assistant about the house, in the absence of the
fairer sex, was Peetka, the son of Ivan, previously mentioned as
the murderer of Derabin. His father was acting as an inter-
preter for the Russians. In an Indian house, outside the stock-
ade, Larriown was domiciled with his wife and child. The appear-
ance of this man was remarkable. A small round head and face,
piercing eyes, thin scattered hair, a short pug nose (unusual in an
Indian), a tremendous development of the muscles of the jaw,
a very dark complexion, and a fiendish expression of countenance
combined to make his appearance the reverse of attractive, even
when in good humor.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 53
His wife possessed some of these characteristics in a lesser
degree, but was equally repulsive. Both of them had gained,
by a long list of evil deeds, a reputation as sorcerers or shamans,
which made their influence among the Indians immense. Both
of them were well acquainted with the uses of intoxicating liquors,
which for some years the Koyukuns have obtained from traders
at Kotzebue Sound. This circumstance has done much to ren-
der the tribe, naturally cruel and turbulent, one of the worst in
the territory. Fortunately, disease and the scarcity of food, annu-
ally increased by the use of firearms in killing reindeer, have
reduced their numbers, and at present they can hardly muster
over two hundred families. From increased immorality, due to
the introduction of liquor, the births are few, and hardly replace
the deaths. Few women have more than two children, while
many have only one, a large proportion being barren. The
tribe, therefore, may be regarded as on its way to extinction.
They are of the family of Tinneh, belonging, with the Ingaliks
and Nowikakat Indians, to the division of Eastern Tinneh.
Their dialect is closely allied to the Ingalik, hardly differing
more from it than the widely separated local dialects of Ingalik
differ from one another. Their principal villages are on the
Kotelkakat and Kotelno Rivers, the largest being known as
Kotelkakat.
The Indians living on the Yukon between Koyukuk and
Nuklukahyet are known to the Ingaliks as Unakatana, or
" far-off people," and call themselves, with most other Indians
living on the river, Yukonikatana, or " men of the Yukon."
The Nulato Ingaliks are nearly extinct. The Ingaliks liv-
ing on the other side of the Yukon, between it and the Kaiyuh
Mountains (known as Takaitsky to the Russians), bear the name
of Kaiyuhkatana, or " lowland people," and the other branches of
Ingaliks have similar names, while preserving their general tribal
name.
The Ingaliks are, as a rule, tall, well-made, but slender. They
have very long, squarely oval faces, high prominent cheek-bones,
large ears, small mouths, noses, and eyes, and an unusually large
lower jaw. The nose is well formed and aquiline, but small in
proportion to the rest of the face. The hair is long, coarse, and
black, and generally parted in the middle. But few of them
54 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
shave the crown, as is the custom among the Eskimo. Their
complexion is an ashy brown, perhaps from dirt in many cases,
and they seldom have much color. On the other hand, the
Koyukuns, with the same high cheek-bones and piercing eyes,
have much shorter faces, more roundly oval, of a pale olive hue,
and frequently arched eyebrows and a fine color. They are the
most attractive in appearance of the Indians in this part of the
territory, as they are the most untamable. The women espe-
cially are more attractive than those among the Ingaliks, whose
square faces and ashy complexion render the latter very plain,
not to say repulsive. The women do up their hair in two braids,
one on each side ; but among the Koyukuns it is not uncommon
to see the hair cut short, especially after a death in the family.
The detached hair is tied up in a little bundle and placed in the
crotch of a tree, or anywhere where it will not be disturbed by
animals. Parings from the nails are treated in the same way, as
they have a superstition that disease will follow the disturbance
of such remains by wild animals.
The original dress of the male Koyukuns consists of a pair
of breeches of deerskin, with the moccasins, or coverings for the
feet, attached, and a deerskin parka without any hood, long
and pointed before and behind. At present they buy many
articles of clothing from the Eskimo and from the Russians,
especially for winter wear. They are fond of ornaments and gay
colors, while the Ingaliks, who wear clothing much like that
adopted by the Eskimo, care little for ornaments or beads.
Both build houses similar to those already described, while the
other tribes of the same family, to the eastward, build only tem-
porary lodges of skins and poles, which they transport from place
to place. The habits, utensils, and mode of life of the Ingaliks
and Koyukuns are very similar, and will be more fully described
hereafter.
They depend for food upon the reindeer and moose, salmon
and other fish, and small game, more or less, according to the re-
sources of the locality in which they live. At Nulato the only
dependence is fish, and some small game, such as grouse and
water-fowl in their seasons. There are no deer or moose at
Nulato, and food is often very scarce.
I found a constant current of cold air, with a temperature from
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 55
— 32° to — 55° Fah., entering our room by means of the cracks
in the floor, which was composed of logs squared on the upper
side. Needles, forks, spoons, and other articles of use and orna-
ment followed each other into the abyss. The matter, though
laughable, was also serious, as our stock of the last-named
articles amounted to only one apiece. After consultation we
employed Kurilla, one of the few surviving Nulato Indians,
to calk the seams with moss. Our stock of this was soon ex-
hausted, following the spoons, and we made the best of a bad
job by covering the floor thickly with straw, that again with
mats, and over all nailing some old blankets. By placing a few
reindeer-skins about for rugs, we managed to improve matters a
good deal. Previously, one day when the freshly heated peechka
was pouring out a generous supply of hot air, I tried the ther-
mometer at the eaves, where it stood at ninety ; four feet above the
floor gave a temperature of forty-five, while on the floor the mer-
cury indicated several degrees below freezing. The walls were
anything but tight, and the warm air of the room deposited its
extra moisture in hoar-frost, like feathers, near the fissures.
Peetka proved very unreliable, disappearing and staying so,
just when we wanted him, and Kurilla, the Indian before men-
tioned, was secured as a substitute. His history was romantic.
Son of a wealthy and influential chief and shaman, at the time
of the Nulato massacre he was but three or four years old ; in it
his father, mother, and all their family perished. The boy and
his sister, a year older, were in the trading-post at the time, and
escaped unharmed, from their extreme youth. Some of the Rus-
sians had taken pity on them and brought them up, until, as they
grew older, they were able to earn their own living.
His sister, christened Anna, was one of the most comely Inga-
liks who came under our notice. Both of them were unusu-
ally tall ; both had acquired habits of neatness and an excel-
lent knowledge of the Russian language, from their residence in
the trading-post. Anna was married to a very good kind of
fellow, an Ingalik, who had accompanied us in our journey from
Ulukuk and who was named Little Sidorka, to distinguish him
from another of the same name but of greater longitude.
Kurilla proved to be a faithful and intelligent fellow, and having
had some experience in cooking for our parties during the previ-
56 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
ous year, was well qualified to assist in the culinary department.
To be sure, our style of living was simple and unostentatious,
consisting principally of fried white-fish three times a day, varied
by bacon, of which we were very sparing when fish was obtain-
able.
Finding a blanket on the bare boards, even alleviated by a
deerskin, rather uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, we pur-
chased several large feather-beds, filled with spoils from the wild
geese and ducks, and had a small mattress made from them for
each one of the party. With the addition of a pillow from the
same source, we felt as if we could enjoy the sleep of the just,
without danger of rheumatism.
Our plans for the coming season were now discussed and
approximately settled. Whymper and myself decided to ascend
the Yukon together, as far as Fort Yukon, by water in the spring.
Ketchum proposed, in company with Mike Lebarge, to make the
same journey over the ice, with dogs and sleds, in February.
Dyer was to descend the Yukon and investigate the delta. On
the 4th of December the temperature was fifty-six below zero.
Faint parhelia appeared. In a short walk I observed that the
atmosphere seemed filled with an icy mist, small acicular crystals
of ice suspended in the air. On the /th, the weather being
milder (twenty-two below zero), I decided to visit the coal seam
below Nulato before the snow should cover it. Only one dog was
available ; so, getting a small sled, and packing our blankets,
chynik, and mess-pan upon it, with a bag for bringing some coal
from the vein for trial, I started ahead, while Kurilla followed
with the sled. We met Yagorsha on the way, who with many
gesticulations declared that we were going to have a severe snow-
storm, and that we had better turn back. I concluded to risk it,
however, and we finally arrived at the Shaman Bluff, where we
soon found a sheltered ravine with plenty of dry wood ; spread-
ing a blanket as an awning to keep off the snow, which came
thick and fast, we built a cheerful fire and enjoyed our tea.
After a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast of bacon, biscuit,
and tea, I went to the end of the bluff, where the coal was situ-
ated. A thorough examination of it showed that the seam was
much contorted, running out at each end completely ; that the
only mass of coal was in a large pocket or elbow of the contorted
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 57
seam ; and that the whole deposit contained less than a ton.
What there was of it was of excellent quality, hardened by
heat and compression ; it was enclosed on each side by thin
layers of shale and the brown Miocene sandstone previously
alluded to.
Filling a bag with fragments of coal and geological specimens
as trophies, we started homeward. The poor dog, I am afraid,
had a hard time of it, what with the soft new snow and the
weight of the bag, but we arrived without detention or accident,
though rather tired.
Kurilla, who was an excellent shot and an enthusiastic sports-
man, liked nothing better than to spend an hour every day shoot-
ing specimens for our collection. I obtained many more than
I had dared to hope for in this way, — redpolls, downy and
three-toed woodpeckers, pine grosbeaks, titmice, hawk-owls, and
(strange to say) a bullfinch (Pyrrkula), the first ever shot on the
American continent. On the nth, Mike returned from Ulukuk
with Francis, and this event, with the news that our friends
brought from below, was quite a relief to the monotony of our
daily life.
On the 1 2th, a chief arrived at the fort from Nuklukahyet,
where the Tananah River joins the Yukon. He greeted Ketchum
as an old acquaintance, and promised to have plenty of moose
meat for us when we should come that way in the spring. He
remained several days at the fort, and on one of them assembled
a number of Indians in our room and discoursed to them at the
top of his lungs for nearly two hours. I expected to see him
drop from exhaustion, every minute of the last half-hour, but long
practice had doubtless inured him to it, and I resigned myself,
while one of the party took up a concertina and played " Tramp,
tramp " by way of diversity.
The return brigade was intrusted to Scratchett, who left,
with Francis, for Unalaklik on the i/th, while Mike rested his
weary bones for a season.
I continued adding to my collections and vocabularies, and
setting traps for foxes, who had a fashion of carrying off the bait
without disturbing the trap. Ivan PavlofF, however, succeeded in
trapping several, of which I secured the skeletons. Whymper
was busily at work on his sketches, while Mike and Ketchum
58 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
were getting ready for their proposed journey. Altogether, time
did not hang very heavily on our hands.
We found the Indians to be a great nuisance in one way.
They had a habit of coming in and sitting down, doing and
saying nothing, but watching everything. At meal-times they
seemed to count and weigh every morsel we ate, and were never
backward in assisting to dispose of the remains of the meal.
Occasionally we would get desperate and clean them all out ;
but they would drop in again, and we could do nothing but
resign ourselves to the annoyance, as we did not wish to offend
them. They intended no offence, doubtless, but wanted an oppor-
tunity of studying the Anglo-Saxon species of the genus Jionio in
its lair.
Fish growing scarce, Karpoff was fitted out with some trading-
goods, and sent to Koyukuk in hope that he might obtain some
grouse or rabbits from the Indians of that locality.
Christmas time approaching, we joined in endeavoring to cele-
brate the day appropriately. Our knowledge of chemistry and
the domestic arts was taxed to the utmost in the production
of pies, gingerbread, and cranberry dumplings ; while a piece
of Ulukuk reindeer meat, which had been kept frozen ever
since our journey across the portage, performed the office of
the customary "roast beef of old England," and a brace of
roasted ptarmigan represented the Yankee turkeys. Green peas,
tomatoes, and other preserved vegetables were produced for the
occasion; and, with the company of the bidarshik and his assist-
ant, we sat down to the best dinner ever eaten in that part of the
continent. The day was enlivened by the reading of several
original literary productions, and the brewing of a mild bowl
of punch from a supply of old Jamaica, which we owed to the
kind thoughtfulness of Mrs. Scammon. Altogether the occasion
was one which will long be remembered with pleasure by those
who took part in it.
The 2/th of December an observation was made, which
showed the day to be just three hours long. As nearly as
our watches could determine, the sun rose at a quarter before
eleven, and set at a quarter of two. Proposing on New-Year's
day to raise the first telegraph pole in the division of the Yu-
kon, Mike went out with Kun'lla, and returned with a fine
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 59
spruce, of the orthodox dimensions, for the purpose. An In-
dian, with the euphonious Russian name of Squirtzoff, was em-
ployed to peel and trim it.
On the 3 ist we sat the Old Year out, and hailed the New
with its prospect of successful explorations. We had hoped
that our party might all be present on New- Year's day ; but
there was no sign of the expected arrival of Mr. Dyer. After
breakfast we went out in a body and raised the first telegraph
pole, ornamented with the flags of the United States, the Tele-
graph Expedition, the Masonic fraternity, and the Scientific
Corps. A salute of thirty-six guns was fired, — one for each
State ; and the enthusiastic Kurilla was brought to the ground
by the recoil of a great Russian blunderbuss, which he had
undertaken to discharge.
A few days after, Ivan PavlofF returned from a journey of
several hundred miles with dog-sleds, bringing about five hundred
marten or American sable skins.
The Russians throughout this territory compute their time
according to Old Style, and hence are always eleven days behind
time. They celebrated Christmas and New-Year's day on the 5th
and 1 2th of January, respectively.
Dyer arrived on the 3d, and on the 5th Captain Ketchum
started on a last visit to the Redoubt.
Strong endeavors were made to construct some sleds for
Ketchum's trip, after the style of the Hudson Bay Company ; but,
having no patterns, much good birch was spoiled without satis-
factory results.
We had entertained great expectations of seeing exhibitions
of the Aurora Borealis of unusual beauty ; but they were not
realized. The few displays which were observed were of an
insignificant character. No colored lights were noticed, and the
brilliancy of the light was far below what we had anticipated.
Several of these displays, however, presented phenomena which
may not be uninteresting to the general reader, as showing dis-
tinctly some points not previously established in regard to the
mode of appearance of the aurora under some circumstances.
February nth, 1867, an aurora was observed under the following
conditions. From a gap in the hills north of Nulato, a white
light was seen to issue, early in the evening. The sky was
60 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
much overcast with cirro-stratus clouds, which were rapidly pass-
ing in a different direction from the wind at the surface of
the earth, which last was from the north. The light before alluded
to approached with the wind, at about half the pace of the wind,
in a cloudlike shape or condition, not far from the surface of the
earth. The form of this luminous cloud was in successive waves,
or ripples, and resembled the rings of smoke rising from a pipe,
one within another, gradually expanding. The inner or focal
rings were more intense than the outer ones, and the light was
more intense in some parts of the rings than in others. They
advanced as the ripples do when a stone is thrown into still
water, and these ripples were compressed in an oval form by
the wind, the longer diameter being east and west, across the
current. It showed unmistakably that the shining medium was in
consistence similar to cloud or mist. From the brighter portions
of the rings, light streams of the same medium occasionally
dripped, and dissipated at some distance below the point whence
they originated ; from which it might be inferred that the more
intense portion of this medium was denser than the atmosphere.
No rays or streamers issued upwards from the upper edges of
the rings, which were clearly defined and below the real clouds, of
which the altitude seemed less than fifteen hundred feet. The
hills from between which the auroral cloud had issued, and the
tops of the higher trees between the fort and the hills, were
dimly seen, or obscured by the lower portion of the haze, or cloud,
which seemed not more than a hundred feet above the earth, as
seen from the roof of the higher building. It followed the air-
currents entirely; and all its motions seemed guided or controlled
by them. Wavy outlines in the ripples seemed caused by the dif-
fering velocity of the air in different parts of the current. It cov-
ered the whole sky in about two hours from the time of its first
appearance. As it spread and enlarged, the light became fainter.
It did not give out a positive light, but had a mildly luminous
appearance, like phosphorescence.*
Captain Ketchum and Mike had returned February ist, bring-
ing with them Captain Everett Smith, of the Wilder, and a
* These remarkable phenomena were observed, in a greater or lesser degree, in
several instances, of which an account was communicated to the National Academy,
at its session in September, 1869, by the writer.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 6 1
good budget of news. Several miles of poles had been erected
in the vicinity of Grantley Harbor and Unalaklik. Provisions,
especially tea and sugar, were at a high premium. Our sup-
ply of tea had been very small, and coffee in this climate is
worthless.
A point near the Klatkakhatne River was decided upon for the
location of the head-quarters of the Yukon division, and a bargain
was made with Paspi'lkoff, the shaky-headed Russian, to put up
the building, which was to be of logs.
I prepared the specimens of natural history which had been
obtained during the winter, for transportation to Unalaklik and
the Redoubt. They filled two large boxes, many acceptable ad-
ditions having been made through the kindness of my compan-
ions.
A walk with Captain Smith, near the fort, resulted in obtaining
a fine specimen of the Hudson Bay titmouse (Pants Hudsonicus),
a bird which I had not previously collected, and the first specimen
of which I owe, with many other valuable birds, to his quick eye
and unerring aim.
About this time a little excitement occurred, owing to a rumor,
started by one of the Indian women in the fort, to the effect that
Larridwn had planned the destruction of one of the proposed
parties which were to ascend the Yukon. A council of inquiry
proved, however, that the rumor had no more reliable foundation
than a dream.
The Indians are exceedingly suspicious in the most unimportant
things, and the following incident is a good illustration of it. In
talking over the scarcity of provisions, some one had jokingly
remarked, that, if we were driven to the wall, we should have to
make soup of Paspi'lkofFs baby, a new addition to our population.
This was repeated by one of the women, and very soon old Ivan
the interpreter made his appearance, saying that the Indians
wished to know if we were cannibals. He added that, since the
time of Bulegin's murder at Koyukuk, there was no instance
known where the Indians had eaten human flesh. After indulg-
ing in a hearty laugh, we relieved his apprehensions, which seemed
to be serious, and thereafter were more guarded in our remarks.
Peetka, his son, had been very active in procuring birds for
my collection, and much to my regret appeared one day with
62 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
three fingers of his left hand nearly blown off, by carelessly pull-
ing his gun through the bushes by the muzzle. The injury was
so serious that amputation seemed necessary, but by careful ap-
plication of water dressings twice daily, I was enabled to preserve
them, though in a stiff and useless condition. Sometime after,
the little fellow brought me in a marten, one of his own trapping,
the only fee for medical services I received in Russian America
during two years' practice.
The details of our Yukon trip were settled, and the boatmen
engaged, so that we felt a reasonable confidence in the suc-
cessful result of our proposed explorations. In the mean time I
occupied myself taking angles and measurements for a chart of
the Yukon and the small rivers near Nulato, in the constant ad-
dition of specimens to the collection, with the meteorological rec-
ords, and the enlargement of my vocabularies.
One of the Russians took occasion one evening to express his
dislike of the Americans by beating and abusing, without cause,
a boy in our employ called Antoshka. Without recourse to the
bidarshik, Ketchum treated him to his deserts, — a well merited
thrashing. This timely protection to our Indian servants much
increased our popularity among the Indians, and enforced re-
spect from the Russian convicts employed by the Russian Ameri-
can Company, in a salutary manner.
Breaking the minute-hand of my watch one day, I repaired the
damage by unwinding the silver thread from a violin-string and
twisting a portion of it around the barrel of the broken hand.
Opportunities for the exercise of ingenuity of this kind are fre-
quent in this country, where few mechanics of any kind are to
be found. The -remarkable facility with which the Russian peas-
ant can turn his hand to anything was well exemplified among
the men in the fort. All of them, with the tapor, or short-handled
Russian broad-axe, could accomplish almost any piece of carpen-
tering, from squaring a log to building a boat or a house. Many
of them could handle blacksmiths' tools, and even manufacture,
from sheet copper (provided by the Russian Company), chy-
niks, kettles, and lamps for burning the seal oil used in winter.
There are several good blacksmiths in the country, and Aleuts,
Creoles, and even Indians learn the use of their tools with re-
markable ease.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 63
On the 6th of March the plans for our proposed new station
were decided upon, and the exact location selected. The en-
closure was to be one hundred feet by sixty-five, and to con-
tain a barrack, officers' quarters, bath-house, cook-house, and
several store-houses. Paspilkoff promised to set about the work
at once, and it was agreed that the members of the party would
assist him in bringing and raising the heavy timbers.
On the nth of March, having completed his preparations, Cap-
tain Ketchum set out on his adventurous journey with Mike over
the ice to Fort Yukon. It was undertaken under the most dis-
couraging circumstances. Neither his provisions nor his dog-
feed were sufficient to last during the journey of over six hun-
dred miles. Russians and Indians alike shook their heads and
declared their disbelief in his prospects of success. The snow
would be soft and impassable. The dogs would run away, or
give out for want of food, and die. He could not feed himself
or his Indians, and all would perish of starvation. The Ulukuk
Indians who had engaged to go backed out at the last mo-
ment, and there was extreme difficulty in obtaining two men and
two boys to take their place. This was finally done through
the intervention of old Ivan, who sent his own son Peetka, and
induced the others to go. The very day was dull and cloudy,
with indications of snow. For two white men to undertake such
a journey, in the face of all this discouragement, through a coun-
try of which the resources were known to be very precarious,
with the prospect of certain starvation if their guns did not sup-
ply them with sufficient game to feed the dogs and party, was
resolute and courageous in the extreme. From this point of view
the journey was unquestionably one of the most remarkable
undertaken by modern explorers.
As their heavily laden sleds moved slowly away over the soft
snow, we hoisted the stars and stripes, gave them three volleys
from the big gun, a hearty cheer, and any number of salutes from
guns and pistols. As they passed out of sight, the chances of
success and failure seemed so unevenly balanced that we hardly
dared to anticipate the realization of the plans which they were
so bravely and energetically endeavoring to carry out.
Our party now consisted only of Messrs. Dyer, Whymper, and
myself, with Scratchett the constructor, and two Indians.
64 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
On the 1 8th our eyes were gladdened by the appearance of old
Yagorsha, with the little skin boat, purchased at Ulukuk last fall,
for which he had been sent. It came up from Ulukuk entire, on
a sled drawn by five dogs, and had sustained some slight injuries.
In this boat, Mr. Whymper and myself were to ascend the Yu-
kon after the spring freshet. Antoshka and another Indian were
sent by Dyer down the Yukon to a place called Yakuts-kaldtenik,
where a three-holed bidarka was supposed to lie, which he pro-
posed to use in descending the Yukon and pursuing his examina-
tion of the delta.
We determined, although it was not strictly in the line of
our duty, to cut and erect the poles necessary to bear the line be-
tween the Nulato post and the proposed site of our new Fort
Kennicott. The distance was a few rods over a mile, and re-
quired about thirty poles. The work was done entirely by the
four members of our party, except clearing away the brush and
trees for twelve feet on each side, which we intrusted to one of
the Russian workmen.
Dog-feed and fresh provisions giving out, I proposed to make
a trip to the Kaiyuh villages, and endeavor to purchase any sup-
plies which the Indians might be able to spare. I arrived with
Kurilla and the dogs at a small village of two houses, on the left
bank of the river, nearly opposite AlikofFs barrabora, and being
the residence of the old veteran Wolasatux. The village is known
by his name. I found all the Indians away, and was obliged to
take some fish out of his cache to feed the dogs with.
Wolasatux' barrabora is a well built Indian winter house, and
stands near another smaller one, with two or three caches about
it, on a small clearing in a dense growth of poplars and willows.
These trees grow so close together, that they have reached the
height of some thirty or forty feet, almost without branches, and
so slender that it gives one a feeling as of standing on a flat pin-
cushion beset with enormous needles and pins. An old man
finally appeared, who sold us a few ukali and some grouse. The
next morning, Kurilla went out, and in the course of his hunting
met some Indians, who informed him that Antoshka had not been
able to obtain any dog-feed here or at Kaltag, and that it was not
improbable his dogs might be starving. Also, that all the Indians
were away after deer, and that it was uncertain when they would
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 65
return. This determined me to return to Nulato, so that Dyer
might send some fish from our slender store to Antoshka, and
thus prevent his journey from coming to an unfortunate con-
clusion. There was no prospect of buying anything where we
were.
The next morning we set out for Nulato, and found that the
moist snow rendered the travelling very hard. The weather was
so warm that the snow adhered in large lumps to the snowshoes,
adding a weight of ten or twelve pounds to the foot at each step,
Wolasatux' barrabora in winter.
until the masses would break off by their own weight, the same
process being repeated indefinitely. We were exceedingly fa-
tigued upon our arrival, near dusk.
It was immediately determined to send Scratchett down to
Kaltag with some fish for Antoshka. Our prospects of food at
this time were anything but encouraging. Wherever the blame
should have fallen, the fact remained, that if it had not been for
the flour and fish we obtained from the Russians, we should have
been in a starving condition ; while it was said, and never denied,
so far as I know, that the Nightingale, on her return, carried with
5
66 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
her ten thousand rations. The preposterous folly of issuing food
by ordinary rations to men in an arctic, or nearly arctic climate,
was never more fully demonstrated. On the resources of the
country as developed by the natives, who have all they can do to
feed themselves, a large body of men cannot support themselves
in this part of the territory, unless their time be devoted to noth-
ing else.
On the 8th of April, Scratchett returned with a load of fresh
reindeer meat, which he had obtained from the Indians, a number
of whom accompanied him. Among them was Wolasatux and
his foster-son Mikaishka, and Tekunka, a noted shaman and
tyone among the KaTyuh Indians. The latter proved to be a
very good kind of fellow ; he sold us a large amount of meat,
refusing the offers of the Russians, who saw his sled-load taken
into our store-house with unconcealed disgust. The day had
gone by when they could control the trade of that kind, and force
the reluctant Indian to sell against his will his hard-earned booty
for a leaf or two of tobacco and a few balls.
We paid liberally, but not extravagantly, for provisions of all
kinds, and as the supply was very limited, the Russians, un-
willing to raise their tariff of prices, were often obliged to go
without.
The continued warm weather was melting the snow rapidly,
and although we had cleaned off the roof as much as possible,
still the melting ice caused a constant dripping during the day.
The evening frost would put an end to it for a while, but it
returned with the heat of the morning sun.
The Nulato and other small rivers had felt the effects of
the melting snow, and the ice on the edge of the Yukon, which
rests on and is frozen to the beach, was covered with water from
them.
Flies, to all appearance the common universal house-fly, as well
as the bluebottle, had appeared in large numbers, and might be
seen on the sunny side of every wall.
On the loth I found the first fully expanded willow catkins,
and the pretty red catkin of the alder. A white-winged crossbill,
the first so far obtained, was shot in a grove of poplars not far
from the post.
On the roof of the house I obtained a large number of small
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 67
musk-beetles, of a steel-green color and strong odor. Several
other species were obtained from the stumps and mossy hillocks
which began to project above the level of the snow. The field-
mice were also beginning to be active, and the children about the
fort eagerly scanned with their keen eyes, bow and arrow in hand,
the various stumps and crevices where they might find them;
when successful they flocked with their prizes to me, sure of a
few beads or some other trinket to repay them for their labor.
The white ptarmigan began moulting, or rather brown feathers
began to appear in their necks and on the edges of the wings,
where the first change may be looked for.
While skinning a hawk-owl I discovered in the ovary an egg,
nearly perfect. Kurilla, on his return from a foraging expedition,
brought fine specimens of the great gray owl (Syrnium cinereum),
which measured four feet across the wings, and the white owl
(Nyctea nivea). The latter frequently flies by day without diffi-
culty, and he is a sharp hunter who can approach it within gun-
shot, even at midday.
April 23d being a good snowy day, I took advantage of the
opportunity, to visit a grave on the point, near the Nulato River.
Carefully lifting the cover, I removed the cranium, and putting
it into my haversack, I returned by a roundabout way to the
fort. I had long had my eye upon this grave, and had been
waiting for weather which would cover up my tracks, in order
to secure the skull. The Indians are very superstitious in regard
to touching anything that has belonged with a dead body, and
would have been highly incensed had it become known. There-
fore I took the first opportunity of packing safely away the only
Ingalik cranium ever collected.
An expedition to the bluffs above Nulato resulted in my obtain-
ing a number of fossils, which probably indicate a Miocene age
for these beds. There are very few and very poor fossils in
these sandstones, notwithstanding their wide extent and great
thickness.
Birds became more plentiful as spring advanced, many sum-
mer visitors arriving in April and the early part of May. The
hawks and owls were already laying their eggs, and the young
of the Canada jay, as I afterwards learned, were already hatched.
Scratchett started for Unalaklik April 25th, with the last mails,
68 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
and on the last trip possible this season. The Russians prophe-
sied that he would not be able to get through, and the weather
gave some probability to their croakings.
The 25th of April was a great holiday, or prdsnik, of the Rus-
sians. It was their Easter, and was a day of rejoicing for us
also, as Antoshka returned from a foraging expedition on the
Kaiyuh River with a good load of deer meat from Tekunka.
Out of our plenty we sent a haunch in to Ivan PavlofF, to his
great satisfaction.
The walls of Fort Kennicott already began to assume their
proportions, and we frequently went up to assist Paspilkoff in the
work of raising the logs to their proper places.
On the 28th old Maria died. She was an Indian woman,
long domiciled with the Russians, and had been present at the
Nulato massacre.
On the following day the first goose was seen, the solitary
advance-guard of the thousands to come. Strolling on the
beach, I obtained a small hawk and the first snipe of the season.
The weather had become exceedingly warm. Shirt-sleeves were
the rule, and the little children enjoyed themselves on the broad
river-beach, building houses with pebbles and making mud pies,
much as their brothers and sisters do all over the world when
a vacation or a holiday releases them from restraint and the
mother's watchful eye. I never saw a young child punished in
Russian America, except the well-grown boys of the Russian
bidarshik. They behave quite as well as civilized children, and
grow up with quite as much respect for their parents. An
Indian baby, unless sick, never cries ; and why should it ? It has
no one to rub soap in its eyes, and never feels the weight of the
parental hand. The mother makes it a doll, if a girl, out of bits
of squirrel-skin and fur. If a boy, the father builds for him a
little sable-trap, a miniature cache, in which to put his shining
pebbles and other childish treasures, or a tiny fish-trap, in which
the mother takes care that a choice bit of ukali, a rabbit's head, or
a piece of reindeer fat shall be caught in some mysterious way.
As soon as they can toddle about they are instructed in the
mysteries of setting snares, and the pride with which the boys or
girls bring home their first grouse, or even, by great good luck, an
unfortunate rabbit, is fully shared by the parents. Their dresses
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 69
are ornamented with the choicest beads ; the sweet marrow or
tongue of the fallen reindeer is reserved for them by the father
successful in the chase. They travel hundreds of miles with the
dog-sleds, and from these little children I have often obtained
dozens of mice or small birds, caught near some solitary lodge
far away among the mountains, which rumor had informed them
I would purchase with beads or trinkets. They carried these
proudly home again as their own earnings and the prize of their
own industry. I always paid something for such specimens, even
if quite worthless, to encourage them to perseverance, and in
this way I obtained many invaluable specimens.
Scratchett arrived from Unalaklik on the 4th of May, having
had a very hard journey, and getting up to his neck in water
while crossing some of the small rivers, swelled with the melting
snow. The scurvy had attacked the parties at Unalaklik, from
the absence of fresh provisions, but was fortunately stayed in its
progress by the providential advent on the Unalaklik plains of
large herds of deer, of which many were killed.
On the 3d, Kurilla killed a goose, a white-cheeked brant (B.
leucopareia], and two ducks, — a mallard and a Golden-eye. He
received the annual pound of tobacco, the perquisite of him
who kills the first goose in the spring. From this time we
hoped to obtain an abundance of water-fowl, which are the only
support of the inhabitants of Nulato until the freshets subside
and the salmon begin to ascend the river. Curiously enough,
there are no fish in these rivers which will take the hook.
On the /th of May the first swans were seen. They are the
small American species, the trumpeter not being found in this
region, and very rarely visiting Fort Yukon. The geese did not
arrive in large numbers until the Qth of May, ten days later than
on the previous year. The commonest ducks were the pin-tail
and the green-winged teal.
On the 1 2th of May the water came down with a rush, break-
ing up the ice on the Nulato River, and flooding the ice on the
Yukon. At the same time a torrent poured down the Klat-
kakhatne River. Ivan Pavloff, having gone shooting over to the
island, on his return was caught between the two currents and
swept into a hole in the ice. PaspilkofF gave the alarm, and,
catching up two paddles, I hurried to the beach, where Scratchett
70 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
had already launched a birch canoe. With Antoshka, he rapidly
made his way among the fragments which threatened to crush
the frail boat, and succeeded in extricating the Russian in safety.
To his credit be it said, the act was very handsomely done. The
Russians were shouting and running wildly about, like chickens
when a hawk is preparing for a swoop, and were not of the slight-
est assistance.
A year before, the ice having broken up, a convict named
Tarentoff had been to the island in a birch-bark canoe. Return-
ing, he was nipped between the ice-cakes and was sinking, when
Major Kennicott saw him from his seat on thereof of the fort,
and hurried two men to his assistance, unquestionably saving his
life. When the Russian had changed his clothes, he came with
protestations of gratitude to his preserver, who answered, " Do not
thank me, Tarentoff; thank God." The next day, while walking
in the early morning on the beach near the fort, taking the angles
of the mountains for his proposed map, and with thoughts per-
haps intent on the long anticipated journey, then only awaiting
the disappearance of the floating ice, the Major was called to his
eternal home ! His remains were found where he fell ; struck
down by disease of the heart, aggravated by exposure, privation,
and anxiety. On the sad anniversary of his death we erected, on
the nearest hillock not swept by the spring freshets, a cross, which
was hewn out by the blacksmith Paspilkoff, and which upheld a
tablet with the following inscription : —
IN MEMORY OF
ROBERT KENNICOTT,
NATURALIST,
who died near this place,
May itf/i, 1866, aged thirty,
On asking Paspilkoff what he wanted for his labor in hewing
out the arms of the cross, he replied, " We Russians take nothing
for what we may do for the dead ; we do not know when it may
be our turn."
On the 1 2th of May the mosquitoes made their appearance,
though the snow still lay on the ground in abundance. They
were larger than our home mosquitoes, and very bloodthirsty.
After a few days it was impossible to sleep without a net.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 71
We had abundance to do, getting our bidarra in order for the
journey, and packing our stores into the smallest possible space,
knowing by experience that every ounce counted. Collecting
was not neglected ; and many specimens of birds were obtained
which are only summer visitors. A walk to the bluff above the
Klatkakhatne River was rewarded by the discovery of a few more
fossils, and some very minute land-shells, similar to, if not identi-
cal with, Eastern American and Northern European species.
I had at this time a good opportunity of observing the forma-
tion of the alluvial soil of the islands and banks of the Yukon.
Two or three feet below the surface, the ground is frozen, and
probably always continues so, as there are no roots of living trees
below that depth. The soil is composed of distinct layers, each
layer consisting of a stratum of sand, overlaid by mud, and
covered with a thin sheet of vegetable matter. These layers
evidently mark the annual inundations, the materials brought
down settling according to their specific gravity. They varied
in thickness from half an inch to three inches, but averaged about
about an inch. I counted one hundred and eighty of them in
one bank, exposed by the undermining and washing away of the
soil by the river, leaving a perpendicular bank about ten feet
high. This action of deposition and denudation is constantly
going on ; and so great is the amount carried out to sea by the
Yukon water, that the water of Bering Sea is discolored by it
for many miles, even quite out of sight of the land.
Occasionally the roots and stumps of trees might be seen
exposed, in their natural position, but deep below the surface.
These had evidently been broken off in some ancient flood, and
finally buried under new deposits of alluvium. I even thought
I detected, in the lower and older layers, indications of carbon-
ization, or transformation into a kind of lignite, among the strata
of vegetable matter.
The Russians had already put their large bidarra in order,
and, looking with contempt upon our little boat, which was
shaped like a dory, about fifteen feet long and four and a half
wide, asserted that we could not keep up with them ; that it was
impossible to row such a bag-shaped contrivance against the
rapid river current ; that it would not bear a sail as large as the
one we had had made ; and, finally, that, with such a boat, it
72 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
was useless to attempt ascending the river, for we should cer-
tainly fail. We did not fail' to appreciate the consideration for
our weakness and inexperience, which was indicated by such
comments ; and it but strengthened our determination to reach
Fort Yukon at all hazards, even if the boat had to be replaced by
a raft.
We had provided a mast, and Kurilla exercised his taste and
ingenuity in carving an arrow, with a broad tail to which some
blue cotton was attached, to serve as a fly. The square sail was
composed of stout linen towelling, purchased of the Russians ;
and we were provided with an A-tent, and a large piece of
drill, with which our Indians might make a tent for their own
shelter.
Our boat was too small to admit of a rudder, and an enormous
paddle for use in steering was made by Kurilla, and ornamented
with bars and stripes of red ochre. We had provided several
oars cut out of seasoned spruce, no harder wood being attain-
able, except birch, which is too brittle.
On the 1 6th and i8th of May we all united in erecting the
poles between the Nulato post and Fort Kennicott. Dyer had
decided to take Antoshka, and a Creole called Aloshka, who
understood the Eskimo dialect of the Innuit of the Yukon-
mouth, serving as an interpreter as well as an assistant in
paddling the three-holed bidarka in which the journey was to
be made. Scratchett was to remain at Nulato and secure logs
for the buildings to be put up at Fort Kennicott after the ice
had passed out of the river.
The ice on the Yukon was separated from the shore by a wide
belt of water, and we hourly looked for a rise which should give
it a start down stream.
On the i gth of May, about one o'clock, as Whymper and my-
self were sitting on the roof, we perceived a slight motion, and
upon our raising a shout to that effect, the whole population of
the fort was soon out on the bank, watching the slow progress
of the great sheet of ice between us and the island. The pre-
vious year the ice had broken up on the 2ist. The water began
to rise very rapidly, and soon covered much of the beach. We
watched it with a great deal of interest ; but the sight was by no
means as grand as we had anticipated. It passed very quietly
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 73
for a time, and finally stopped, a jam having occurred somewhere
below, and the water being still too low to carry all before it.
On the 2 1st it began to move again ; and the water had risen
to the foot of an inclined plane opposite the fort-gate, where the
bank is usually ascended. The Russians do not start up the
river until the ice is well out of it, as the danger to skin-boats
would be too great to risk.
Our necessary trading-goods and provisions amounted to nearly
eight hundred pounds, which, with the men, oars, sails, and
other baggage, made up nearly eighteen hundred pounds. Of
this we intended to put a bag of flour and one of bread on board
the large Russian boat, making about sixteen hundred and fifty
pounds that our little bidarra must carry.
On the 25th, all our preparations being completed, we took our
last night's rest in the old Nulato trading-post.
CHAPTER III.
Our departure from Nulato. — Sukaree. — Crossing in the ice. — Peculation. — Camp.
— Koyukuk Sopka. — Barter on the Yukon. — Indian grave. — Ooskon. — Indian
pipes. — Tohonidola. — Koyukun dress. — Catching butterflies. — Melozikakat
River. — Arrival at Nowikakat. — Trading for meat. — Shamanism. — Indian theol-
ogy. — Treating the sick. — Departure from Nowikakat. — Birch canoes. — Run-
away from Fort Yukon. — Tozikakat River. — Nuklukahyet and the Twin Mountains.
— Nuklukahyet tyone and other Indians. — Departure from Nuklukahyet. — The
Ramparts and Rapids. — Moose killing. — Pass the Ramparts. — Mosquitoes. —
Plains north of the Yukon. — Kutcha Kutchin camp. — Sachniti. — Arrival at
Fort Yukon. — History of the fort. — Five years without bread. — Degradation of
the servants of the Hudson Bay Company. — Intense heat. — Arrival of the bateaux.
— The annual trade. — Tenan Kutchin Indians. — Other tribes. — Drowning of
Cowley. — Red Leggins. — Arrival of Ketchum and Mike. — Missionaries and their
value. — Course of the Hudson Bay Company with the Indians. — Massacre at Fort
Nelson. — Indians of the Western United States. — Furs in the storehouse. —
Departure from Fort Yukon. — Arrival at Nulato. — Unexpected orders. — Start
for the Yukon-mouth. — Seal and beluga in the river. — Arrival at St. Michael's.
EARLY in the morning of the 26th of May we helped our
companion, Mr. Dyer, to pack his baggage into the bidarka,
and about seven o'clock saw him fairly started, with Antoshka
and Aloshka, on their journey to the Yukon-mouth. We gave
them a parting salute, and immediately placed our own boat
in the water and proceeded to load her. The Russians had
already finished, and were assembled at a pseudo-religious cere-
monial before their departure. At eight o'clock we pushed off.
Yagor and the two Russians who remained behind saluted the
flotilla with several discharges of the rusty howitzer. The Rus-
sian boat took the lead, with eight oarsmen and a light freight.
We followed them at a short distance. Our party was com-
posed of Mr. Frederick Whymper and myself ; Kurilla ; a little
Ingalik called Mikaishka, or in the Indian dialect Menoholnoi,
meaning beetle, in allusion to his diminutiveness ; and lastly, a
Koyukun, whose name was so remarkably long and unpronounce-
able, that we decided to call him Tom. All these had arrived
early in the morning in single birch canoes, a large number of
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 75
which, with their owners, were to accompany us to Nuklukah-
yet.
The rain poured down on us and made everything wet and un-
comfortable. I realized, for the first time, the size and power of
the logs and fragments of ice which, seen from the banks, seemed
so small and insignificant. Kurilla, whose Indian name was
Unookuk, had had much experience in this sort of navigation,
and proved himself active, energetic, and efficient.
The boat had been hurriedly loaded, and the goods were not
arranged to the best advantage. It always takes a day to get the
party and boat into good working order. After pulling about six
miles we felt the necessity for taking some breakfast, and, the
Russians setting the example, we hauled close into the bank and
boiled the chyniks. It is, of course, impossible to take or make
soft bread on such a journey, as it would very soon mould. The
traditional " damper " is a humbug. It is invariably heavy, and a
fruitful cause of heartburn, indigestion, and consequent ill humor.
Hence, in the absence of biscuit, a substitute being necessary, the
Russians are accustomed to bake a large quantity of bread which,
after slicing, they dry in the oven, so that, without browning, it
becomes as hard as a rock. This hardness, however, immediately
disappears when the sukaree, as the Russians call it, is immersed
in hot tea ; and in this respect it is preferable to biscuit, which
takes a long time to soak. It is, however, more liable to break
up than biscuit, when carried in a bag, and not unfrequently re-
tains dust and grit from the mud walls of the peechka, unless
very carefully dried. We had both biscuit and sukaree ; some of
the latter having been made of white flour, it proved execrable,
the Russian sukaree being always made of groats or Graham
flour.
Just above the ravine and little brook where we took our tea
was a rounded rock, boldly jutting out into the river. Around
this a constant stream of ice-cakes, logs, and driftwood was pour-
ing. The Russians first reached this point, and after one or two
trials turned back and camped, hoping that the ice would cease
running before the next morning. Kurilla saw this move with
great disgust. " The Russians retreat : Unookuk will not retreat,"
said he, and struck boldly out into the stream of ice and drift-
wood. For ten minutes all had their hands full, staving off logs
76 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
and ice-cakes, and the danger was too imminent to think about.
A clearer part of the river was soon reached in safety, the drift
always running most thickly in the strongest current. Paddling
up stream a mile or two, the severity of the rain induced us to
camp on an island, where we pitched our tent in a willow grove,
and endeavored to dry ourselves. The evening meal consisted of
salted white-fish and tea. We now discovered that Scratchett
had availed himself of the confusion of our starting to appropriate
sundry spoons, and other articles of use and necessity, to his own
advantage. Although of iron, the loss was as great as if they had
been of gold ; for who can eat bread and tea without a spoon ?
We had just two left, and our Indians must take turn and turn
about in using them. Another loss which we all regretted was
three pounds of sugar, which I had purchased with a shirt, of the
individual above mentioned. It is to be hoped that he has duly
repented in his subsequent retirement.
Several canoes had followed us through the ice in fear and
trembling. Their inmates, camped near us, presented a melan-
choly spectacle. A woman whose long upper garment consisted
of white cotton, with her hair streaming down her back, resembled
a drowned rabbit ; and an old man seemed to have received a
more thorough washing than for many years previous. We were
all very wet, but our clothing repelled the rain much better than
deerskins or cotton drill.
Blessed be the man who invented rubber blankets ! Mine, after
a season in the Lake Superior region, did noble service, as well as
Whymper's, which he had obtained in British Columbia. Laying
them down on the mud in which our camp was situated, only
covered by a little willow brush, we spread out our blankets, and
were soon at rest. The Indians, except Kurilla, who, as coxswain,
slept in our tent, made their tent out of a great sheet of drill, after
their own fashion. Bending down the tops of several slender wil-
lows, they crossed them in different directions, and spreading the
covering over that, the whole was nearly circular. It was always
a marvel to me how they could lie down in it, it was so small.
After all got inside, the edges were carefully tucked in and the
mosquitoes effectually excluded.
The rain prevented the latter from being very troublesome, and
we slept comfortably.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 77
The brown Miocene sandstones before mentioned are suc-
ceeded here by blue sandstones, which at Nulato lie below them.
The latter contain few fossils, — mostly sycamore leaves (Pla-
tanus), and other vegetable remains.
Monday, May 2jth. — Starting about three o'clock in the morn-
ing, we soon passed the Russians, who had gone a little farther
in the night and camped above us. We passed through a small
slough or pratoka between some islands. About ten o'clock we
arrived at a fine bluff near the mouth, of the Koyukuk River, a
landmark in this part of the country, and known as the Koyu-
kuk Sopka. Here is a small Koyukun village, where we stopped
and took tea. I bought a large pike (Esox estor) and a quantity
of dry reindeer meat.
After passing the Sopka the river is very winding, and we
frequently crossed it in order to shorten the distance. When in
doing so we came to the main channel, it was a hard tug to
cross it, and we invariably lost ground, sometimes as much as a
mile.
On rounding a turn in the river we saw a large number of
canoes lying near the bank and a crowd of dark figures on the
shore. These proved to be Koyukuns, who proposed to ac-
company us. Ivan the tyone, Larriown, and a handsome fellow
in a red shirt, named " Cousin " by Ketchum on his last season's
trip, accosted us with gesticulations of welcome. As rain threat-
ened, and we wished to keep our provisions dry, we camped in
the best place we could find among the dense thickets of willows
which line the shore everywhere. There were a few hills in the
distance, but no mountains. The foliage was not fully out, but
the delicate green of the young leaves made the river banks very
beautiful. Close to the water grow willows and alders. A little
farther back are belts of broad-leaved poplars (P. balsamiferd),
and on the dry ground spruce (Abies alba), growing to a very
large size and mixed with aspens (Populus tremuloides\ whose
light-colored bark and silvered leaves contrast finely with the
dark evergreens. On the rocky bluffs a species of juniper is
abundant, crawling over the rocks, but not rising from the soil.
On the left bank, which is everywhere low, the willows and
poplars appear to predominate. The banks in many places are
undermined by the rapid current, and frequently fall into the
78 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
river in large masses, with the trees and shrubs upon them,
startling the unaccustomed ear with a noise like thunder.
The ground where Ketchum camped the previous year, accord-
ing to Kurilla, was under water; we had ^camped on a low island
somewhat in advance of the Russians. The Koyukuns brought
their stores of dried meat and fat, and I purchased about fifty
pounds of the former. The tariff of prices was high, compared
with what we had paid for the same things on the coast./ We
gave five loads of powder for a duck, seven for a goose, if fat ;
five balls or a small bundle of leaves of Circassian tobacco, called
by the Russians a papodsh, for a beaver-tail ; six to eight balls for
the dry breast of a deer ; four or five for a deer's tongue ; and
for fat, especially the marrow of the long bones of the reindeer,
whatever would buy it, usually a pretty high price. \ A ball, a
charge of powder, or two caps, are the units of trade, and will
buy almost anything. Knives, beads, flints and steels, needles,
small looking-glasses, handkerchiefs of various colors, woollen
scarfs, and cotton drill or calico are all useful, but tobacco and
ammunition are the great staples.J The Circassian or Cherkatsky
tobacco, imported only by the Russians, and exceedingly strong,
is the prime favorite where the Russians trade ; but those who
deal more with the English at Fort Yukon like the long natural
Kentucky leaf best. The latter we used for our own smoking,
obtaining an excellent article from the Russians for thirty cents a
pound.
Swans, brant, and sandhill cranes were seen, the former abun-
dantly. Ivan Pavloff sent me two eggs of the white-cheeked
goose (B. leucopareid), which were found on a bit of sandy beach
near the camp, and every step added some new plant, insect, or
bird to our collections. The Koyukuk Sopka is composed of a
soft crystalline rock apparently unstratified.
In this kind of journey, sluggards are out of place. We
allowed ourselves but four or five hours for sleep, and after a cup
of tea continued on our way.
Ttiesday, 2%th. — Ivan the tyone, and old Wolasatux came along
in their little canoes with some half-dried fish for sale, which
we purchased for our Indians. Passing through a narrow pra-
toka between two islands and the shore, we came to a solitary
Indian house, quite empty. On the hillside near it stood a
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
79
solitary grave. A little fence of white spruce stakes was built
around it, and from several long poles streamers of white cotton
were floating. Kurilla said that it was the grave of an Indian
who had died in the previous fall, and that the house was occu-
pied by his wife, who spent all her time (except when procuring
food) in watching the grave, and devoting all her property to the
purpose of adorning it. The house looked neat and clean, the
hillside was green, and the sun shone brightly on the lonely
grave, as we passed by on the other side of the pratoka. Just be-
yond, a perpendicular and solitary bluff fronted the river. Close
to its face rushed the swift current, with its burden of driftwood,
at the rate of seven knots an hour. There was no backing out :
we had to cross here. The swift part of the current appeared to
be narrow. The canoes first essayed it, and were swept like
straws a mile down stream in the twinkling of an eye.
This made us careful. We kept close to the rock, where there
was a little slack water, and then, driving our paddles into the
water with a will, we passed the current, and reached the op-
posite bank, not more than a quarter of a mile below. Waiting
to rest, we saw the Russians kill a beaver in the water, and then
cross the stream with about the same success as ourselves. Con-
tinuing on our way, about six o'clock we stopped to boil the
chynik and to rest. Ivan Pavloff was invited to take tea with us.
Sugar being a very scarce article in this country, it is usually
boiled with water into hard cakes, which, when properly done,
are not affected by the weather. Soft sugar will waste away
imperceptibly with the dampness. The orthodox way is to take
a fragment of this hard sugar, bite off a small piece of it, and
drink your tea without putting any into it. This is much more
economical, and is hereby recommended to boarding-house keep-
ers. I was much amused by observing Pavloff, who after finish-
ing his tea replaced the lump from which he had been biting in
the common sugar-box.
About ten o'clock we came to a very wide part of the river,
where the Russians lay to for a while, and fired a small boat-gun
which they carried in their bidarra. This was to notify the In-
dians, if any were in the vicinity, that the Russians were ready to
trade ; but none made their appearance, and the bidarra soon con-
tinued on its way. On a low sand-bar, where the sun poured
So THE YUKON TERRITORY.
down with double force, and mosquitoes hummed in myriads, we
also found an old man and his old wife. I afterwards heard that he
had a young one. His hair stood out in every direction where it
was not matted down by dirt. His clothing hung in the filthiest
rags, and. his voice sounded like that of a fishhawk with a cold.
His name was Ooskon, or Rabbit, and it was stated by Kurilla
that he was noted for his good-humor and generosity. He might
have given away all his clothes, which would account for his ap-
pearance. His wife was his duplicate, except that she was silent,
which is an excellent thing in women. The old fellow brought
me a gull's egg, which I gratefully accepted, wished to sell me
some fish, which I respectfully declined, and finally brought out
two stuffed skins of the beautiful northern phalarope, which I
purchased, as they were in very fair condition. I afterwards
discovered they were stuffed with a very sweet-scented grass.
On pointing this out to Wolasatux, he shook his head gravely,
and said, " They are rotten ! " These Indians have no apprecia-
tion of sweet odors. The wild rose (Rosa cinnamomea), which is
one of the few fragrant flowers to be found on the Yukon, is
called among them by an untranslatable name, on account of its
perfume. The only odor they appreciate lies hidden in the steam
arising from the soup-kettle.
Rain coming on, we camped on a steep bank, and the Russians
followed our example.
I afterwards added a green-winged teal and hooded grebe
(Podiceps cornutus] to our collection. A high sandy bluff near
our camp was full of the nests of the bank swallow. It seemed
like a gigantic honeycomb swarming with bees, as the light-
winged swallows darted about. The eggs are white, and are
laid on a few very fine twigs, which keep them off the sand.
I counted nearly eight hundred holes, all of which seemed to be
occupied. I obtained from the Indians quite a number of ducks
and geese for our kettle.
Wednesday, 2tyh. — We broke camp about five o'clock in
the morning. Nothing occurred to break the monotony of con-
stant steady paddling. Two Indians in the bow of the boat
would row until tired, and then we would stop for a few minutes
to rest, and let them smoke. The last operation takes less than a
minute : their pipes are so constructed as to hold but a very
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
PIPES.
A. — Kutchin. C. — Koyukun.
B. — Innuit. D, E. — Chukchee.
small pinch of tobacco. The bowl, with ears for tying it to
the stem, is generally cast out of lead. Sometimes it is made of
soft stone, bone, or even hard wood. The stem is made of two
pieces of wood, hollowed on one
side, and bound to the bowl and
to each other by a narrow strip
of deerskin. In smoking, the
economical Indian generally cuts
up a little birch wood, or the in-
ner bark of the poplar, and mixes
it with his tobacco. A few rein-
deer hairs, pulled from his parka,
are rolled into a little ball, and
placed in the bottom of the bowl to prevent the contents from
being drawn into the stem. A pinch of tobacco, cut as fine
as snuff, is inserted, and two or three whiffs are afforded by it.
The smoke is inhaled into the lungs, producing a momentary
stupefaction, and the operation is over. A fungus which grows
on decayed birch trees, or tinder manufactured from the down
of the poplar rubbed up with charcoal, is used with flint and
steel for obtaining a light. Matches are highly valued, and
readily purchased. The effect of the Circassian tobacco on the
lungs is extremely bad, and among those tribes who use it many
die from asthma and congestion of the lungs. This is principally
due to the saltpetre with which it is impregnated. The Indian
pipe is copied from the Eskimo, as the latter were the first to
obtain and use tobacco. Many of the tribes call it by the Eskimo
name. The Kutchin and Eastern Tinneh use one modelled after
the clay pipes of the Hudson Bay Company, but they also carve
very pretty ones out of birch knots and the root of the wild rose-
bush. The Chukchees use a pipe similar to those of the Es-
kimo, but with a much larger and shorter stem. This stem is
hollow, and is filled with fine birch shavings. After smoking for
some months these shavings, impregnated with the oil of tobacco,
are taken out through an opening in the lower part of the stem,
and smoked over. The Hudson Bay men make passable pipe-
stems by taking a straight-grained piece of willow or spruce,
without knots, and cutting through the outer layers of bark and
wood. This stick is heated in the ashes, and by twisting the
6
82
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
ends in contrary directions, the heart-wood may be gradually
drawn out, leaving a wooden tube. The Kutchin make pretty
pipe-stems out of goose-quills wound about with colored porcu-
pine quills. It is the custom in the English forts to make every
Indian who comes to trade, a present of a clay pipe filled with
tobacco. We were provided with cheap brown ones, with wooden
stems, which were much liked by the natives, and it is probable
that small brier-wood pipes, which are not liable to break, would
form an acceptable addition to any stock of trading-goods.
For the first time we were able to use our sail, as a fair wind
sprang up in the afternoon, and for a short time we made excel-
lent progress.
About five o'clock we camped at a place where in summer the
Indians have a fishery, and which is called Kamen-sikhter.
Thursday, $otk. — The sealskin of which the bidarras are made,
by long continuance in the water becomes soft and unsound.
Hence, as the weather continued rainy, we decided to lay over
a day, take the boat out of the water, dry and oil it ; the Rus-
sians doing the same with their bidarra. During the interval,
many additions were made
to our collections. I ob-
served a fine-looking Ko-
yukun, called Toho-nidola,
who wore a mantle made
of a dressed deerskin. It
was cut to a point behind,
and into fringes around
the edge. It was orna-
mented with a few beads,
hanging in short strings,
and was colored on the
inside with red ochre ;
making a very graceful ar-
ticle of apparel. The breeches had the moccasins continuous
with the leg, and were heavily embroidered with large black and
white beads. The pattern universal among the Koyukun men
consists of a band of beads in front, from the thigh to the ankle,
a short one crossing it at the knee. At the ankle the long band
bifurcates, and the two ends, after reaching the sides of the foot,
Tohonidola.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 83
continue all around its edge, except over the heel. The pattern
for females is similar, but the perpendicular band on the leg is
omitted. The Koyukun male parka has been described. The
pattern of ornamentation is a broad band of beadwork across the
breast and back, and over the shoulders, with fringes on the
pointed ends, and a few short tails of beadwork in front and on
the sleeves. The female parka comes below the knee, and is cut
round like an ordinary dress, but a little shorter in front than
behind. They are ornamented with a similar band around the
shoulders, sometimes one around the wrist, and one around the
edge of the skirt in lieu of fringes. Before the "introduction of
beads by the Russians, this work was done in porcupine quills,
often in very tasteful patterns, and among the Tendn Kutchin, or
Tananah River Indians, this practice still obtains White and
black or brick red are the only colors I have seen used on cloth-
ing, and they are always embroidered in alternate bands. Other
beads, of various colors, in strings seven feet long, are valued
by the natives as property, having a fixed value of two marten-
skins a string. They pass from hand to hand, much as we use
money. Small beads, of various kinds, are much in demand
among the women, who use them as ornaments for their children.
Strong beads, over which the hand passes smoothly, are the only
kind suited for fur-trading. Red, black, white, dark blue, and
amber are the desirable colors.
Friday, $ist. — Making an early start, we passed a point
known as Sakatalontan, about half past three in the morning.
Large stacks of driftwood, as big as houses, came floating down
in the current, and great care was necessary to avoid collision.
These were piles of logs thrown upon sandbars by previous
freshets, which the unusually high water had floated off entire.
We passed many low bluffs of blue sandstone and a few gravel-
banks. Tom found a mallard's nest on the bank, with nine eggs
in it, which were devoted to an omelet, after carefully emptying
the shells with a small blowpipe. We camped on a high bank
without taking the tent out of the boat, as the night was remark-
ably pleasant and the mosquitoes unusually quiet.
Saturday, June 1st. — The next morning at one o'clock we
were on our way again, working hard against a strong current.
The sandstones were now succeeded by conglomerate and meta-
84
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
morphous quartzose rocks. Many butterflies, including the fa-
miliar swallow-tail (Papilio Turnus), and another species some-
what similar (P. Aliaska), were hovering over the surface. Upon
mentioning that I would give a needle apiece for good speci-
mens, a commotion was aroused amongst the little fleet of birch
canoes which accompanied us. All was excitement, paddles were
flourished in the air, the light canoes darted about after the
slowly sailing, unsuspecting butterflies, and the result was a
considerable number of passable specimens. I saw, also, several
wax-wings (Ampelis garrulus) in the bushes along shore, and
obtained a sandhill crane. A fair wind sprang up and sent the
Mt. Hohonila from the Melozikakat.
Russians scudding around a six-mile bend under their large sail.
Our boat proved a very slow sailei, the wind soon dropped, and
we had to pull all the way around the bend.
After camping we employed Larriown's wife to sew up some
cuts in the sealskin of our bidarra. These were made by the
constant stream of driftwood ; but when sewed up and the seam
well rubbed with tallow, the boat was as tight as ever. The
skin was old and very rotten, so that we had to exercise the
utmost precaution in landing and in avoiding driftwood or rocks.
Sunday \ 2d. — About ten o'clock the next day we took our
tea at the mouth of the Melozikakat or Clear River. From this
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 85
point a fine view may be had of a mountain which rises per-
haps two thousand feet above the river, and is known to the In-
dians as Hoho-mla. The upper portion still retained snow in
many ravines, though later in the season it disappears entirely.
The mosquitoes were exceedingly troublesome. The night had
ceased to be dark, as the sun remained only about two hours
behind the high hills which shut out the horizon.
Monday, ^d. — Passed the Uka-wutne or " Look-and-see-it "
River. It is a small stream. Near its mouth the Yukon is very
broad and full of islands. About noon the sun was so scorching
(90° in the shade) that we pulled into the bank and rested for a
couple of hours. We then proceeded to the point on the right
bank where the Russians had camped, waiting the report of a
messenger who had been sent to the village of Nowikakat on the
left bank a few miles above. As he did not appear I turned in,
and had hardly got under the blankets, when I heard the well-
known voice of Larriown, who poked his ugly head into the tent,
saying there was plenty of dry meat and many Indians at Nowi-
kakat, and begging a little tobacco for his information.
I put on my boots and stepped out of the tent, around which
a number of Indians had gathered. The old Nowikakat tyone
was there, and one of the men who had gone up with Ketchum
suddenly appeared. He gave us the welcome information that
Ketchum and the party had reached Fort Yukon in safety, and
had started with open water for Fort Selkirk, having sent the In-
dians and six remaining dogs down the river in a bidarra made of
moose-hide.
Tuesday, ^th. — We struck our tent, broke camp, and started
for Nowikakat, in company with the Russians and Indians. We
hoisted the American flag over the blue cross and scallop-
shell of the Scientific Corps, and came into Nowikakat Harbor
with colors flying. We received and returned a salute of mus-
ketry, and, finding with difficulty a place among the myriads of
birch canoes where we could moor our boat, we pitched our tent
in the middle of the village. We informed the tyone, or chief,
that we were exceedingly tired, and must sleep before any trading
could be done. This was quite true, as I, for one, had slept but
about two hours out of the last forty-eight. We tied the flaps of
the tent closely, but even this did not prevent the Indians from
86 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
raising the edge of the canvas and peering in upon us with as
much curiosity and pertinacity as country boys at a circus After
a few hours' rest we rose and dressed. We could not keep out
the Indians, until we admitted the tyone, whose repeated orders
kept them outside for a time. He watched the process of washing
with great interest, from which I inferred that he did not indulge
in that luxury. He was very anxious that we should present him
with our brushes, combs, soap, and other articles for the toilet,
which we were obliged to refuse him ; but we made up to him for
the disappointment by presents of tobacco, powder, and ball. We
heard that Antoine Houle, the Fort Yukon interpreter, was at
Nuklukahyet with a trading party, and we desired to send a letter
to him ; but old Ivan, the tyone, prevented our doing so, by fright-
ening our messenger with an account of the danger of making
such a journey alone. For this piece of mischief he got a scold-
ing, which astonished him and made him less officious in future.
After breakfast, which we shared with the Nowikakat tyone,
we proceeded to business. Whymper was busy with his sketch-
book, and left the trading to me.
All accounts of the country between Nowikakat and Fort
Yukon agreed in representing it as a district where provisions
were very scarce, and so we had determined to provide them in
advance. I purchased, for seven fathoms of drill, three papooshes
of tobacco, and five balls, a birch canoe of the largest size, with its
paddles. From the abundant stores of dried meat and fat which
the Indians had laid in, I obtained about three hundred pounds
of dry deer and moose meat, clear moose fat in birch dishes, and
dried entrails of the deer, which were filled with fat of the best
kind. I was able to secure, besides, a large number of moose
and deer tongues, and dried moose noses, the latter making a
delicious dish when thoroughly boiled. We also succeeded in
engaging two more men to take this canoe-load of meat at least
as far as Nuklukahyet. A large number of birds'-nests, mouse-
skins, and other specimens of natural history, were also secured.
I had then an opportunity to make a few observations on the
place and its inhabitants.
Nowikakat Village is situated on a beautiful little enclosed bay,
into which the river of the same name enters, with several smaller
streams. This river is about one hundred miles long, and its
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 87
mouth is about one hundred and thirty miles from Nulato in
a direct line. By the Yukon the distance is considerably greater.
The head-waters are on the southeast side of the Nowikakat and
Kdiyuh Mountains, and, according to Indian accounts, a short
portage can be made to the head-waters of the Shdgeluk or
so-called Innoko River, or, by crossing the mountains, to the
Kaiyuh River. These portages are frequently made by the
Indians who trade with the Ingaliks.
A narrow entrance connects the basin with the Yukon.
Through this a beautiful view is obtained, across the river and
Looking out of Nowikakat Harbor.
through the numerous islands, of the opposite shore and the
Yukon Mountains in the distance. The feathery willows and
light poplars bend over and are reflected in the dark water,
unmixed as yet with Yukon mud ; every island and hillside is
clothed in the delicate green of spring, and luxuriates in a density
of foliage remarkable in such a latitude.
The village appeared to be a mere collection of huts, temporary
lodges, and tents ; one or two winter houses seemed as if long
deserted and rapidly going to decay. All these were crowded
together on a low bank, from which the willows seemed to have
been recently cut away. The shore was absolutely covered with
88 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
birch canoes. The dress of the Indians was similar to the
Koyukun, already described ; but a few specimens of fine bead-
work and fringed hunting-shirts showed the effect of English
intercourse. The guns were all English single-barrelled flint-
locks, while the Koyukuns are provided with double percussion
guns from the traders in Kotzebue Sound, through the Eskimo.
The principal supply of food seemed to be moose meat. Fish
was evidently scarce, and deer less abundant than near the coast.
As evening approached, Larriown the shaman, and his wife, were
called upon to exercise their art for the relief of a sick man who
apparently had not long to live.
The belief in shamanism is universal among the natives of
Alaska, Eskimo as well as Indians. Even the Aleuts, long
nominally converted to Christianity, still retain superstitious
feelings in regard to it. It is essentially a belief in spirits who
are controlled by the shaman ; who come at his call, impart to
him the secrets of the future and the past, afflict or cease
afflicting men by sickness at his behest, and enable him to
advise others as to seasons and places of hunting, good or evil
omens, and the death or recovery of the sick. These however
are not spirits who were once men.
Many Indians — in fact, all the Tinneh that I have conversed
with, who have not been taught by the English or Russian mis-
sionaries — do not believe in the immortality of man. Of those
who have a dim notion of the kind none have any idea whatever
of future reward and punishment, of any Supreme Power or Deity,
of good and evil in a moral sense, or of anything which can be
called a religion. Assertions to the contrary proceed from the
ignorance or poetical license of the author, or from an intercourse
with tribes who have derived their ideas from missionaries.
The support which the spiritual instincts of human nature
demand is met among the Indians by a belief in shamanism.
All animals, woods, waters, and natural phenomena such as the
aurora borealis or thunder and lightning, are supposed to be
either the abodes or the means of manifestation of spirits. The
latter have power and knowledge limited by their respective
spheres. The most powerful and beneficent of all are the ob-
jects of ridicule and contempt, as often as of fear or reverence,
in the Indian legends which relate to them. The whole relation,
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 89
between the Indians and these spirits as they believe in them,
is one of self-interest and fear. They preserve all bones out of
reach of the dogs for a year, when they are carefully buried, lest
the spirits who look after the beavers and sables should consider
that they are regarded with contempt, and hence no more should
be killed or trapped. Other singular superstitions, the result of
accident, some local incident, or unexplained coincidence, are
found to be peculiar to each narrow territory or small tribe.
The younger Indians look on these things with contempt and
ridicule ; it is only when starvation or sickness impends, or the
continued threats of some greedy shaman create alarm, that they
pay any heed to them. It is with age alone that these super-
stitions become firmly implanted in their minds. The strange
effects which firm belief and vivid imagination have frequently
produced among civilized and intelligent human beings are too
well known to require further confirmation. Hence it is not to
be wondered at among ignorant Indians, whose imagination is
untrammelled by knowledge of the simplest natural laws, that the
self-deluding frenzy of the shaman should, as it frequently does,
produce seemingly supernatural effects, which confirm his in-
fluence.
Among the Indians who frequent the trading-posts many may
be found who have imbibed a few indistinct ideas from Christian
theology, without renouncing their native superstitions, or gaining
any comprehension of the cardinal principles of morality or re-
ligion. It is from intercourse with such, that many of the popular
delusions about the " Great Spirit " of the Indians have arisen.
In the present instance, the Indians formed a circle around
a fire, near which lay the sick man wrapped in a dressed deerskin.
Larriown had donned a suit of civilized clothing, which he had
obtained from some trader. He wore a very large black felt hat
with a broad brim, and his wife had a similar equipment, so that
it was difficult to distinguish them. They walked in contrary
directions around the fire, gazing at it or into vacancy. At inter-
vals he uttered a deep bass sound between a shout and a groan,
which she answered in a higher key, both quickening their pace
and occasionally stopping short and shuddering convulsively from
head to foot. At last the responses were more rapid and assumed
a kind of rhythm ; the whole circle of Indians acted as chorus in
90 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
the intervals. In the midnight dusk the circle of tall swarthy
forms in strange apparel, the fitful gleams of firelight, the groans
of the sick man, and the mysterious writhing forms before him, all
united to give to the strange chorus an intensely dramatic effect.
Contortions which were almost convulsions shook those two
black forms, while the fiendish eyes of Larriown rolled until the
whites alone were visible. Between the spasms both made mes-
meric passes over the sick man, keeping time with the deep
monotonous chorus, which might well have been the despairing
wail of a lost spirit. The muscular contortions gradually grew
less violent, from sheer weakness. The ring of Indians gradually
broke up, the chorus ceased, and the ceremony was over.
Wednesday, $th. — We rose at five, and putting our meat into
the canoe and our baggage into the boat, we followed the Rus-
sians out of the basin. This is the only place on the Yukon
which appears to me safe for wintering a steamer, unless she were
beached. The ice descending in the freshets would at any other
point carry her away or crush her. The heat of the sun was so
great that we lay over from eleven until two, and rested in the
shade of some magnificent birches. Nowikakat is noted for the
beauty and good workmanship of the birch canoes made there.
The single canoes are easily carried in one hand. They are about
twelve feet long, just wide enough to sit down in, and have the
forward end covered for three or four feet with a piece of bark, to
keep water out. They are exceedingly frail. The frame is made of
birch wood steamed, bent, and dried. They are sewed with the
long slender roots of the spruce, and calked with spruce gum. The
bark is put on inside out, shaped, and sewed over a clay model just,
the shape and size of the proposed canoe. The regular price for a
single canoe is a shirt, or five marten skins. The paddles are of
the usual lance-head shape, with a ridge in the middle on each
side, running down to the point and strengthening the blade.
They are four or five feet long, with a cross-piece at the end of
the handle, and gayly colored with red ochre, blue carbonate of
copper, or a green fungus which is found in decayed willow wood.
The single canoe will carry a man and a bag of flour.
The large canoes are of the same shape, but will carry three
men and their baggage, in all about six or eight hundred pounds.
They are sometimes sixteen feet long, and do not turn up at the
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 91
ends, as the canoes of the Lake Superior Indians do, but are
straight, and furnished with a Y-shaped prow above the cut-
water. Each carries a dish of spruce gum, some extra pieces
of bark, and a bundle of spruce roots, to repair damages, which
frequently occur ; and a small framework of slats for the occupants
to sit on.
In the afternoon we were surprised to see a wreath of smoke
curling over the trees beyond a point on the river. The small
canoes immediately fell back ; and Ivan, with his usual cow-
ardice, called out to us to stop, for fear of hostile Indians. Dis-
regarding his warning, we took the lead, and saw a white man
and two Indians standing by a large fire. We supposed it was a
guide, or Antoine Houle himself, whom we had expected to join
at Nuklukahyet. It turned out to be a man from Fort Yukon,
who stated that he had left the fort on account of long-continued
ill-treatment, and that he had trusted to fortune to enable him to
escape from a tyranny which he had resolved to bear no longer.
He had started from the fort, with a little powder, a gun, and a
few bullets, in a small canoe, and had supported himself by kill-
ing game ; cutting up his bullets into shot, and when these
failed using gravel from the beach. He had just been upset,
lost his gun and everything except what he had on his person.
He had passed Antoine at Nuklukahyet, telling the latter that he
had been sent down with letters for us, as he knew from Ketchum
that we were coming up. Antoine had given him a letter which
Ketchum left for us, and was now on his way back to Fort
Yukon with the furs he had bought. The man gave his name as
Peter McLeod, and stated that he had been fourteen years in the
Hudson Bay Company's service. We called upon him and Ivan
Pavloff to join us at our noon-day meal, and treated them to
bacon, biscuit, and tea. He assured us that he had not tasted
bread for four years.
Assuming his story to be true, we could not advise him to
return. I furnished him with trading-goods sufficient to purchase
provisions until he should arrive at Nulato. PavlofF, with his
habitual generosity, insisted on furnishing him with a blanket,
to replace that which he had lost, a flint and steel to obtain fire,
and an order to Yagor to feed him until his return. We all
united in wishing him a safe arrival, and in supplying him with
92 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
such necessaries as we could spare, and then continued on our
way.
Thursday, 6th. — We passed through an exceedingly long pra-
toka, which was so winding and narrow that I suspected we
had got into a small river instead of a slough of the Yukon. We
had intended to travel by night and take our rest in the hot noon-
time ; but the sight of some fresh deer meat in the camp of the
Indians who had preceded us induced my companion to defer
this arrangement until we should leave the Russians at Nuklu-
kahyet. We therefore camped, and indulged in the luxury of
some hot venison steaks.
Friday, Jt/i. — We had hitherto been unable to use the track-
ing-line, except at short intervals ; but the slight fall in the water
had left a narrow beach, which we now availed ourselves of.
The little river tern, whose bright colors and graceful motions
cannot fail to attract the traveller's eye, was very common in this
part of the river. One of our men in tracking passed near one of
their nests, and the parents immediately attacked him. Swoop-
ing and returning, in long curves, they almost brushed his cap,
uttering loud cries, and keeping it up for several hundred yards.
At last, annoyed by their conduct, which he did not comprehend,
he brandished a large stick in the air. Even then they did not
rest until we were a quarter of a mile from their breeding-place.
I obtained a fine piece of black obsidian on the beach, and
noticed syenitic rocks for the first time in the Yukon territory.
Saturday, 8t/i. — About eleven o'clock the next day we reached
the mouth of the Tozikakat, which empties into the Yukon some
fifteen miles from Nuklukahyet. Here we boiled the chynik
and rested for a while. We usually sent one of the small canoes
up a little distance when we camped near a small river, in order
that we might obtain clear water for making our tea. The Yukon
water is full of sediment. The mosquitoes were exceedingly trouble-
some ; without gloves and a net nothing could be done. The
Indians always placed a dish of wet moss with a few coals in it
on the bows of their canoes ; this produced a smoke which kept
the insects away from the canoe when in motion. We smoked
them out of our tent, when camping, in the same way.
The mouth of the Tozikakat is obstructed by a bar, on which
lay piled hundreds of cords of driftwood.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 93
, To the east the broad mouth of the Tananah River was seen,
where it joins the Yukon. The latter curves abruptly to the left,
' and between them lies the low land, forming a point or island.
( This is Nuklukahyet, the neutral ground where all the tribes meet
in spring to trade. Behind it rose the mountains. Two summits
rose above the others, known by the Indian names of Mo-kldn-o-
klikh and Mont-klag-at-liri . The latter is really on the right bank
of the Yukon, and the former on the left, but from our point of
view this was not perceptible. At the junction the Tananah is
much broader than the Yukon, yet into this noble river no white
man has dipped his paddle.
Below the junction the Yukon attains a width of five miles at
least. A fair wind sprang up, and, as usual, the Russians left us
far behind. By dint of hard paddling, about half past five in the
afternoon we rounded the bluff opposite Nuklukahyet. Here we
found Pavloff, who, with unexpected consideration, was waiting for
us. We crossed together, with our flags flying. The Nuklukahyet
tyone, who had been at Nulato during the winter, hailed us from
the beach. Pavloff answered him, and we landed, drew up our
boats, and prepared to go through the ceremony for such cases
made and provided. We formed in line, with blank charges in
our guns. The Indians did the same. They advanced on us
shouting, and discharged their guns in the air. We returned the
compliment, and they retreated to repeat the performance. After
ten minutes of this mock fight the tyone appeared between us.
He harangued the Indians, who answered by a shout. Turning
to us, he informed us that we were now at liberty to transact
our business.
Antoine and his Indians had left for Fort Yukon two days be-
fore. There was little or nothing to eat at Nuklukahyet. Some
men had been sent by the tyone after moose, and meanwhile the
annual dances which take place here were performed on empty
stomachs.
The tyone came in with a little dish of fat as a present. He
regretted that there was nothing better to offer us, and gave us a
note which Ketchum had written during the winter; in it he re-
quested that we would give the tyone, who had materially assisted
him, any powder and ball we could spare. The powder and ball
furnished by the Company was exhausted at Nowikakat, but I
94
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
made him a present of a can of powder and forty balls from my
own private supplies, and asked him to keep a little meat for us
when we should return, which he promised to do. He was a
rather good-looking Indian, possessed a good deal of intelligence,
and was younger than any other tyone we had seen. He wore an
English hunting-shirt of red flannel, ornamented on the shoulders
with large pearl buttons, and fringes of mooseskin. Around his
waist was a long Hudson Bay sash. He wore moccasins, and
mooseskin trousers cut in the English fashion, with fringes down
Young Nuklukahyet tyone.
the outside of the leg, and blue leggins tied with a band of bead-
work below the knee. His black glossy hair was cut straight
around the neck, and parted a little on one side. Altogether,
he appeared much cleaner and more attentive to dress than
any of the Indians of the Lower Yukon.
All these Indians paint their faces. Black is obtained by rub-
bing charcoal and fat together. Vermilion is purchased of the
traders, and supplies the place of the red oxide of iron which they
formerly used. I saw one who appeared to have used graphite,
or plumbago, on his face, but on examining the article itself it
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 95
proved to be micaceous oxide of iron, and was said to be obtained
on the banks of the Tananah.
They wear an ornament made of dentalium, the sookli of the
Russians, and "money-shell" of American traders. It is here
Nose ornament of the Yukon Indians.
represented of natural size. A hole is pierced through the skin
of the nose, below the cartilage, when very young. Women
and men alike wore it ; while at Koyukuk we noticed it only
among the women.
These Indians are fond of ornaments, and among other things I
noticed in use as such were necklaces of bears' claws and teeth,
sable tails, wolf ears, bands of beads and dentalia, embroidery of
dyed porcupine quills, small ermine skins, hawk and eagle feath-
ers, beavers' teeth (with which they whet their knives), and the
bright green scalps of the mallard. Some wore hoops of birch
wood around the neck and wrists, with various patterns and fig-
ures cut on them. These were said to be emblems of mourn-
v ing for the dead.
- I "noticed several graves in which the dead were enclosed, in a
standing posture^ in a circle of sticks squared on four sides and
\ secured by hoops of green wood, thus looking much like a cask.
\From the sticks hung strips of cloth and fur.
s< In the afternoon we witnessed one of their dances. The spec-
tators formed a circle around two men who were the performers,
and joined in the usual monotonous chorus of " Ho, ho, ha, ha," &c.
The dancers were stripped to the waist, and held in each hand
eagles' feathers tipped with bits of swan's-down. Their heads
were shaved, and bound with fillets of feathers. The dance con-
sisted in motions of the head, arms, legs, and every muscle of
the body in succession ; putting themselves in every imaginable
posture, joining in the chorus, and keeping exact time with it and
with each other. I could not find out its emblematic meaning.
We engaged two Indians to take the canoe of meat to Fort
Yukon. One of them, whom we had called Bidarshik, had come
with us from Nowikakat. The other was a wild specimen of the
Nuklukahyet tribe, whom we decided to name Dick. A number
90 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
of others indicated their intention to travel with us to Fort
Yukon and trade there. One of them had been employed by
Ketchum the previous summer. About three o'clock in the
afternoon we left Nuklukahyet and the Russians behind us,
receiving a salute from them, which we duly returned.
The river was becoming deeper and narrower, and the hills
were rising and approaching more closely to the Yukon, as we
ascended. Late in the afternoon a sunken rock cut a hole in the
In the Ramparts.
bidarra, and we halted for repairs. On account of the extreme
heat we now decided to travel by night and camp in the hottest
part of the day.
Monday, iot/1. — We entered, about three o'clock in the after-
noon, between high bluffs and hills rising perhaps fifteen hun-
dred feet above the river, which here was exceedingly deep
and rapid and not more than half a mile wide. The bends
were abrupt, and the absence of sunlight and the extreme quiet
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
97
produced a feeling as if we had been travelling underground.
The appropriate and expressive English name for these bluffs is
" the Ramparts."
We were approaching the so-called Rapids of the Yukon, of
which we had heard so many stories. The Russians had pre-
dicted that we should not be able to ascend them. The Indians
joined in this expression of opinion, and had no end of stories
about the velocity of the current and the difficulty experienced in
Looking back at the Rapids,
ascending them. We all felt a little anxious, but were confident
of overcoming the supposed difficulty in some way. We met
some Indians and obtained a little fresh meat. About midnight
we arrived at the Rapids. The river is very narrow here, and
the rocky hills rise sharply from the water. The rocks are
metamorphic quartzites, and a dike or belt of hard granitic rock
crosses the river. The fall is about twelve feet in half a mile.
The rapid current has worn the granite away on either side,
7
98 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
forming two good channels, but in the middle is an island of
granite, over which the river rushes in a sheet of foam during
high water. There are several smaller " rips " along the shore,
especially near the left bank, but nothing to interrupt steamer
navigation, except the very rapid current.
Several Indians attempted to ascend in their small canoes.
We saw them reach a point just below the island, and by dint
of the hardest paddling keep stationary there a few minutes ;
when, their strength being exhausted, away went the canoes
down stream like arrows.
We joined our tracking-line with several rawhide lines belong-
ing to the Indians, and by keeping close to the rocks succeeded
in tracking over the worst part without much difficulty. Taking
our seats again, we had a hard pull to pass one jutting rock, and
our troubles were over. We then enjoyed a well-earned cup of
tea, and took a parting glance at the Rapids from above. From
this point only a broad patch of foam in the middle of the river
indicated their existence.
Tuesday, nth. — Coal has been said to exist in this vicinity,
but erroneously. There are no sandstones or other fossiliferous
rocks, and the granite is immediately succeeded by quartzites.
I found plenty of wild garlic on the rocks, and currant and goose-
berry vines in blossom. The Indians were attended by numerous
little dogs, which ran along the shore, following the canoes, and
sometimes swam across the Yukon two or three times in a day.
These were excellent hunters, but too small to use with sleds.
During the day they dislodged a porcupine, of which I secured
the skull.
Several women were with their husbands, who intended to
leave them somewhere on the road until their return from trad-
ing. They were hideously ugly and dirty, — far worse than the
Koyukuns or Ingaliks whom I had seen. They took charge of
the large canoes with the baggage, while the husband carried the
furs in his small canoe. There were several babies, all very dirty,
but otherwise like most Indian babies. During the day they
were tied into a kind of chair made of birch bark and packed
with clean dry moss, which was changed when occasion required.
The object itself looked much like an ordinary willow baby-chair,
but had a projection in front between the child's legs, which came
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 99
up as far as its breast, and prevented its tumbling out when
untied.
It is remarkable that there are no terraces along the river, and
the flinty rocks show ice-markings only for a foot or two along
high-water mark.
Wednesday, \2th. — The water, which had fallen some two
feet, rose about six inches during the day. The Indians assert
that this second rise always takes place, and precedes the starting
of the salmon up stream. We passed a dead moose in the water,
and shortly after the Indians killed another, some of the meat
of which we purchased. Passed a wrecked canoe on some shoals.
The next day we passed the Yukutzcharkat River, which Cap-
tain Ketchum had called, on his sketch-map, the Whymper
River, in compliment to our friend and companion, Mr. Frederick
Whymper.
Thursday, i^th. — The long handle of our frying-pan having
broken off, as they invariably do in travelling, it had been bent,
so that it might be used to catch hold of the pan, put it on and
off the fire when hot, &c. We were much annoyed at finding
that our Indians had left it behind at the last camp. This may
seem trivial ; but it is no small undertaking to use a frying-pan
without a handle on an open wood-fire. Such accidents in an un-
inhabited country bring forcibly before the mind the great value
of many small conveniences which we never think of at home.
The night was spent in tracking around a very long bend, which
left us in the morning only a few miles in a direct line from the
point which we had left in the afternoon. We cut the skin of our
bidarra again, but pushed on, keeping her dry by bailing.
Bidarshik and Mikaishka, who kept in advance of us, killed a
large moose, and we were well supplied with fresh meat.
Friday, i^th. — Passed a very small stream called by the In-
dians Tdtsun-ikhtun> or " Caught-in-the-rocks." I found a fos-
sil skull of the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) on the beach. Wild
roses, snowballs, and gold-thread were in blossom on the hillsides,
and the: fragrant juniper scented the air. A fine bluff, with a
rocky face like a great staircase, marked the rnouth of the Tsee-
toht River on the right bank. After this the river begins to
widen, and numerous small islands occur.
Saturday, \^th. — The next day we left the mountains be-
100 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
hind us. Just beyond them the Notokakat, or Dall River of
Ketchum, enters the Yukon from the north. The latter river is
very broad at this point. We passed through some very strong
water. Not the least annoyance in this kind of travel is the con-
stant complaining of the Indians, unused to steady hard work
and ever ready to shirk, doing on principle the least they can.
Monday, I'jtk. — We enjoyed from our camp a fine view of the
end of the Ramparts and the intervening islands. Passed by
several deserted houses formerly inhabited by some Indians of
the Kutchin tribes, who all died five years ago of the scarlet fever.
This fever was introduced by a trading-vessel at the mouth of the
Chilkaht River. From the Chilkaht Indians it spread to those
of the Upper Yukon, and down the river to this point, where all
died and the disease spent itself. These are known to the Eng-
lish as the Small Houses, and the locality is an excellent one for
game and fish of all kinds. The women were left behind on an
island in the morning, and the Indians, relieved of the heavy
canoes, were already far in advance of us.
Tuesday, i8///. — One of the few who accompanied us fol-
lowed a cow-moose in the water until tired out, when he killed
her with his knife, and with some difficulty we towed her ashore.
We occasionally saw a black bear or a Canada lynx on the
bank. For several days we kept steadily on, little of interest
occurring. It was noticed that the trees began to grow smaller
and more sparse as we ascended the river. The sun hardly
dipped below the horizon at midnight, and his noontide rays
scorched like a furnace. The mosquitoes were like smoke in the
air. Through constant and enforced observation, I came to dis-
tinguish four kinds, — a large gray one, and another with white
leg-joints, a very small dust-colored one which held its probos-
cis horizontally in advance, and another small one which carried
its probe in the orthodox manner. All were distinguished from
the civilized species by the reckless daring of their attack.
Thousands might be killed before their eyes, yet the survivors
sounded their trumpets and carried on the war. A blanket of-
fered them no impediment ; buckskin alone defied their art. At
meal-times, forced to remove our nets, we sat until nearly stifled
in the smoke, and, emerging for a breath of air, received no
mercy. My companion's hands, between sunburn and mos-
THE YUKON TERRITORY. IOI
quitoes, were nearly raw, and I can well conceive that a man
without a net, in one of these marshes, would soon die from
nervous exhaustion. The mosquitoes drive the moose, deer, and
bear into the river, and all nature rejoices when the end of July
comes, and their reign is at an end.
Both banks had become very low and flat ; the region had a
dreary appearance. Only five snow-covered peaks, supposed to be
part of the Romantzoff range, rose above the level of the plains.
These are the only mountains near the Yukon, in Russian
America north of the Alaskan range, which bear snow through-
out the year.
The plain here described reaches to the shores of the Arctic
Ocean, broken only by a few ranges of low mountains near the
coast, of which the Romantzoff are the highest. To the eastward
it rises almost imperceptibly, attaining its highest elevation be-
tween the head-waters of the Porcupine and the left bank of the
Mackenzie. This table-land, somewhat broken and rocky, as seen
abutting on the Mackenzie River has the appearance of high
hills. These are the "mountains" of Richardson. There are
no true mountains north of the Yukon, except the Romantzoff.
Nothing of less than five thousand feet in height has a right to
,the title of mountain; but in the careless speech of the Hudson
Bay trappers and traders anything more than two hundred feet
/high is a "mountain."
Saturday, 22d. — After passing the Birch River of the Eng-
lish, called by the Indians Tohwun-nukdkat, we came upon a
' camp of the Kutcha Kutchin'. Camping here, I purchased a
number of fish, which they were catching and drying. There
were four or five men, a boy or two, and five women. All were
much finer-looking than the Unakhatana we had left behind us
at Nuklukahyet. All wore many articles of English make ; one
of the women had a calico dress on. They had many dogs, all
of the black, short-haired, long-legged English breed.
The men wore the Hudson Bay moccasins, leggins, and fringed
hunting-shirts of buckskin, originally introduced by the English
traders, who obtained them from the tribes to the southeast.
They had abundance of the fine bead-work in which the French
Canadians delight, and which those women who frequent the forts
learn to excel in.
IO2 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
The next afternoon, when we awoke we found the old chief
from Fort Yukon waiting to see us. After a liberal present of
tobacco and a tin cup, he returned the compliment by a small
piece of very fat moose meat. The old fellow's name was Sakh-
ni-ti, which the traders have corrupted into Senatee. The heat
was so extreme that we deferred our start until half past eight
in the evening.
Sunday, 2$d. — We stopped for tea and rest twice ; and when
opposite the mouth of the Porcupine River we delayed a few mo-
ments, to set the colors and load our fire-arms. Rounding a bend
of the river, about noon we saw the white buildings of the fort on
the right bank, about a mile above the mouth of the Porcupine.
We gave them a hearty salute, which was returned by a fusillade
from a large crowd of Indians who had collected on the bank.
Landing, we received a cordial greeting from an old French Cana-
dian and two Scotchmen, who were the only occupants. The
commander and Antoine Houle were daily expected, with the
remainder of the men and the annual supply of goods from La
Pierre's house, by way of the Porcupine River.
We were shown to a room in the commander's house, where
we deposited our baggage ; and, after putting our boat and
equipment in safety, we turned in for a good nap.
The journey, exclusive of the time spent at Nowikakat and
Kamensikhter, had occupied less than twenty-seven days, and
the distance travelled we estimated as about six hundred and
thirty miles. In a straight line the distance from Nulato to Fort
Yukon is over four hundred and eighty miles.
We were much elated at the successful issue of our journey,
and I confess to having felt a pardonable pride in being the first
American to reach Fort Yukon from the sea.
This trading-post was founded by McMurray in the season of
18^6-47, and the original fort was a mile or more farther up the
river. The present fort was commenced in 1864, and at the
time of our visit needed only the erection of a stockade to com-
plete it. The cause of the change of location was the undermin-
ing and washing away by the river of the steep bank on which
the old fort was built. At this period, the old houses had been
removed, and some of the remaining foundation-timbers projected
far over the water.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 103
The present buildings consist of a large house, containing six
rooms, for the commander ; a block of three houses, of one room
each, for the workmen ; a large storehouse ; a kitchen ; and four
block-houses, or bastions pierced for musketry, at the corners of
the proposed stockade. Outside of the fort is a small house of
two rooms, belonging to Antoine Houle the interpreter.
All the houses were strongly built, roofed with sheets of spruce
bark pinned and fastened down by long poles. The sides were
plastered with a white mortar made from shell-marl, obtainable in
the vicinity. Most of the windows were of parchment, but those
of the commander's house were of glass. The latter was provided
with good plank floors, and the doors and sashes were painted
red with ochre. The yard was free from dirt, and the houses,
with their white walls and red trimmings, made a very favorable
comparison with any of those in the Russian posts.
The fort is situated about two hundred miles from La Pierre's
House, by the Porcupine River, the journey there and back being
performed in about twenty days. Further particulars in regard
to its geographical position will be found elsewhere. The inhab-
itants are all employes of the Hudson Bay Company. Most of
them are from the Orkney Islands and the north of Scotland,
while a few are French Canadians, with a mixture of Indian blood.
At this time the garrison consisted of Mr. J. McDougal the com-
mander, and six men, of whom four were Scotchmen. The Rev.
Mr. McDonald, a missionary of the Established Church, was also
expected with the boats.
The next day we got up a good breakfast, and invited the three
men who had received us. The repast consisted of flapjacks,
bacon, tea with sugar, and moose meat. As several of them had
been some years without tasting bread, it may be imagined this
was a rare treat to them. The fare for men and dogs at this place
is the same, i. e. dry moose meat alternating with dry deer meat,
occasionally varied by fresh meat of the same kind, and the slight
supply of game and fish which is now and then obtainable. The
trading-goods which are designed for this point take two years
in transportation from York Factory on Hudson Bay. ^x One
portage of over fifty miles has to be made, between Fort Mc-
Pherson, on Peel River, to La Pierre's House on the Upper Por-
cupine. Here the goods are carried on sleds in winter, across
IO4 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
the high, rough, and broken table-land between the two rivers.
On account of these difficulties in transportation, few provisions
are ever sent to this isolated post. These few find their way to
the table of the commander, or to the Indian tyones who bring
large quantities of furs to the annual trade. The men should re-
ceive three pounds of tea and six of sugar, annually, to flavor
their diet of dry meat; but I was informed that this supply was
exceedingly irregular, and often failed entirely.
The Indian chiefs often obtain a small present of tea, sugar, or
flour, but the latter is quite inaccessible to the men, except through
the favor of the commander. These men are allowed two suits
of clothes annually, if the supply holds out ; but for anything else
they must wait until the furs are all purchased, and then, if any-
thing remain after the Indians are satisfied, the men are allowed
to purchase. Even if by their own skill they trap furs enough \a
buy articles of clothing, the Indians still take the precedence./1.
They are allowed to purchase what they can from the Indians,
but must turn it all in to the Company, and, if they need it, must
buy it at Company's prices. The standard of value is the beaver-
skin. One " made beaver," as they express it, is worth two shil-
lings, or two marten skins. A man buys a dressed mooseskin,
to make moccasins of, at its regular value of two " made beaver,"
or four shillings. He cannot set his wife at work making mocca-
sins, but must sell it to the Company for what he paid the In-
dians, and buy it back for twenty shillings, which is the Company's
selling-price. If he does not do this he is liable to lose all his
past earnings which happen to be in the Company's hands, and
take a flogging beside from the commander. Every effort is
made, to make these men marry Indian wives ; thus forcing them
to remain in the country by burdening them with females whom
they are ashamed to take back to civilization, and cannot desert.
They perform a larger amount of manual labor for smaller pay
than any other civilized people on the globe.
The hardships and exposures to which they are subjected are
beyond belief. In fact, the whole system is one of the most exact-
ing tyranny ; and only in the north of Scotland could men of
intelligence be found who would submit to it. The systematic
way in which the white " servant of the Company " is ground
down below the level of the Indians about him, is a degrada-
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
105
tion few could bear. They are not even furnished with good
tools. The Hudson Bay axe is a narrow wedge, which an
American lumberman would reject with contempt. The Hud-
son Bay knives — at least such as I saw at Fort Yukon —
are so worthless that even the Indians prefer to buy files, and
Knife of Kutchin manufacture.
manufacture their own knives from them. The guns are all
flint-locks of the most miserable description ; and this rubbish
must be bought at treble its value by the Hudson Bay voy-
ageur, in a country where the axe and gun are a man's right and
left hands ! There is some comfort in reflecting that a few years
will put an end to this. Free traders already pass through the
greater part of the Hudson Bay territory without restraint, and
they will not be long in reaching a district so rich in valuable
furs as that of Fort Yukon.
The sun was so intensely hot that in the middle of the day we
could do nothing, but during the cooler hours much of interest
was added to my collection and my companion's portfolio. At
noon, out of the direct rays of the sun, one of Greene's standard
thermometers stood at 112° Fahrenheit. The men informed me
that on several occasions spirit thermometers had burst with the
heat. In the depth of winter the spirit falls sometimes as low as
sixty-eight and sixty-nine below zero, making a range for the
year of one hundred and eighty degrees Fahrenheit ! Neverthe-
less, potatoes, turnips, lettuce, and other hardy garden vegetables
mature during the short hot summer, and barley was said to have
succeeded once, but only reached a few inches in height.
We were very well pleased to hear from an Indian runner
that the boats were not far off. On the 26th of June, Messrs.
McDougal, McDonald, and Sibbeston arrived with the bateaux.
The latter were about forty feet long, nine feet beam, and drew
two and a half feet of water. They are well adapted to the
navigation of the Porcupine, which is full of shoals and sand-
bars, and they brought a load of nine thousand pounds each from
La Pierre's House.
I06 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
We invited the commander and Mr. McDonald to be our
guests for the day, and did our best to provide a good dinner.
We found them to be typical Scots, — quiet, reserved, cautious, but
hospitably inclined. Antoine Houle the interpreter, who arrived
with them, was of mixed French and Indian blood, and was a thor-
ough voyageur. More independent than most of the Company's
servants, he had his house to himself outside of the fort ; and
like many of his Indian cousins, deaf to the remonstrances of the
missionaries, had provided himself with one more wife than is
usual in civilized countries. This was the more excusable, as the
poor fellow suffered from ossification of the knee-joint, and could
do but little to help himself. His house was always open to
every one, and was a noted resort of the Indians, with whom he
was a great favorite. With them he could talk in their own
dialects, while the usual mode of communication between the
whites and Indians in this locality is a jargon somewhat like
Chinook, known by the name of " Broken Slave." The basis of
this jargon, which includes many modified French and English
words, is the dialect of Liard River. The native name of the
tribe called Slave is Acheto-tinneh, or " People living out of the
wind."
The next business for Mr. McDougal, after storing his goods,
was the annual trade. Every spring the Yukon, and other In-
dians who do not trade with the Russians, assemble at Fort Yukon,
there await the arrival of the boats with the new supply of tobacco
and goods, and then do their trading. After this is over, the furs
are put into a large press, which is a conspicuous object in the
'yard, and pressed into bundles weighing about ninety pounds
each. These bundles are covered with beaver-skins of the poorest
class, and are pressed so solid by means of wedges that, even if
dropped into the river, the water will not penetrate them. Each
bundle contains a certain number of marten or fox skins packed in
beaver ; they are bound with rawhide cut in strips known as
" babiche," and each bundle is called a " piece."
After the trade is over and the furs are packed, they are taken
in the boats to La Pierre's House, and the boats return empty.
Any remaining goods are laid aside, and sent down the river in
the following spring to Nuklukahyet. iDuring the remainder of
the year but little trading is done, and months pass without an
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
107
Indian visiting the fort. A certain amount of tobacco is distrib-
uted among the men, and a certain amount is cached, in order
that they may not be entirely without the article in the spring.
The flint-lock guns sold by the Hudson Bay Company are pre-
ferred by the Indians to percussion guns, as caps are not always
obtainable, while a flint may be picked up on any beach. These
guns are valued at forty marten skins. They cost five dollars
apiece, and the skins will average one hundred and fifty dollars
in total value.
. On the afternoon of the 2/th a shout was raised that the
Tananah Indians were coming. On going to the beach, some
Sakhniti.
twenty-five single canoes were seen approaching. The occupants
kept perfect time with their paddles, advancing in three platoons,
and passed over the water as swiftly and beautifully as a flock of
ducks.
Sakhniti, the chief of the Kutcha Kutchin, or Fort Yukon In-
dians, stood on the bank dressed in his gayest costume, with a
richly embroidered blue blanket wrapped about him. He hailed
the foremost canoes as soon as they were out of the current.
After a harangue of a few minutes a fusillade was commenced by
IO8 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
the Indians on shore, and returned by those in the canoes, after
which they landed. The Tenan Kutchin (people of the moun-
tains), or Indians of the Tananah, are known to the Hudson Bay
men as Gens des Buttes. They are without doubt the tribe of all
others which has had the least to do with the whites. No white
man has yet explored the river on which they live. We only know
that its head-waters are not very far from Fort Yukon, and that
its general course is parallel with the Yukon. It is represented:
as running between mountains, and obstructed with rapids and
cascades. The Tenan Kutchin are regarded with fear by the
adjacent tribes, and are doubtless a wild and untamable people.
Their numbers are supposed not to exceed one hundred and fifty
families. Of their mode of life nothing is known, except that they
obtain their subsistence principally by hunting the deer. No
women accompanied this party. They were all dressed in the
pointed parkies, which were once the universal male dress of the
family of Tinneh, and from which they have been called Chippe-
wayans, meaning " pointed coats." These coats were ornamented
in the same manner with beads or quills as the dress of the male
Koyukuns, already described. Their parkies and breeches were
smeared with red ochre. All wore the dentalium nose-ornament
previously noted. The most striking peculiarity about them was
their method of dressing their hair. Allowed to grow to its full
length, and parted in the middle, each lock was smeared with a
mixture of grease and red ochre. These then presented the ap-
pearance of compressed cylinders of red mud about the size of the
finger. This enormous load, weighing in some of the adults at
least fifteen pounds, is gathered in behind the head by a fillet of
dentalium shells. A much smaller bunch hangs on each side of
the face. The whole is then powdered with swan's-down, cut up
finely, so that it adheres to the hair, presenting a most remarkable
and singular appearance. The dressing of grease and ochre re-
mains through life, more being added as the hair grows.
The fat is soon rancid, and a position to leeward of one of
these gentry is highly undesirable. This method of dressing
the hair is peculiar to the men. Among civilized nations such
practices are confined to the fairer sex. The gulf between
pomatum with gold powder and tallow with red ochre is not as
wide as it seems at first sight ; and the addition of swan's-
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 109
down is a suggestion which is worthy of consideration by the
ladies.
/.- The tribes now represented at the fort, beside the Kutcha
= and Tenan Kutchin, were the following : the Natcht Kutchin,
^or Gens de Large, from north of the Porcupine River ; the
Vuntd Kutchin, or Rat Indians, from farther up the Porcupine ;
vthe Han Kutchin (wood people), or Gens de Bois, from the
K; Yukon, above Fort Yukon ; and finally, the Tutchone Kutchin
•\(prow people), or Gens de Foux, from still farther up the Yukon.
The tribes resembled each other in appearance and dress.
They all belong to the family of Tinneh, which is their name
for " people." Their habits of life differ somewhat according to
locality, but none have settled villages, — carrying their deerskin
lodges wherever food is most abundant.
Those who live in mountainous districts, hunting the active
deer from summit to summit, are notably the most savage and
unruly. Those who live by hunting the more phlegmatic moose,
which inhabits the lowlands, are much more docile. Their lan-
guages are similar in construction and roots, though not in
the forms of many words. The dialect of the Upper Tananah
assimilates closely to the Kutchin languages, while that spoken
near Nuklukahyet resembles more nearly the Ingalik. The
Tananah Indians brought the news of the body of a white man
having been found in the river below.
A sad event had happened at Fort Yukon in the early spring.
A young man named Cowley had been acting as clerk at the
fort, and at the time of the freshet was shooting geese on an
island across the river. He had crossed in a large canoe with
one of the men employed at the fort. He was a new arrival, and
not accustomed to the mode of life, and was therefore subjected
to many practical jokes from the old voyageurs. Wishing to
return, he could not find the canoe, and supposing that some trick
had been played upon him, the two embarked in a very small
single canoe and attempted to cross. The river was full of ice,
and nothing more was ever seen of them. The wrecked canoe
which we had passed in the Ramparts was doubtless the one in
question. The Rev. Mr. McDonald, being informed of the Indian
rumor, immediately started down the river with a companion, to
investigate the matter, and if necessary to perform the last rites
over the remains.
HO THE YUKON TERRITORY.
Among the chiefs at the fort was a man of remarkable intelli-
gence, who had been of great service to the whites on various
occasions. He went by the name of Red Leggins, and possessed
great influence among the Indians. I applied to him for assist-
ance in obtaining ethnological specimens and vocabularies, and
improved the opportunity by taking his portrait.
On the 2Qth of June we were called out by the Indians, who
said that Ketchum was coming. Two canoes were seen in the
distance, and before long we had the gratification of shaking the
hands of our fellow-explorers, and offering them our hearty con-
gratulations on the complete success of their arduous explora-
tions. They had arrived safely at the site of Fort Selkirk,
and brought back as a trophy a piece of one of the blackened
timbers which remained. They reported the river to be open to
navigation up to that point ; but just beyond it was a rapid,
where a portage would be necessary. The country was a fine
one, well timbered, abundantly supplied with moose and game,
and inhabited by friendly Indians. An enumeration of the ob-
stacles which they had encountered would be out of place here,
but it may fairly be said that only extreme patience, endurance,
indefatigable energy and courage, could have surmounted them.
They were principally, however, not such as would impede a
well-provided party of regular explorers. We " laid ourselves
out," in California parlance, to get up a good dinner for our
friends ; what with this and the interchange of news and informa-
tion, it was well into the next day before we sought our pillows.
Mr. McDonald returned, having determined the body to be
that of Ward, Cowley's companion. He had buried it near the
point where it was found.
After the trade, which occupied several days, we obtained
the necessary goods to pay our Indians for the trip. To those
who had come up with us from Nulato we gave each a gun ; the
Nuklukahyet man received a good capote ; and we gave a knife,
shirt, and powder-horn to Bidarshik.
Our diet while at the fort consisted chiefly of boiled dried
meat, which when cooked resembles in flavor and stringiness a
boiled skein of yarn.
Mr. McDonald during our stay performed several services
among the Indians. He was an earnest and well-disposed man,
RED LEGGINS.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. Ill
a fair type of most missionaries to the Indians. His discourses
were rendered into broken Slave by Antoine Houle. In the
.evening the Indians, old and young, gathered in the fort-yard and
sang several hymns with excellent effect. Altogether, it was a
scene which would have delighted the hearts of many very good
..people who know nothing of Indian character ; and as such will
doubtless figure in some missionary report. To any one who at
all understood the situation, however, the absurdity of the pro-
ceeding was so palpable that it appeared almost like blasphemy.
Old Sakhniti, who has at least eighteen wives, whose hands
are bloody with repeated and most atrocious murders, who knows
nothing of what we understand by right and wrong, by a future
state of reward and punishment, or by a Supreme Being, — this old
heathen was singing as sweetly as his voice would allow, and with
quite as much comprehension of the hymn as one of the dogs in
the yard.
Indians are fond of singing : they are also fond of tobacco ;
and for a pipeful apiece you may baptize a whole tribe. Why
will intelligent men still go on, talking three or four times a year
to Indians, on doctrinal subjects, by means of a jargon which can-
not express an abstract idea, and the use of which only throws
ridicule on sacred things, — and still call such work spreading
the truths of Christianity ?
When the missionary will leave the trading-posts, strike out into
the wilderness, live with the Indians, teach them cleanliness first,
morality next, and by slow and simple teaching lead their thoughts
above the hunt or the camp, — then, and not until then, will they
be competent to comprehend the simplest principles of right
and wrong. The Indian does not think in the method that
civilized men adopt ; he looks at everything as " through a glass,
darkly." His whole train of thought and habit of mind must be
educated to a higher and different standard before Christianity
can reach him.
The Indian, unchanged by contact with the whites, is in mind
a child without the trusting affection of childhood, and with the
will and passions of a man. Read by this standard, he may be
fairly judged. One fact may be unhesitatingly avowed : if he
can obtain intoxicating liquors he is lost. Neither missionaries
nor teachers can save him while it is within his reach. A general
112 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
glance at the condition of the American Indians at this time con-
veys only one idea, which is, that the trader outstrips all re-
straints and that the whole race is irrevocably doomed.
In dealings with them they appreciate justice, but do not prac-
tise it, and they respect the strong arm alone. It has often been
asked why the Hudson Bay Company has succeeded in its in-
tercourse with the aborigines without the misery and bloodshed
which has stained our western frontier. The inference has been
as often drawn that it was owing to the justice which was charac-
teristic of the Company's dealings with the Indians. That there
is no foundation for this opinion I propose to show.
In the first place, while the Hudson Bay traders have had few
contests with the Indians, still, in proportion to the number of
whites, full as many Indian outrages have taken place as in the
Western United States. The following from the pen of Bernard
R. Ross, Esq., of the Hudson Bay Company, is pertinent to the
question.* Speaking of the Eastern Tinneh, he says : —
"As a whole, the race under consideration is unwarlike. I have
never known, in my long residence among this people, of arms having
been resorted to in conflict. In most cases their mode of personal
combat is a species of wrestling, and consists in the opponents grasp-
ing each other's long hair. This is usually a very harmless way of set-
tling disputes, as whoever is thrown loses ; yet instances have occurred
of necks having been dislocated in the tussle. Knives are almost in-
variably laid aside previous to the contest. Some of them box tolera-
bly well ; but this method of fighting does not seem to be generally ap-
proved of, nor is it much practised. On examination of the subject
closely, I am disposed to consider that this peaceful disposition pro-
ceeds more from timidity than from any actual disinclination to shed
blood. These Indians, whether in want or not, will take the life of any
animal, however useless to them, if they be able to do so, and that they
can on occasion be sufficiently treacherous and cruel is evinced by the
massacre at St. John's, on Peace River, and at Fort Nelson, on the
Liard River. It may not be out of place here to give a brief account of
the latter catastrophe.
"In 1841 the post of Fort Nelson, on the Liard River, was in charge
of a Mr. Henry, a well-educated and clever man, but of a hasty tem-
per and morose disposition. While equipping the Indians in the au-
tumn he had a violent dispute with one of the principal chiefs of the
* From the annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 113
Bastard Beaver Indians resorting to the establishment, who departed
greatly enraged, and muttering suppressed threats, which were little
thought of at the time. In the winter a 'courier' arrived at the fort
to inform the whites that there were the carcasses of several moose
deer lying at the camp ready to be hauled, and requested dog-sleds to
be sent for that purpose. Mr. Henry, never in the least suspecting any
treachery, immediately despatched all the men and dogs that he could
muster. On their way out they met an Indian, who told them that they
had better turn back, as the wolverines had eaten all the meat. This
information, as it turned out, was given from a friendly motive ; but
fear of ulterior consequences to himself prevented the man from speak-
ing more plainly. The fort interpreter, who was of the party, took the
precaution to carry his gun with him, and when they drew near to the
path which led from the bed of the river to the top of the bank, where
the Indians were encamped, he lingered a little behind. On the others
mounting the ascent, they were simultaneously shot down, at one dis-
charge, by the natives, who were in ambush awaiting them. When the
interpreter heard the shots he was convinced of foul play ; he therefore
turned and made for the fort as quickly as he could, pursued by the
whole party of savages, whose aim was to prevent him from alarming
the establishment. The man was a famous runner, and despite the
disadvantage of small snow-shoes, which permitted him to sink more
deeply than the Indians, who, on their large hunting snow-shoes, al-
most skimmed over the surface of the snow, he would have reached the
houses before them, had not the line that confined the snow-shoe on
his foot broken. His enemies were too close upon him to allow time
for its repair ; so, wishing to sell his life as dearly as possible, he levelled
his gun at the nearest Indian, who evaded the shot by falling upon his
face, whereupon the whole party despatched him. After perpetrating
this additional murder the band proceeded to the fort, which they
reached at early dawn. A poor old Canadian was, without suspicion
of evil, cutting fire-wood at the back gate. His brains were dashed
out with their axes, and they entered the establishment, whose inhabi-
tants, consisting, with one exception, of women and children, were
buried in profound repose. They first opened Mr. Henry's room,
where he was asleep. The chief pushed him with the end of his gun
to awaken him. He awoke, and seeing numerous fiendish and stern
faces around him, made a spring to reach a pair of pistols that were
hanging over his head ; but before he could grasp them, he fell a bleed-
ing corpse on the bosom of his wife, who, in turn, became a helpless
victim of the sanguinary and lustful revenge of the infuriated savages.
114 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
Maddened by the blood, they next proceeded to wreak their vengeance
on the innocent women and children, who expired in agonies and under
treatment too horrible to relate. The pillage of the stores was the
next step, after which they departed, leaving the bodies of the dead un-
buried. No measures further than the abandonment of the fort for
several years were taken by the Northwest Company, to whom the
establishment belonged, to punish the perpetrators of the atrocious
deed ; yet it is a curious fact that when I visited Fort Liards in 1849,
but one of the actors survived, all the others having met with violent
deaths, either by accident or at the hands of other Indians. This man,
who was at the time only a lad, confessed to have dashed the brains
out of an infant, taking it by the heels and swinging it against the walls
of the house."
This, and the long list of forts pillaged by the Indians or aban-
doned on account of their hostility * by the Hudson Bay Com-
pany, is sufficient to show that their occupation has not been
wholly peaceful. But little has been said of these outrages, as it
was evidently for the interest of the Company that they should
not be talked about.
It must also be noticed that the policy of the Company has
always been to put as few men as possible in these trading-posts.
A very few white men can go in safety where a large body would
instantly excite hostilities. After the fort has been in operation
for years, and a demand created for tobacco and other articles,
the Indians feel that it is to their advantage to have them there,
and the whites in small numbers no longer excite their jealousy.
Then, whenever a new post was established, the influential chiefs
were handsomely provided with presents, the whites in the fort
were kept in subjection to the extent already described, going
about in rags, while the Indians obtained broadcloth and clothing
of every description for their furs. This obvious superiority
pleased the vanity of the savage. Little or no retribution fol-
lowed the outrages previously mentioned. In some cases pres-
ents were plentifully distributed to appease their anger, and any
offence toward an Indian was severely punished. The self-re-
spect of the white man was sacrificed to the desire of obtaining
furs. Lastly, the most warlike and bloody tribes had been reduced
to comparative quietness in the early colonial wars.
* This includes Forts Selkirk, Pelly Banks, Dease, Frances, Babine, Peace River,
and others, — all burnt or pillaged and abandoned.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 115
On the other hand, the Indians of the western plains were
races more vigorous and active than their northern congeners.
They were met by large bodies of pioneers, bent on settling and
occupying the territory. Indian outrages, provoked or unpro-
voked, met with speedy return from the colonists, and matters
were still further complicated by the recognition of the hypo-
thetical authority of the chiefs by the government. Promises
were made by the former, of which they had not power to en-
force the fulfilment by the Indians, who were erroneously sup-
posed to obey them. The pernicious system of making presents
to the chiefs, the introduction by traders of intoxicating liquors,
and, above all, the failure of the government in any instance to
enforce respect by its strong arm, have created an animosity
which will die out only with the Indians themselves.
It would seem brutal to advise force as a civilizer, but the
Aleuts, who were thoroughly crushed and subjugated by the
early Russian traders, and subsequently by the Russian American
Company, are to-day the only large body of aborigines in America
who give any promise of ultimate civilization.
After the trade was over, we had an opportunity of looking at
the results. It was a sight seldom witnessed by others than
traders. The large loft over the store-house was literally over-
flowing with valuable furs. Among other trophies of the chase
were forty-five silver foxes. The commander confessed to five
thousand sables purchased the previous year. The men in the
fort said that the amount was nearer eight thousand, with half as
many beaver, and five hundred foxes of all kinds. Few otter, and
very few mink are obtained here, but black bearskins, dressed
mooseskins, and black and silver foxes are especially abundant.
The value of the furs annually obtained at this post cannot be es-
timated as less than fifty thousand dollars.
We decided to start down the river on the 8th of July. The
women in the fort were very busy filling orders for mocca-
sins, and other specimens of their work, which we designed for
friends below. I was indebted to one of the men for a fine
pair of otter-skin mittens, which have since done me good ser-
vice. Ketchum decided to take a small boy, Jean Baptiste by
name, who was well qualified to act as interpreter with several
tribes of Indians. He spoke comparatively little English, but
Il6 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
understood Canadian French, having a little Canadian blood in
his veins.
The commander coolly proposed to Ketchum that he should
kidnap, iron, and send back to Fort Yukon the unfortunate run-
away McLeod ! However, we let it pass without remark, for we
were under great obligations to Mr. McDougal for hospitality
shown us, and assistance rendered in paying our men. Ketchum
arranged it so that, in going back, Whymper and Mike should
take the bidarra, while he and I had each a large birch canoe,
with Indians fore and aft to paddle it. Having got everything
on board, we shook hands and bade our kind entertainers good
by. About two o'clock in the morning of the 8th we left Fort
Yukon behind us. A tremendous firing from the assembled In-
dians announced our departure, and we returned the compliment
to the best of our ability.
Travelling down stream is always easy. Our journey seemed
easier still as, in the broad channel, out of reach of the mosquitoes,
we drifted on without impediment at the rate of four or five miles
an hour. Points appeared, were passed, and faded out of view,
almost without our perceiving it ; while between them, going up,
we had passed many hours of hard paddling in the hot sun. No
sand-bars or shoal water obstructed our progress anywhere, ex-
cept where the swift current brought us close to the bank. We
tied our canoes together, and floated down, sometimes sleeping,
and often in a re very which recalled the lotus-eaters of the Nile.
We did not camp anywhere. We boiled the chynik and cooked
our meals ashore, and, pushing out into the broad stream, ate
them while calmly drifting with the current. Sometimes the
mosquitoes would try to follow us, and we could see them vainly
endeavoring to make headway against the fresh breeze usually to
be found in midstream. They were always unsuccessful, and we
discarded our nets and laughed at the discomfited insects. About
three o'clock in the afternoon of the gth we re-entered the Ram-
parts, and here, in the swifter current, our progress was more rapid.
Large fires were burning in the forests, and on the sides of the
hills. They had been kindled by some neglected camp-fire, and
spread rapidly over the mossy sod and leaves dried by the mid-
summer sun. The smoke hung over all the country, obscuring
everything with a lurid haze.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 117
About six o'clock on the afternoon of the loth we passed the
Rapids. The water had fallen, and we should not have known
the place but for the Indians. One of the party refused to believe
it. A long island of rock, smoothed by the water, divided the
river, which flowed smoothly but with great swiftness on either
side. The riffle which had attracted most of our attention had
been caused by an insignificant ledge of rock, now bare. The
difference between the level of the ice in winter and extreme high-
water mark, as indicated on the rocks, cannot be much less than
thirty feet. Some distance below we found the Nuklukahyet
-chief and his people fishing for salmon with large hand-nets.
-The little canoes sailed down stream with the current, the Indians
keeping in line like soldiers, and joining in a monotonous but not
^discordant chorus. At a given signal, all plunged their nets be-
low the surface, and on raising them a great salmon frequently
V- 'Was seen struggling in the meshes. In this case all joined in a
derisive shout and song. The dried meat which the chief had
promised was not forthcoming. A " cash " business is the only
'safe one with Indians. They never pay old debts, giving as a
reason that the articles purchased are already worn out.
We had a good deal of amusement chasing the young geese.
Their wing feathers not being grown, they could not fly ; but they
were very expert divers, and were beneath the water almost as soon
as the cap flashed. We obtained quite a number, and found them
very delicate eating. We passed numerous fishing-camps, where
the banks were red with the salmon, split and hung up to dry.
About eight o'clock on the evening of the 1 2th we arrived at
the bluffs above Nulato. Here old Yagorsha, the Yakut, was fish-
ing, and hailed us from the bank. He told us that the whole of
Russian America had been bought by an American company, and
that an American ship and steamer were already at the Redoubt!
The pleasure which we felt at this intelligence was marred by
doubts of its truth ; but, passing on, about ten o'clock we arrived
at Nulato. Here the air resounded with the discharges of cannon,
which welcomed our return. Indians and Russians vied in the
expenditure of gunpowder, and the enthusiastic Kurilla used up
all his ammunition in returning the salute.
Our delight was soon damped, however, by an incompre-
hensible order which awaited us. This instructed us to trans-
Il8 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
mit, without delay, all movable property belonging to the Tele-
graph Company to the Redoubt. Various rumors about the sale
of the country were current among the Russians. Nothing was
certain, and one of them remarked to me with a sneer, " Perhaps,
Gospodin Doctor, it is the Americans, and not the Russians, who
are about to march ! "
The Koyukuns occupied the beach, fishing, and with character-
istic insolence took fish out of the Russian nets before their eyes.
The latter were too few in number to resent the insult, the
bidarshik and two men being absent at the Redoubt.
We proceeded to carry out our instructions, purchasing the
large Russian bidarra, putting all the collections and other
valuable property aboard, and hiring six men to accompany us
to the sea-coast. Near midnight, July I5th, we started down
the river, full of anxiety, not knowing what changes were at
hand.
The river was lined with Indian fishing-camps laying in the
winter supplies of ukali. Had we possessed the necessary trad-
ing-goods and transportation, we might have bought thousands of
salmon.
On the night of the i/th we saw the first star visible since the
end of April. On the I9th of July, about eleven o'clock at night,
we felt a shock as if we had struck a snag. Next morning we
arrived at the Russian mission of the Greek Catholic Church.
There we learned that there had been an earthquake shock in
the night, of sufficient severity to throw down books and other
articles from the shelves on which they were placed. The priest,
or " Pope " as the Russians call him, with most of the Russians
who belonged here, was absent at the Redoubt. In this part of
the river the channel is deep enough for vessels of any size. It
is extremely broad, the low left bank being sometimes barely
visible. Sloughs and innumerable islands characterize this por-
tion of the Yukon.
The weather was much of it hot, cloudy, and disagreeable,
with occasional rain, forming a marked contrast to that which
we had experienced farther inland. The white-winged gull
(Larus leucopterus) replaces the familiar silver gull (L. argentatus)
of the Upper Yukon. On the morning of the 22d we saw numer-
ous leopard seal (iierpd) sporting in the river. Seal have been
THE YUKON TERRITORY. I 19
occasionally seen at Nulato, and on one occasion a white whale
or Beluga was killed only a few miles below Nulato, at least four
hundred miles from salt water. About five o'clock the same day
we reached the post of Andreaffsky, occupied by two men only,
one of them a native. The other received us as hospitably as his
means would allow, and spread us a repast of salted salmon and
bread. We made his heart glad by a present of some tea, as his
own supply was exhausted, and borrowed his assistant to guide
us to the Uphoon, or northernmost mouth of the Yukon, by
which the sea-coast is reached. A strong breeze arose, and we
scudded before it, reaching the Uphoon and dismissing our guide
about three o'clock the next morning.
About noon we reached a Russian house at Kutlik, whose in-
mates were absent at the Redoubt. Five channels leading in
different directions misled us, and we pulled nearly ten miles up
a small river, until the tide turned and we saw our mistake.
The next trial was more successful, and we soon reached Pastolik,
an Eskimo village opposite the Uphoon-mouth, where we camped
ashore for the first time since leaving Nulato.
The next morning we divided our load, hiring another bidarra
and some Unaligmut Eskimo to assist us in our voyage along the
sea-coast to St. Michael's. At noon we reached Point Romanoff,
the Cape Shallow Water of Cook. This is the only hill or land-
mark north of Cape Romanzoff on the coast. Here is a small
village of a few huts, where we purchased some fish and game.
About two o'clock in the morning of the 25th we reached
the southeastern entrance of the Canal between St. Michael's
Island and the mainland. Here we stopped and arrayed our-
selves in apparel more suitable for civilized society. We tracked
through the Canal, hoisted our flags, and bore away for the
Redoubt with a light wind. Here we arrived about noon of
July 25th, finding all the members of the exploring and con-
structing parties gathered to receive us. The news was soon
told.
The Atlantic cable was a triumphant success. The United
States were in negotiation for the purchase of Russian America.
Our costly and doubtful enterprise was abandoned, and the
bark Clara Bell was soon expected, to take all hands to San
Francisco. The ill-fed and hard-worked constructors hailed their
I2O THE YUKON TERRITORY.
deliverance with joy; but the weather-beaten explorers, with their
carefully matured plans for more thorough and extended explo-
rations during the coming year, felt a regret and disappointment
which could hardly be over-estimated, as with a few words these
prospects were destroyed. There was, of course, nothing to be
done but to pitch our tents on the beach, and there await the re-
turn of the vessel, now absent in search of the parties which had
been left at Grantley Harbor, Bering Strait.
CHAPTER IV.
Arrival of the vessel. — Arrange to remain in the country. — Departure of the Clara
Bell. — Mushrooms. — Plans for the season. — Start for Unalaklik. — The Major's
Cove. — Voyage to Kegiktowruk. — Description of the casine. — End of the old
bidarra. — Leave Kegiktowruk. — Crossing the bar of the Unalaklik River. — Send
back for the goods. — Trip to Ulukuk. — Death of Stareek. — Bears and bear-hunt-
ing. — Geological reconnoissance, and discovery of fossils. — Return to Unalaklik. —
Purchasing winter supplies. — Innuit of Norton Sound. — Tribes, physique, games,
kyaks. — Disposition, morality, marriages, and infanticide. — Treatment of the
women, and work allotted to the sexes. — Dress, labrets of the different tribes. —
Property, method of computation, and map-drawing. — Fire-drills. — Weapons of
bone, flint, and ivory. — Guns and trading. — Intercourse with Indians, and boun-
dary lines of their territory. — Shamanism. — Patron spirits. — Interment of the
dead. — Habits, and means of gaining subsistence throughout the year. — Dances
and festivals. — Arrival of my new bidarra. — Sudden illness, and departure for the
Redoubt. — Storm and detention at Kegiktowruk. — Proceed to the Redoubt
on foot. — Return to Unalaklik. — Kill a deer. — Cowardly abuse of the natives by
the Russians. — Kamokin and his barbarity to the sick. — Deaths in the village. —
Making dog-harness.
ALONG month passed by and brought no signs of the
ship. A party of seven bidarras, manned with Okeeogemuts
and other Bering Strait Innuit, arrived at St. Michael's. They
brought the news that the Grantley Harbor parties had safely
embarked, and departed. We began to fear that some accident
had happened to the vessel. Our daily walk was invariably to
the northeast bluff, whence we could look seaward. A pound of
tobacco was promised to the first person who should see the ship.
About three o'clock in the afternoon of the i8th of August an
old woman came breathless from the bluff, saying the ship was
coming. All started to confirm the report, which proved true, and
the venerable Martha was made the recipient of more tobacco
than she had ever before possessed.
It was the Clara Bell, and about eight o'clock she anchored in
the bay. I had by this time become pretty well versed in colonial
Russian, as spoken in the territory. I had also some knowledge of
the Innuit and Indian dialects, and understood the mode of life
122 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
necessary in the Yukon Territory. I had formed my plans, and
immediately took the opportunity of explaining them to Major
George M. Wright, adjutant of the Expedition, and now in charge
of all the men and materials which were to be shipped on board
the Clara Bell.
A pretty thorough reconnoissance had been made of the geology
and natural history of the Yukon above and at Nulato, and on
the shores of Norton Sound. The Lower Yukon and the delta
had yet to be examined. I felt unwilling that the plans of Mr.
Kennicott, so far carried on successfully, should be left uncom-
pleted. I therefore proposed to carry them out alone, and at my
own expense, and relied on Major Wright for the co-operation ne-
cessary to accomplish this arrangement. With his characteristic
politeness he agreed to do what lay in his power. He could leave
me no provisions, as they were already short of them. He could
sell me, at the Company's prices, a small amount of trading-goods,
and he would pay a certain proportion of the salary due me from
the Company into the hands of Stepanoff (the chief factor of the
Russian American Company at St. Michael's), who could furnish
me with some trading-goods and a limited supply of provisions ;
while for the rest I must depend upon the natural resources of the
country.
Explaining to Stepanoff that I had no desire to interfere with
the fur-trade, he expressed himself willing to co-operate with me,
and the proposed arrangement was carried into effect.
To my companions of the previous year, and to the officers of
the vessel, I was greatly indebted for many articles useful in the
country, and otherwise unattainable. The boy who had been
brought from Fort Yukon was left in my care to be sent home.
My mail was made up for transmission by the vessel to San Fran-
cisco ; the Reports on the Medical Department and the Scien-
tific Corps were placed in the adjutant's hands. The collections
of the previous year were also sent aboard. I depended, for the
means of reaching civilization again, on some passing trader or
the annual store-ship of the Russians. On the 23d of August
everything was concluded, and I went on board and bade all hands
good by. I returned, with the boy Johnny and Stepanoff, in the
Russian boat. About four o'clock in the afternoon the Clara
Bell stood out to sea.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 123
As I saw her white sails disappear in the distance I realized
more thoroughly the loneliness of my position, and that I was the
only person in the whole of that portion of the territory who spoke
English. If I needed companions, I must seek them among alien
convicts or Indians, in a foreign tongue.
Returning to my room in the fort, I soon stifled any feeling
of regret by busying myself in putting on paper a brief sketch
of my plan of exploration for the coming year.
Stepanoff called me, saying that there was no meat or other
fresh provisions in the fort, and we must go out and get some-
thing for dinner. At first I took down my gun, but he informed
me that it was unnecessary, and after walking a short distance he
pointed out various fungi, which he assured me were eatable.
They were of two or three species, all poisonous in our climate ;
but in this extreme northern region they proved to be innocuous
and eatable, though quite tasteless.
During our walk we came to a definite conclusion on the sub-
ject of fur-trading. Stepanoff said that he did not believe in the
rumor which prevailed as to the sale of the country ; that his
duty to the Russian American Company would compel him to
prevent any one from trading except the authorized employes of
the Company ; that when the official information should arrive I
might trade as much as I chose, but until then I must refrain.
I assured him that trading was not my object in remaining in the
country, and that I would not do anything of the kind until he
had received definite information. The latter might be expected,
if at all, by a midwinter courier from Nushergak to the Kolma-
koff Redoubt on the Kuskoquim. Such couriers had been sent
on rare and important occasions, and a mail was always sent to
Nushergak from St. Michael's every December.
Stepanoff begged me to consider myself his guest while at the
Redoubt, and offered to have any orders sent to Nulato in regard
to the building in which we had spent the previous winter, if I
desired to use it during the coming season.
My plans were as follows : First, to examine the rocks along
the shores of Norton Sound and across the portage as thoroughly
as possible. Next, to take my trading-goods and such provisions
as I could obtain to Nulato ; spend the winter in making explora-
tions in that vicinity, and, if possible, make a winter visit to Kot-
124 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
zebue Sound ; to take a boat across the portage and descend the
Yukon in the spring, examining the rocks carefully, and making
as thorough collections as possible of specimens of natural his-
tory ; to spend some time at the Yukon-mouth ; and finally
return by sea to the Redoubt, and there await some opportunity
of getting a passage to Sitka or San Francisco with the collec-
tions.
I therefore requested Stepanoff to order Ivan PavlofF to have
the house put in thorough repair, the seams calked, floor put in
order, and the peechka replastered. The building at Fort Ken-
nicott was too large and too cold to be readily made habitable.
The orders were sent by Kurilla, whom I engaged as my per-
manent assistant. He, with Antoshka and Tekunka, started for
Nulato via Unalakh'k, in the three-holed bidarka in which Dyer
had descended the Yukon. Kurilla was to get our dogs and sleds
together, hire Indians, buy ukaii for dog-feed, and meet me at
Unalakh'k as soon as the Yukon was ice-bound. Then we would
proceed together to Nulato. I furnished him with the necessary
trading-goods for purchasing dog-feed and hiring Indians, and he
departed in high spirits at the responsibility intrusted to him.
One day when Stepanoff was away shooting, on the marshes
about the Canal, one of the Russians came to me with a sable, for
which he wanted alcohol. I refused him, and added that I had
promised Stepanoff not to purchase furs, and should keep my
word. The meaning of truth and honesty is incomprehensible to
these degraded wretches, and he still urged me, saying Stepanoff
would never hear of it. As he did not take any notice of re-
peated refusal, I became at last so angry that I pitched him heels
over head out of the door and down the steps, into the muddy
courtyard, greatly to the amusement of old Martha, who had
just previously brought in some work, and was waiting for her
pay.
Life among the natives is far preferable to being surrounded
by white men of such a despicable class. It is not to be won-
dered at that the knout and the brand were formerly in use in
Russia. Nothing else would seem capable of inspiring a respect
for the law in such minds.
My time was passed in running lead into balls, adding to the
collection, and making general preparations for starting for Una-
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 125
laklik as soon as any natives should arrive from Pastolik, where
they were hunting the beluga.
I accompanied Stepanoff on several of his shooting expeditions
in the Canal, and secured a large number of geese, ducks, and
swans. These are salted, and form an acceptable addition to the
winter fare.
On September 22d I purchased my supplies, including six
hundred pounds of flour, twenty-five of tea, fifty of sugar, and a
variety of trading-goods. I also laid in a supply of crockery —
a mug, plate, and bowl apiece — for myself, Johnny, and Kurilla.
China ware is more precious in this part of the world than silver
plate in more civilized localities. I also purchased fifty pounds
of sukaree, and some large ukali for use on the road. Several
Mahlemuts having arrived, I engaged them to accompany me to
Unalaklfk. I proposed to take the old bidarra in which we had
descended the Yukon from Nulato. I had engaged to have a
small bidarra made at Pastolik and forwarded to me for use the
coming spring ; but it had not yet arrived. The old one was
very large, and the lashings and covering very rotten. I hardly
dared risk my invaluable trading-goods ; but, taking counsel with
some of the Innuit, we concluded that we could probably reach
Unalaklfk in safety with it.
My crew was composed of Johnny, a Mahlemut called Myunuk,
an old man whom I called New- Years, and a young Kaviagemut.
The latter had an extremely stupid appearance, but was an excel-
lent hunter.
On the 23d of September I put my goods on board, took a
mail for the Russians at Unalaklfk, and put to sea. The wind
was hardly fair, and rather light, and I was obliged to beat across
the southeast arm of the Sound, and put into the Major's Cove.
I had hoped to reach Kegiktowruk, but the wind was adverse,
and so high I could not risk it. Having pitched our tent under
the shelter of the hill, I sent Johnny off to shoot ptarmigan, and
rigged some fishing-poles, in hopes to catch some small fish, of a
species known here as wauch-ne, a kind of torn-cod. Our success
was not very great, but we got a mess for supper, and Johnny
returned with an arctic hare which had already donned its winter
coat of white.
The next day the wind was still high, and it was impossible to
126 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
get away. The anchor dragged so much that I was obliged to
haul the bidarra up on the beach. Our sail had proved too small,
and we occupied ourselves in sewing on a strip of drill on each
side. Having experienced the difficulty of transporting heavy
goods by sleds to Ulukuk, I hoped to get them to that point by
water ; but the ice was already forming in the ponds on the tun-
dra, and I began to fear that the Unalaklik River would be frozen
over before my arrival. The next day the weather was equally
bad, and we were compelled to remain. Game and fish were
both very scarce, and we lived principally on sukaree and tea, as
I had no bacon.
On the 26th the wind was very variable and the waves very
high. Toward noon it came from the westward, and against the
wishes of the men I decided to start. Just as we left the cove
some tremendous rollers came in, but we rode over them safely,
and New-Years remarked, " The far-off wind has died away."
Looking out to sea, I saw that the rollers mentioned above were
the last, and the sea was quite smooth.
The wind grew fresher and fresher, being nearly a-beam. The
coast between the cove and Kegiktowruk is rocky, with no land-
ing-places. The wind increased and rain came in squalls. The
darkness rapidly closed over us and the clouds were so heavy
that the land was indistinguishable. For three hours I held the
tiller, almost blinded by the rain, fearing every moment that the
wind would haul ahead and drive us on the lee shore ; my only
guide in steering was the white line of breakers on the rock-bound
coast. We passed a rocky point, known as Pallonoi or Burning
Point, in safety, and about half past eight the moon suddenly
broke through the clouds, revealing the three rounded hills which
lie back of Kegiktowruk. We pulled into the cove, and I sent up
to the village to obtain help in hauling up the heavy boat, but
the inhabitants had gone to sleep or refused to come. We did
our best to put her in safety, and went up to the casine, where we
boiled the chynik and turned in.
The Kegiktowruk casine is the largest in the country. The an-
nexed section gives an idea of its construction. Its area is about
twenty-five feet by thirty, and its height fifteen feet from floor
to smoke-hole. The entrance is similar to that of the ordinary
houses, but at A is a second opening, by which the cavity beneath
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
127
the floor may be reached. In the middle of the floor is a hole
(B) where, during their dances, the performers come up from
below, not entering by the ordinary door at i. A portion of
the floor about twelve feet square (FF) is composed of planks,
which may be removed when it is desired to build a fire on the
earth beneath. Broad planks about three feet and a half above
the floor form seats (s) where the spectators may place them-
selves. The opening (L) in the roof is for the admission of light
and egress of smoke. There are no other windows. The en-
trance (i) is usually closed by a hanging bearskin. The sides
are of logs split in two and placed on end in the earth with the
flat side inward. The roof is supported by large logs laid across
so as to support each other. These are covered by a layer of
small timbers, split, or hewn flat on one side ; and the latter are
Diagram of Innuit casine.
kept in place by large timbers laid over them outside and at-
tached by a saddle-joint at the four corners of the roof. The
latter is covered with straw, and the straw with earth, pounded
down hard, so as to be waterproof. There is not a nail or a pin
in the whole structure, which is of the most solid description.
Some of the logs are two feet in diameter, and the broad seats on
.each side, previously referred to, are each composed of a single
plank forty-four inches wide, thirty feet long, and four inches
thick. These enormous planks are from drift-logs, and were
hewn with the stone axes of the natives.
I was informed that, the old casine being decayed, all the
Innuit of Norton Sound had joined in building the present one.
Many logs were towed from distant parts of the coast. The
whole work had occupied six seasons in construction, and had
been standing about seven years.
128 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
The annexed sketch of the village was taken on the spot. On
the right is the casine. There are several ordinary winter houses,
which are on the brow of a high bank. Caches are scattered
about, and stages, on which the kyaks are elevated out of reach
of the dogs. In the engraving, the kyaks are represented too
much curved upwards, fore and aft. They are nearly straight,
except at the bow.
At the left of the houses is a mass of perpendicular timbers,
projecting from the ground. This was the dwelling of an old
couple, who died in the summer while the other inhabitants were
away. Returning from the chase, rather than touch the bodies,
they broke down the house over them, and filled it in with earth ;
a few projecting uprights are their only monument.
There is no beach, the cove is shallow and full of rocks, and
the skin-boats must be hauled up on ways built for the purpose,
of logs. The village is a very dirty one. Travellers are usually
detained there by adverse winds. The inhabitants have no
reputation for honesty, and it is in every respect the meanest
place on the Sound. The principal support of the inhabitants
is the seal-fishery, but in the fall reindeer abound in the
vicinity. Our young Kaviak started in search of deer, as the
weather would not permit of our continuing the voyage. We
started with a fair breeze about noon, but just as we had got
well out of the cove the wind shifted dead ahead, and we had
to put back.
The boat made so much water that I suspected a hole, and un-
loaded her. The Kaviak and New-Years were away, and My-
unuk was sick ; so I had an hour's hard work unloading her alone.
I called some of the natives who were looking on to help turn
her over. As soon as we raised one side the whole frame gave
way, and the sides of the boat shut together like the leaves of a
book ! The sealskin lashings were quite rotted away, and only
the weight of the goods had kept her in shape. Here was a
quandary ! There was only one bidarra in the village, and she
was very small and narrow. She belonged to an old man, who
saw his advantage and used it. After long persuasion I induced
him to lend her to me to take my goods to Unalaklik. He
required for her hire an enormous price, more than the boat had
cost him originally. He demanded his pay in advance, and his
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 129
wife stood by him while I measured out the drill, powder, ball,
and tobacco, and, as I gave him the required quantity of each,
would exclaim, " It is too little, we must have more ! " I was
very much provoked, but there was no way in which I could help
myself, and I was obliged to satisfy her avarice, and make her a
present besides, while wishing her at the bottom of the sea. I
then loaded the boat, but she was so dry that the water came in
at all the seams, and I was obliged to unload her again. It was
evident that I must leave a large part of my load at the village,
and send back for it. I was very loath to do this, as the Kegik-
towruk men are notorious thieves ; but there was no help for it.
Having picked out the most valuable part of the cargo, including
the flour, sugar, tea, lead, and powder, I placed the rest in charge
of the old man to whom the boat belonged. I then loaded up for
the third time, after greasing the seams with tallow. This day's
experience will give a faint idea of the annoyances sometimes
endured, and the patience required, in travelling among these
natives.
That afternoon an old acquaintance arrived, — a Mahlemut
called Ark-hannok, and his family. His bidarra was so full that
he could not take any goods for me, but he promised to send back
his men and boat from Unalaklik, to fetch the goods I left behind.
In the evening the absent Kaviak returned with two haunches of
venison on his back, having killed a deer. We had a good supper
off them, and retired early. The next morning I rose at four
o'clock and found the wind fair. We boiled the chynik and
took a hasty breakfast, getting off about six. Our boat was very
low, her gunwale amidships being only four inches above the
water. She was so narrow and crank that we were obliged to
lash a kyak alongside with two oars, as an outrigger. Even then
the Innuit were unwilling to sail from point to point, but insisted
on hugging the shore.
The wind was light, and we only reached Golsova River by
noon. We rounded Tolstoi Point with a fair breeze. At To-
panika we landed, and found a Mahlemut chief, called Ark-na-py-
ak, camped with his family. Here we drank tea, and took on
board a lad about twelve years old, whom we had named Tommy
the previous year. He wished to go to Unalaklik, and to oblige
the natives I offered him a passage. We started about three
9
130 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
o'clock, with a strong breeze from the southwest, wind coming in
puffs with intervals. The water was perfectly smooth, and we
sailed finely for some time. The wind grew stronger rapidly, and
soon raised a sea which made me anxious. The tide was high5
and the perpendicular sandstone bluffs rose direct from the
water, the narrow beach being covered. There was no oppor-
tunity for landing until the bluffs were passed. The waves began
to don their white caps, and occasionally tossed a handful of spray
in our faces, as a foretaste of what was coming. I resigned the
steering-paddle into the more experienced hands of old New-
Years, and stood by him with another, in case that should break.
I distributed tin cups to all hands, as I knew we should have to
use them very soon in bailing.
The end of the bluffs was passed, but to my dismay I saw the
long low beach piled with driftwood, forming an impenetrable
chevaux-de-frise at high-water mark. Against it the waves were
dashing. There was no choice but to go on. It was rapidly
growing dark, but the mouth of the river was discernible. We
managed, by constant bailing, to keep her free, though every tenth
wave would throw in a dozen bucketfuls. The worst was yet to
come. I knew that the sea would be breaking on the bar at the
mouth of the Unalaklik River, where there is seldom over five
feet of water. The only question was, could we pass through that
line of breakers in safety ? I hardly dared to hope we could.
We already heard them roaring on the bar, and could see their
white caps dimly. We were all so thoroughly drenched that we
could be no wetter. The old Mahlemut never flinched. With
his eye on the breakers, as we drew nearer and nearer, he sat
silent and rigid as a carved image. The younger men crouched
in the bottom of the boat. The little Eskimo lad looked fright-
ened, but did not stop bailing for a moment. I threw off my
hunting-shirt, and made ready for swimming. As we were just
upon the breakers I glanced at the steersman. He moved not a
muscle of his weather-beaten face. The next moment a crash
announced that our outriggers were broken. I threw myself
upon the kyak and, with the young Kaviak, held it for a moment
in place. The crest of the advancing roller struck us on the
stern, deluging us with water, and before I had time to realize it
another followed it, almost burying us ; and for a second I thought
Jtfttfl
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 131
we were going down. She rose again, however, more than half
filled ; and shaking the water out of his scanty hair, the old man
said calmly, " Here is the river, there is the fort." We were in
smooth water. The last breaker had carried us over the bar.
All hands bailed for dear life, and as soon as we had freed the
boat from a dangerous amount of water we pulled for the shore.
Here we found ice, and were obliged to pull half a mile to find
a landing-place. The Innuit shouted at the top of their lungs,
and we were soon answered. Eskimo of all ages and both
sexes came out from their dens, helped to haul up the boat, and
unloaded her above high-water mark. I expected to find the
flour and sugar, which were in bags, entirely spoiled. Popoff, the
Unalaklik bidarshik, finally awoke, and opened the gates. With
the help of the natives, I carried the goods into the storehouse,
dismissed the men, who took refuge with their friends in the
village, and, quite exhausted, followed Popoff into the casarmer.
Here I stripped off my clothes. I had literally not a dry stitch
on me, and there was about a gallon of salt water in each boot.
Popoff kindly supplied me with dry clothing, and we sat down
around the hospitable samovar. I dare not say how many cups of
fragrant tea I disposed of. I know the last was well among the
" teens." The bed was only a plank and a blanket, but, with a
tobacco-box under my head, I lost myself in a well-earned slumber.
The next day, thanks to the tea, I arose as fresh as ever, though
not until nearly noon. My first act was to overhaul the goods.
The tea I had taken the precaution to solder up in an empty tin
before leaving the Redoubt. The powder was in tight cans.
The lead of course was not injured by wetting. The flour, to my
surprise, was but slightly wet. Water does not easily penetrate
flour in the bags. Our clothes, except what were in tight seal-
skin bags, and our blankets, were soaked. The sugar had suffered
most. About half of it was well salted. This was a serious loss,
but might be partly made good. Altogether we got off much
better than I had dared to anticipate.
Popoff, another Russian named Ostrofskoi, two native work-
men, and a Creole woman comprised the entire garrison at the
fort. Popoff was a much pleasanter fellow than most of the
Russians, and I got along with him very well. The village con-
tained very few natives, most of them being still absent hunting
132
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
deer. The next day I secured Ark-hannok's bidarra, and de-
spatched it with a crew of five to fetch the remaining goods from
Kegiktowruk. On the night of October 1st they returned, to
my surprise, with their load. The rascals at Kegiktowruk had
stolen some thirty pounds of backfat and a hatchet. The re-
mainder of the goods were safe.
The weather continued warm and rainy. A few days cleared
the ice completely out of the river. I therefore made immediate
arrangements for taking the heavy goods by water to Ulukuk, thus
saving time, and transportation over a very bad portage in winter.
On the 3d of October I took three men and the Kegiktowruk
bidarra, and started up the Unalaklik River. We found the cur-
rent very strong and the water low. We drew, loaded, a foot and
a half, finding occasional difficulty in crossing the sandbars.
Ingalik grave.
Ulukuk, in a straight line, is only thirty-three miles from Unala-
klik. By the river, which is more winding than the ancient
Meander, it is at least double the distance, and probably more.
On the morning of the 4th we reached Iktfgalik. Here we
found many of the Ingaliks. They wanted to go up in my boat
to Ulukuk, and attempted to detain me by all sorts of contradic-
tory stories about the river. I had had some experience in estimat-
ing the value of such talk, and pushed on. Every night new ice
formed in the river, and I used all my energy in travelling, in
order that we might not be caught and frozen in. On the morn-
ing of the 6th we arrived at Ulukuk. As we drew near we heard
a low wailing chant, and Mikala, one of my men, informed me
that it was women lamenting for the dead. On landing I saw
several Indians hewing out the box in which the dead are placed.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 133
On inquiry I found that our old acquaintance of the previous
year, " Kaltag Stareek," had gone to his long home. He had been
for many years the " oldest inhabitant," and was much respected
by the Russians. The body lay on its side in a deerskin. The
heels were lashed to the small of the back, and the head bent for-
ward on the chest, so that his coffin needed to be only about four
feet long.
We lost no time in putting the goods into an empty cache,
covering them with walrus hide, and nailing up the door. During
a long experience I have never known of goods being meddled
with or broken open if properly secured, no matter how lonely the
situation of the cache, or how long it remained unvisited. " A
cache is sacred " is one of the axioms of the wilderness. This
goes far to prove that the average of honesty among these In-
dians is higher than that which obtains among white men. The
Innuit, as at Kegiktowruk, are occasionally less trustworthy.
The Ingaliks had just returned from a bear hunt. Bears are
not uncommon in this part of the territory. There are three
species : The large brown bear of the mountains, known as the
"grizzly" among the Hudson Bay voyageurs ; the barren-ground
bear (Ursus Richardsonii of Mayne Reid), which is confined in Rus-
sian America to the extreme northeast ; and the black bear, which
frequents the vicinity of the Yukon, in the wooded district only.
The polar or white bear is found only in the vicinity of Bering
Strait, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, and on St. Matthew's
Island in Bering Sea. It has probably reached the latter locality
on floating ice ; we only know of its existence there from whalers,
who apply the name of Bear Island to the locality, from the abun-
dance of these animals. We know that it is not found on the
mainland south of latitude 65°. The cubs of the black bear are of
the same color as the parent, and the adult is very much smaller
than its brown cousin, which sometimes reaches a length of nine
feet, with a girth nearly as great. The brown bear, or grizzly, is
the only one which manifests any ferocity, and it always avoids
any contest unless brought to bay.
The manner of hunting it is as follows. After discovering its
lair the natives carefully measure the opening. Timbers of the
requisite length, and from four to six inches in diameter, are care-
fully cut, and carried to the vicinity. During the day, when the
134
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
bear is known to have returned to the cave, the Indians collect
in large numbers, and approach with the utmost quietness, each
carrying a timber or a large stone. The timbers are then fitted
into the mouth of the den, forming a barricade, and stones in
large numbers are piled up against them, only leaving an open-
ing about a foot square. Burning brands are then thrown in to
arouse the animal, who puts his head out of the opening, which is
too small for egress. A volley of balls soon puts an end to his
existence. After satisfying themselves of his death, the hunters
remove the barricade, and divide the body among themselves.
The skin is valuable only as a rug or bed, or to hang in the
doorway of a lodge to exclude the cold.
The Indians were anxious that I should pass the night at
Ulukuk ; but, fearful of being frozen in, I decided to return with-
out delay. Coming up, while examining the rocks I discovered
a fossil elephant tusk about eight feet long on one of the bars
in the river. I put it up on end in order to see it and take it
with me on my return. A snow-storm came on, which obscured
everything, so that we passed down without seeing it, and
arrived at Iktigalik about seven in the evening. The next morn-
ing we left Iktigalik about nine o'clock, and half-way down came
upon the three-holed bidarka which Kurilla and his companions
had left on the shore when they struck across the summer port-
age. I thought it might prove useful, and took it aboard.
About two o'clock we arrived at Unalaklik, just in time to enjoy
a steam bath. While I had been absent some Eskimo from Kot-
zebue Sound had arrived, bringing alcohol, purchased from the
traders.
The whole village was in a turmoil, and the Russians at the
fort in no little alarm, anticipating an attack. Some natives
having reported a remarkable and unknown object as cast upon
the beach, Popoff and myself walked four or five miles to examine
it. It proved to be the carcass of a walrus deprived of its head.
These animals, as well as whales, are unknown in Norton Sound,
and this carcass had probably been driven by the wind and sea
from the north.
On the Qth of October I had the bidarka repaired and well
oiled. The next day, with Tommy, Johnny and a Kaviak, I
started for Topanika, to examine the geological character of the
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 135
shore. At night we arrived at a creek where an old Mahlemut
chief, Allu-iokan, and his people were camped. Here I purchased
some deer meat and a large number of tongues.
The next morning the Innuit left us for Unalaklik. Johnny
and Tommy started into the interior in search of deer. Taking
my haversack, I proceeded to Tolstoi Point, examining the rocks,
and taking notes of the character, thickness, and dip of the
strata. I found no fossils except indistinct vegetable remains.
Climbing the bluff, I followed the edge of a deep ravine inland
for half a mile. Feeling thirsty, I managed to swing myself down
the precipitous sides, by the birches which grew sparingly in
rifts of the rock. Here I found a stream of pure cold water, and,
bending down to drink, some fine fossils attracted my attention.
Securing a bundle of about fifty pounds' weight, I had a piece of
hard work packing them on my back out of the ravine. I was
obliged to walk in the bed of the stream, as the sides were
too abrupt to ascend with my load. I finally arrived at camp,
after dark, and pretty tired. No one was there, and I built
a large fire, fearing that Johnny might be unable to return
in the obscurity over the rough and broken hills. The boys
arrived at last, having killed two deer, bringing, however, only
the tongues and kidneys. I rated them well for the folly of de-
stroying game which they could not use or bring home. Econ-
omy in such matters is incomprehensible to the native mind.
They are always ready to destroy life even if they cannot avail
themselves of the remains.
The next day, having completed my observations, I availed
myself of an invitation to take passage for Unalaklik in a
passing Mahlemut bidarra. I occupied myself for several days
in purchasing articles which I had found from experience were
necessary or useful in the interior. These were principally
Eskimo winter boots, of deerskin with sealskin soles ; deerskin
mittens, parkies, and breeches, some destined for the ethnological
collection, and others for use ; boot-soles, to replace old ones
when worn out ; deer sinew, for sewing skin clothing ; fine seal-
skin line, for lashing sleds, bidarra-frames, dog-harness, and boot-
strings ; mahout, or walrus hide cut in long strips, for tracking-
line ; prepared sealskin, for mending boats ; oil, for lamps in
winter ; ukali, by the thousand, for dog and man feed ; the white
!36 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
bellies of the deer, with dried fish skins and wolverine skins, for
trimming skin clothes ; and the backfat of the reindeer, to supply
the total absence of pork, bacon, and butter.
The reindeer, in summer, is furnished with a broad layer of
fat, between the muscle and the skin, along the back from the
shoulder to the haunch. This layer comes off in a single piece
fifteen inches broad and from half an inch to four inches thick.
This is called the "backfat." Other fat in smaller quantity is
procured from the vicinity of the kidneys, the omentum, and the
intestines. A little is also procured with the marrow, by pound-
ing and boiling the bones. All this in its dried state is liable to
spoil. Anticipating this, I had all my fat cut, pounded up, and
tried out. When thoroughly extracted, I poured the pure fat into
empty tin cans, thus preserving it from injury and rendering it
compact for transportation. The Hudson Bay pemmican is made
by pounding dry meat between stones, until all the meat is re-
duced to powder. The sinews and gristle are picked out, and the
rest is mixed with boiling fat and poured into a rawhide bag,
where it becomes perfectly solid. Pemmican is unknown to the
Russians, whose chief dependence is fish. Indeed, I do not know
of any part of Russian America where meat and fat abound in
sufficient quantities to be much used in this way. Pemmican is
tasteless, unappetizing food, but contains much nourishment in a
very compact form.
I have hitherto deferred any minute account of the Innuit of
Norton Sound, preferring to give my own impression of them
unaffected by that of other observers. During the time spent at
Unalaklfk I became moderately proficient in their language, and
studied their mode of life with great care.
The Innuit, as they call themselves, belong to the same family
as the Northern and Western Eskimo. I have frequently used
the term Eskimo in referring to them, but they are in many
respects very different people from the typical tribes called by
that name in the works of Parry, Ross, Simpson, Kane, and
other arctic explorers. Comparative vocabularies and an analy-
sis of the different branches of the family will be found elsewhere
in this volume. The present remarks refer more particularly to
their mode of life.
It should be thoroughly and definitely understood, in the first
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 137
place, that they are not Indians ; nor have they any known rela-
tion, physically, philologically, or otherwise, to the Indian tribes
of North America. Their grammar, appearance, habits, and even
their anatomy, especially in the form of the skull, separate them
widely from the Indian race. On the other hand, it is almost
equally questionable whether they are even distinctly related to
the Chukchees and other probably Mongolian races, of the east-
ern part of Siberia. This is discussed elsewhere.
The Innuit of Norton Sound and the vicinity are of three
tribes, each of which, while migrating at certain seasons, has
its own peculiar territory. The peninsula between Kotzebue and
Norton Sounds is inhabited by the Kdviaks or Kavidgemut Innuit.
The neck of this peninsula is occupied by the Mdhlemut Innuit.
The shore of Norton Sound south of Cape Denbigh to Pastolik
is the country of the Unaleets or Unaligmut Innuit. The habits
of these tribes are essentially similar. They are in every respect
superior to any tribe of Indians with which I am acquainted.
Their complexion I have described as brunette. The effect of
the sun and wind, especially in summer, is to darken their hue,
and from observing those who lived in the fort, I am inclined to
think that a regular course of bathing would do much toward
whitening them. They are sometimes very tall ; I have often
seen both men and women nearly six feet in height, and have
known several instances where men were taller. Their aver-
age height equals that of most civilized races. Their strength
is often very great. I have seen a Mahlemut take a hundred-
pound sack of flour under each arm, and another in his teeth,
and walk with them from the storehouse to the boat, a distance
of some twenty rods, without inconvenience. They are fond of
exercise, and practise many athletic games, such as football or
a similar game, tossing in a blanket or rather walrus hide, run-
ning races, hurling stones or lances, lifting weights, and wrestling.
Their boats — the kyak or bidarka, and oomiak or bidarra — have
been already described. It may be mentioned in this connection
that the oomiak is not considered among the Norton Sound Innuit
as a " women's boat," nor is there ever any hesitation about men's
using them. In this they differ from the Eskimo as described by
arctic explorers. It is noticeable that the more northern the canoe,
the smaller it is made. The kyak of Nunivak Island is double the
I $8 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
size of those used in Bering Strait. The kyaks are often orna-
mented with beluga teeth, or carved pieces of walrus ivory,
imitations of birds, walrus, or seal. The prow is also fashioned
into the semblance of a bird's or fish's head. Securely seated in
his kyak, with a gut shirt strongly tied around the edge of the hole,
the Innuit is at home. He will even turn over his kyak and come
up on the other side, by skilful use of his paddle.
Aziak or Sledge Island is an abrupt rock rising out of the
water, with a landing only at low tide in good weather. I was
informed by the captain of a trader, a trustworthy person, that
he once approached the island to trade, in rough weather, but
could not send a boat ashore, as it was impossible to land. He
lay as close as he dared under the lee of the island. Here they
saw the Innuit tying several men securely into their kyaks, on the
top of the rock, some fifteen or twenty feet above the water.
When all was done each man grasped his double-ended paddle,
and two others took the kyak by bow and stern and tossed it,
with its occupant, into the water. For a moment they disappeared
under the waves, but instantly rose and righted themselves ; in a
few minutes they were alongside, and being taken on board, pro-
duced furs and ivory from their kyaks, with which they proceeded
to trade for tobacco and other articles. When the tide and wind
fell they returned to the island. This is an excellent illustration
of the wonderful skill with which they learn to manage these little
canoes. In his kyak the Innuit does not hesitate to attack the
seal, walrus, or whale. Those of Norton Sound have only the
seal and beluga, but those of Bering Strait have abundant oppor-
tunities for hunting the bowhead and walrus.
They are good-humored and careless, slow to anger, and usually
ready to forgive and forget. They are sometimes revengeful ; and
murders, generally the result of jealousy, are not very rare. The
women are modest, but a want of chastity in an unmarried female
is hardly looked upon as a fault. Taking this fact into consider-
ation, they are rather free from immorality. Among the Mahle-
muts, cousins, however remote, do not marry, and one wife is the
rule. Among the Kaviaks, incest is not uncommon, and two or
three wives, often sisters, are taken by those who can afford to
support them. These people have become demoralized by trad-
ing liquor for their furs, and wide-spread immorality is the result.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 139
The same is also true of the Kotzebue Sound Mahlemuts. What
we should call immodesty is often undeserving of such a term.
Where a practice is universal there is nothing immodest in it, and
it may be quite consistent with morality. For instance, the Aleu-
tians, men and women, for ages have been accustomed to bathe
together in the sea. They do not think of there being any im-
modesty in it, yet any immorality is exceedingly rare among
them. Hence we should not judge these people too harshly.
There is no ceremony connected with marriage among the
Innuit, though presents are often made to the bride's parents.
Intermarriage between natives of different tribes is frequent. If
ill-behaved or barren, the wife is frequently sent away, and another
takes her place. Children are greatly prized, if boys. Girls are
at a discount. Infanticide is common among them, both before
and after birth. As an excuse, they say that they do not want
and cannot support so many daughters. Other women do not
like the trouble and care of children, and destroy them for that
reason. The usual method is to take the child out, stuff its mouth
with grass, and desert it. I have seen several children who had
been picked up in this condition, and brought up by others than
their parents. The women alone destroy children, but the men
seldom punish them for it, and doubtless acquiesce in advance in
most cases. Sometimes we find females who refuse to accept
husbands, preferring to adopt masculine manners, following the
deer on the mountains, trapping and fishing for themselves.
The men treat their wives and children well. The latter are
never punished, and seldom need correction, being obedient and
good-humored. The men have their own work. Hunting the
deer and seal, building and repairing the winter houses, making
frames for boats, sleds, and snow-shoes, preparing sealskins for use
on boats or for boot-soles, trapping, and bringing home the results
of the chase, — in fact, all severe labor, — is performed by the
men. Snaring partridges, drying and preparing fish, cutting up
the meat when brought into camp, picking berries, dressing deer-
skins and making clothing, cooking, and taking care of the chil-
dren,— these are solely feminine pursuits. Both sexes join in pad-
dling the oomiaks, celebrating their annual dances, bringing and
cutting wood, and other work of a like nature. The women are
seldom beaten, except for ill-temper or incontinency. They keep
140
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
their persons moderately clean, braiding the hair on each side,
and twisting beads or strips of wolfskin in with the braids for
ornament. They are often of pleasing appearance, sometimes
quite pretty. They preserve their beauty much longer than In-
dian women. Their clear complexion and high color, with their
good-humor, make them agreeable companions, and they are often
very intelligent. A noticeable feature is their teeth. These are
always sound and white, but are almost cylindrical, and in old
people are worn down even with the gums, producing a singu-
lar appearance. The eyes are not oblique, as in the Mongolian
races, but are small, black, and almost even with the face. The
nose is flat and disproportionally small. Many of the Innuit
have heavy beards and mustaches, while some pull out the
former. The men all wear the labrets, but
do not tattoo. The women generally have
a few lines tattooed on the chin, from the
lower lip downward. The inhabitants of the
Diomede Islands tattoo extensively ; they also
wear large labrets made of hypochlorite and
finely polished. The tattooing is in spiral
lines and waving scrolls, seldom or never rep-
resenting objects. The Norton Sound Innuit
women never wear labrets,* but occasionally
pierce the nose and ears. I have never seen any ornament
worn in the nose, but ear-rings are not uncommon. The fol-
lowing sketch represents the usual form. They are carved
from beluga teeth. Among the Mdgemuts, a tribe to the
south of the Yukon-mouth, the women wear a
peculiar labret. It is flat and curved, like a bent
nail, with a broad head, which goes inside the
mouth, and prevents the labret from slipping
through. They are slightly carved, and orna-
mented with dots and lines. The holes are
pierced through the front of the lower lip and
close together, not under the corners of the mouth, as among the
men. The curved ends stick out like little horns.
In Norton Sound the holes for the labrets are not always pierced
* The figure represents : A, the Magemut female labret ; B, c, the Okeeogemut ; the
rest are Norton Sound labrets of different patterns.
Labrets.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 141
in youth. Whenever the act is performed a feast is given, and
the holes are made by means of an awl, with great solemnity.
This would indicate that originally the practice had some greater
significance than mere ornament. It is now impossible to dis-
cover what that significance might have been. At first a mere
ivory peg is inserted (F, G) with a hole in which a small wooden
peg is put to keep it in place. After the opening has healed,
others a little larger are inserted, and so on, until the hole
will admit a peg of the full size, and shaped more like a but-
ton or stud (D, E). Ornaments carved from beluga teeth are
commonly worn. They represent fig-
ures of men, animals, or fish. These
are some of them, representing a flat-
fish, goose, and seal. Walrus teeth, ob-
tained by barter, are also used in carv-
ing.
The dress of the men has already
been described. It reaches to the mid-
dle of the thigh, and is cut around
Amulets.
nearly or quite straight. The female
dress, on the other hand, is continued in two rounded flaps
below the knees, before and behind. They are trimmed with
strips of white deerskin with the hair cut short, separated by
narrow strips of dried fishskin and edged with strips of wolverine
or wolf skin, so cut that the long hair makes a fringe. The hood
is trimmed with a broad piece of wolfskin, with frequently a
strip of the white skin of the arctic hare inside for warmth.
The whole effect is very pretty, especially when the parka is
made of the tame Siberian reindeer skin, which is mottled with
white and delicate shades of brown. The fishskin referred to,
when prepared for use, looks like brown marbled paper. It has
no scales, and I have not seen the fish from which it is taken.
The women wear breeches and boots made in one piece, while
the men use deerskin socks, and boots which are not sewed on
to the breeches. All use a belt of some kind. The favorite
belt among the women is made of the portion of the lower jaw
of the reindeer which contains the front teeth. This piece of bone
is very small, — I have counted the teeth of one hundred and fifty
deer in one belt, — and these belts are not uncommon. They
142 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
are sewed on a broad strip of leather, fastened with a large
button or bead in front. From the belt hangs the needle-case,
usually made of the humerus of a swan, plugged at one end and
Bone needle-case.
having a removable stopper at the other. It is usually orna-
mented with black lines, as in the above example.
A man's wealth is frequently estimated by parkies. They will
buy, with their surplus property, large numbers of parkies. Ten
deerskin, or two mink parkies, or one sable parka, are equivalent
to a gun. Sealskins, sables, guns, and ammunition are also units
of value. They can count up to a hundred, and some of the
more intelligent to five hundred. They frequently keep accounts
by tying knots in a string or notching a stick. They divide the
year by the seasons, and time by lunar months, and days. They
can also estimate with much accuracy how much of the day has
passed, by the position of the sun or stars. They are very quick
at understanding, and can draw very reliable maps, the only
difficulty being that far-off distances are exaggerated when
compared with those laid down as nearer their homes. They
are all provided with flint and steel for lighting fires, but formerly
used a different apparatus on the principle of a fiddle-bow drill.
This consisted of a mouthpiece of bone or ivory with a small hol-
low in it, a flat piece of very dry soft wood, a pencil-shaped
piece of dry hard wood, and a bow with a slackened string. One
end of the pencil fitted into the hollow
in the mouthpiece. The latter is held
between the teeth. A turn of the bow-
string was taken around the pencil ; the
tablet of soft wood was held in the left
hand. The pencil was held firmly against
the tablet and the bow rapidly moved
back and forth by the right hand. The
fire-dHn. pencil of course revolved rapidly, the fric-
tion created a small pile of dust on the
tablet, which was quickly ignited by the heat. A piece of tinder
preserved the light, and the fire was obtained.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 143
Formerly bows, arrows, and lances were their weapons. In
Norton Sound they are now supplanted by guns obtained from
the traders. Iron was unknown among these natives two genera-
tions ago. All their weapons were of ivory, bone, and slate,
except a few native copper implements which came from the
Indians of the interior. In early times, the old men say, a knife
or a string of beads was worth fifty marten skins. A peculiar
kind of knife, shaped like a chopping-knife and called a pigulka,
is used in cutting skins. It is made of sheet-iron and has a bone
handle. It is preferable to scissors in cutting furs, as it only cuts
the skin and not the hair.
To this day the Innuit have no knowledge of working iron by
means of heat, although with the aid of a file they
will make quite useful knives, saws, and other
articles, out of scraps of old sheet or hoop iron.
While the ancient Indians made their cutting
instruments and tools of stone or native copper, pigulka_
the ancient Innuit substituted, in many cases,
bone and ivory. Stone arrowheads, formerly the universal
weapons among the Tinneh, are now rarely to be found. On
the other hand, the ivory weapons of the Innuit are still in
use. The Indian discarded the stone arrowhead entirely, for one
of iron; the Innuit retains the ivory head, merely adding to it a
tip of iron. The Indian leaves the bow to the children; the more
aquatic Innuit finds a gun out of place in his kyak, and still uses
the weapon of his ancestors to hunt the seal. Ashore, his weapon
is usually a gun. The guns most common among them are very
light double-barrelled Belgian fowling-pieces, with an average
bore of twenty-eight or thirty. These are obtained from the
Kotzebue Sound and Grantley Harbor traders. South of Norton
Sound the Innuit are provided with very few guns, and these are
mostly long Hudson Bay flintlocks, obtained by trading with the
Tinneh tribes of the interior.
Trading is carried on to a large extent between the Indians
and Innuit. The former sell their wooden dishes and other
household articles, furs, wolf and wolverine skins, to the latter for
•oil, sealskins, seal and walrus line, and articles obtained by the
Innuit from the traders. The Innuit again trade beaver skins,
wooden dishes, and other articles of wood to the Tuski and other
144
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
tribes of Bering Strait, in exchange for walrus ivory and skins of
the tame Siberian reindeer, which the latter obtain from the
Chukchees. In this way a commerce is constantly carried on
between the interior tribes of America and Siberia, by means of
the Innuit, who act as middle-men. The bitter enmity and con-
stant hostility which are found between the northern and western
Eskimo and the Indians do not exist between the latter and the
Innuit of the western and southwestern coast. It is true that
both exhibit great jealousy in regard to their boundary lines.
These lines are generally formed by the summit of the watershed
between the small rivers which empty into the sea and those
which fall into the Yukon. They coincide nearly with the line
of the wooded district to which the Indians are confined. Any
man of either race found on the wrong side of the line is liable to
be shot at sight, and deaths occur every season from this cause.
Nevertheless, a tacit arrangement exists between adjoining tribes
of the two races, so that an Innuit who kills a deer on Indian ter-
ritory may retain the meat, provided he leaves the skin at the
nearest Indian village. The Indians cross the Ulukuk portage
every winter, and trade at Unalaklik with the Innuit. The latter
cross the Anvik portage at the same season, and trade with the
Yukon Ingaliks. Great caution is used by both while in foreign
territory, and nearly every year a panic occurs on the coast or in
the interior, from some rumor that the hostile race are preparing
for invasion and war.
The Indians call the Innuit and Eskimo Uskeemi, or sorcerers.
Kagitskeemi is the Innuit name for the casines in which their
shamans perform their superstitious rites. From this root comes
the word Eskimo. The belief in shamanism is much the same
among the Innuit as that which is entertained among the In-
dians, but the rites of the Innuit shamans differ in the manner
of performance from those of the other race, and very much from
those of the Chukchees and other inland races of Siberia.
A Mahlemut shaman covers his head and the upper part of his
body with a kamlayka. He holds a wand, often of ivory, in each
hand, and beats on the floor of the casine, keeping time with a
monotonous chorus. When the frenzy seizes him he rolls on the
floor in violent convulsions. His body and face are concealed
beneath the kamlayka, which rustles violently with his motions,
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 145
while all watch anxiously for any words which may escape him
during the fit. Such are regarded as omens of deep significance,
and the hearers are implicitly guided by them.
The totemic system is not found among the Innuit. Each boy,
when arrived at the age of puberty, selects an animal, fish, or bird,
which he adopts as a patron. The spirit which looks after the
animals of that species is supposed to act henceforth as his guar-
dian. Sometimes the animal is selected in early childhood by
the parents. If he has long-continued want of success in his
pursuits, he will sometimes change his patron. They do not ab-
stain from eating or using the flesh and skin of the animal which
they have chosen, as do some tribes of Indians. They always
wear a piece of the skin or a bone of that animal, which they
regard as an amulet, and use every precaution against its loss,
which would be regarded as a grave calamity. When desiring
assistance or advice they do not themselves seek it, but employ
a shaman to address their patron spirit. These customs do not
extend to females. The spirits of the deer, seal, salmon, and be-
luga, are regarded by all with special veneration ; as to these
animals they owe their support. Each has its season, and while
hunting, it is almost impossible to induce them to attempt any
other work, as they seem to think each spirit demands exclusive
attention while he extends his favors. The homes of these spirits
are supposed to be in the north. The auroras are the reflections
from the lights used during supposed dances of the spirits. Sin-
gularly enough, they call the constellation of Ursa Major by the
name of Okil-okpnk, signifying Great Bear, and consider him to
be ever on the watch while the other spirits carry on their festiv-
ities. None of the spirits are regarded as supreme, nor have the
Innuit any idea of a deity, a state of future reward and pun-
ishment, or any system of morality. Many of them have been
christened by the Russian missionaries, but none have any idea
of Christianity.
The dead are enclosed above ground in a box, in the manner
previously described. The annexed sketch shows the form of the
sarcophagus, which in this case is ornamented with snow-shoes,
a reel for seal lines, a fishing-rod, and a wooden dish or kantag.
The latter is found with every grave, and usually one is placed in
the box with the body. Sometimes a part of the property of the
10
146
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
Innuit grave.
dead person is placed in the coffin or about it. Occasionally the
whole is thus disposed of. Generally the furs, provisions, and
clothing (except such as has been worn) are divided among the
nearer relations of the dead, or remain in possession of his
family if he has one. Such cloth-
ing, household utensils, and weap-
ons as the deceased had in daily
use are almost invariably enclosed
in his coffin. If there are many
deaths about the same time, or an
epidemic occurs, everything belong-
ing to the dead is destroyed. The
house in which a death occurs is
always deserted, and usually de-
stroyed. In order to avoid this, it
is not uncommon to take the sick
person out of the house and put him in a tent to die.
A woman's coffin may be known by the kettles and other fem-
inine utensils about it. There is no distinction between the sexes
in method of burial. On the outside of the coffin figures are usu-
ally drawn in red ochre. Figures of fur animals indicate that the
dead person was a good trapper ; of seal or deer, show his profi-
ciency as a hunter ; representations of parkies, that he was
wealthy : the manner of his death is also occasionally indicated.
For four days after a death the women in the village do no sew-
ing, for five days the men do not cut wood with an axe. The
relatives of the dead must not seek birds' eggs on the overhanging
cliffs for a year, or their feet will slip from under them, and they
will be dashed to pieces. No mourning is worn or indicated, ex-
cept by cutting the hair. Women sit and watch the body, chant-
ing a mournful refrain, until it is interred. They seldom suspect
that others have brought the death about by shamanism, as the
Indians almost invariably do. At the end of a year from the
death a festival is given, presents are made to those who assisted
in making the coffin, and the period of mourning is over. Their
grief seldom seems deep, but they indulge for a long time in wail-
ing for the dead at intervals. I have seen several women who
refused to take a second husband, and had remained single, in
spite of repeated offers, for many years.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 147
Their habits are very regular. Every season the same round
is gone through as in the previous one, only varied by the differ-
ences in temperature and in the prevalence of fish and game.
In February they leave the villages and repair to the moun-
tains, with all their families. They pursue the deer until the
snow begins to melt. I am informed that among the Mahlemuts,
near their more inland villages, they will not permit any water to
be boiled inside of the houses while the deer hunt continues.
This is only one of many similar superstitions. The deer are
stalked ; noosed in mahout snares, set where they are accustomed
to run ; or driven into pounds built for the purpose, where they
are killed by hundreds. Since the introduction of fire-arms, about
fifteen years ago, the number of deer has been very greatly
diminished. At the same time the bow and arrow have fallen
into disuse, and it would be impossible at present for them to
obtain sufficient food without guns and ammunition. The Kav-
iak peninsula formerly abounded with deer ; at present none are
found there.
When the snow melts and the ice comes out of the small rivers,
the Innuit return to their homes. Myriads of water-fowl ar-
rive, and breed on the steep cliffs of Besboro' Island, and similar
promontories of the coast. About this time the young men
seek for eggs and kill the parent birds, while the older and more
wealthy start for Grantley Harbor and Kotzebue Sound, where
the traders meet them as soon as open water affords opportunity.
As June arrives, eggs are more abundant, and form for a while
the chief article of diet. Gulls' eggs are rejected by the women
and children, who believe that they will grow old and decrepit if
they eat them. Seal may also be obtained in small numbers,
and immense schools of herring visit the shores, remaining
about ten days and then disappearing for the season.
As July advances the salmon arrive, and every one is found
upon the shore. Gill nets are stretched out from the beach, and
the sands are red with the fish, split and hung up to dry ; dogs
and men have as much as they can eat, and large supplies of
ukali are laid in for winter use. While the fishery lasts no wood
must be cut with an axe, or the salmon will disappear. Near
the end of July a small fleet of bidarras arrive with those who
have been away trading, and a deputation of Tuski or Okee-
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
ogemuts with walrus ivory, whalebone, and tame reindeer skins
for barter.
In August many of the women repair to the hills, where they
hunt the young reindeer fawns. The latter are caught by run-
ning after them, or in snares. Their skins are valued for cloth-
ing, and make a very pretty light parka. They are of a uniform
brownish red, lighter on the belly, and not spotted like the young
of the red deer. The skins are nearly valueless until about a
month old, and it is hardly necessary to contradict Zagoskin's
fables about the unborn young. The latter, I believe, are not
eaten by the Innuit ; at least, I have frequently seen them thrown
to the dogs. The stomach of the adult deer, filled with half-
digested willow-tips, is regarded as a delicacy, and eaten as we
do salad. The supply of backfat is also laid in at this season;
later it disappears.
In September many repair to Pastol Bay and Norton Bay,
where they kill the beluga, left in shallows by the tide. The
seal fishery is at this time in full blast, and the natives will not
work on the frames of boats or kyaks. As the cold weather
comes on, the rutting season of the deer comes with it, and most
of the Innuit repair to the mountains after them. At this season
the supplies of deerskins, sinews, and meat are laid in for the
winter. About the middle of October the shores of the Sound are
girded with ice. The seal disappear, but myriads of a small fish,
like torn-cod, are found all along the shores, and are
fished for through holes in the ice. The hook is pe-
culiar. It is made of a small oval piece of bone with
a sharp pin inserted into it diagonally. It is not baited,
as the fish bite at the ivory, which is tied on a whale-
bone thread, whose elasticity gives the hook a tremu-
lous motion in the water. The sinker is also an oval
piece of bone or ivory. These little fish are excellent
eating, and are caught by thousands at Unalaklik.
By this time the majority have returned to the villages,
Innuit 1 . ,
fish-hook and trapping commences. 1 he women are at work on
and sbker. the winter clothing, and the season of festivity sets in.
The greater part of November and half of December is occu-
pied by dances and festivals. About January the trade with the
Indians commences, and in February they again repair to the
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 149
mountains as before. This gives a sketch of their mode of life
during the year. The dances and winter festivities deserve more
minute description.
All the Innuit are fond of dancing and singing together. The
principal point, in both Innuit and Indian dances, is, to make as
many different kinds of motion with the body and arms as pos-
sible, always keeping the most exact time with the chorus and
with each other. The dances take place in the casine of the vil-
lage, and time is kept by a number of old men, who lead the
chorus and beat time with an elastic wand on a sort of large
tambourine. Their festivals maybe divided into two classes,—
one where they meet simply to dance and sing, and the other when
there are also other ends in view. In the former the singers con-
fine themselves strictly to the chorus " Ung hi yah," &c., which
has previously been described. These dances are held whenever
a sufficient number happen to meet in the casine and desire it, but
always in the evening. The other festivals also take place in the
evening, and are of different kinds. First, there is the opening
festival of the winter, which differs from all the others. Then
there are festivals at which the givers desire to indicate their
friendship for each other by making presents in a manner which
will be afterwards described. A third kind of festival is given a
year after the death of a relation. A fourth, when a wealthy man
wishes to make himself the reputation of a public benefactor. A
fifth, when a man wishes to redress an injury which he has done
to another, and a sixth, when the village unites in inviting the
inhabitants of another village to partake of their hospitality.
The opening festival of the season is usually held early in
November. No women participate, except as spectators. The in-
variable chorus is begun, and kept up until all the young male in-
habitants are collected in the casine. As soon as all are present,
dishes of charcoal ground up with oil are brought in ; all the young
men strip themselves and proceed to paint their faces and bodies.
No particular pattern is followed, but each one suits his own fancy.
When all are duly adorned they leave the casine in single file, end-
ing with the boys. Attired in Adam's original costume, they visit
every house in the village, chanting as they go. Each family has
prepared dishes of eatables according to their means. These are
given to the performers; and when all the houses have been visited,
150 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
— the atmosphere meanwhile perhaps many degrees below zero, —
they return laden to the casine. Passing under the floor, each one
stands a moment in the central opening, chants for a few seconds
while the old men beat the drums, and then springs out and de-
posits on the floor the dish he carries. When all have come in
they form in a hollow square, each one holding a dish in both
hands. A peculiar chant is begun by one of the old men, and the
others join in with him ; they then turn towards the north corner
of the building, chanting, and at a given signal all raise the dishes
of food which they carry, above their heads in a northerly direc-
tion, at the same time looking down and uttering a hissing sound.
This is repeated several times ; the chant then continues for a
few minutes, when they turn to the east and repeat the perform-
ance ; and again to the south and west. This is to exorcise evil
spirits. This being done, all set to and dispose of the eatables.
When the feast is over they proceed to wash off the paint, at
which stage of the performance most civilized spectators are
obliged by the odor to retire. After the washing is concluded
all join in the ordinary chorus and disperse to their homes.
The third kind of festival is given by the relatives of the dead,
both male and female. They appear by the underground passage,
carrying food and presents. Placing them on the floor, they join
in the usual chorus. The motions of the females are graceful and
easy. The men strive to outdo each other in jumping and ex-
treme exertions of every muscle of the body, always keeping
perfect time. Between the meaningless syllables of the chorus,
words are interpolated, eulogizing the virtues of the deceased and
relating his exploits in hunting and fishing. The men imitate in
their actions the motions of approaching the deer, of shooting,
pursuing, and of taking off the skin. The same dumb show is car-
ried out until the relation of the history of the dead man is com-
pleted. The women then distribute the eatables to the friends of
the family. The men distribute the presents. Some trifle, such
as a leaf of tobacco or a pair of sealskin boot-soles, is given to
every spectator. A handsome gift falls to him who made the
coffin, and smaller presents to others who assisted at the inter-
ment. After this is over a more lively chant begins, indicating
that the season of mourning is over, and that the relatives have
performed their duty. With this the exhibition closes.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 151
The fourth festival is not a very common one, and is more prac-
tised among the tribes of the Yukon-mouth and to the southward.
The man who proposes to give it often saves up his property for
years, and retains nothing, being reduced to poverty by the festi-
val. He accumulates deerskins, beaver, sealskins and furs, beads,
and other articles of value. He exerts himself to the utmost in
preparing food for his guests. When the preparations are com-
plete he sends to all the natives of the vicinity, who crowd to the
feast. It begins with dancing and singing, each guest doing his
utmost to excel in each and do honor to the occasion. The festi-
val lasts as many days as the provisions will hold out. On the
last day the host, dressed in a new suit, welcomes his friends in
the casine. To each he gives presents of whatever he may like
best ; when all the store of gifts is exhausted the host strips him-
self, replacing the new clothing by the poorest rags, and gives the
former to whoever has not previously received a gift. His wife
does the same. The guests put on their new clothing on the
spot in silence. The host then addresses them, saying that he
has nothing left, and depreciating his own generosity as much as
possible. He then dismisses the assembly, who go back to their
homes. No return is asked or expected, and the host is often
reduced to extreme destitution, which he regards as a slight
matter compared with the reputation which the festival has given
him. At some of these feasts ten guns, two hundred beaver, a
hundred sealskins, fifty deerskins, five hundred sable, two hundred
fathoms of strung beads, ten wolf or wolverine skins, and as many
suits of clothing and blankets, have been given away by one man.
Stepanoff told me of a man who saved for fifteen years, until he
accumulated such a store of valuables, and then made a feast and
gave everything away.
The fifth kind of festival is also of rather rare occurrence. I
witnessed but one. The man who had originated the quarrel
sent a messenger some seventy miles to the man who had been
injured or offended. The messenger was dressed in a new suit,
with a red shirt, and carried a wand ornamented with feathers in
his hand. Intimation of the intention had of course reached the
recipient in advance. The messenger found him at his work.
Chanting as he approached, he made known his errand, striking
the receiver with his wand ; and suddenly seizing a knife, he
! I
I
. ! i ii I i
|.i
iff
i :
i II
i
11 1
The sixth sort of festival is
take place. In December, i86l
laklik invited the Mahlemuts |
festival at the former place,
middle of the month, and were!
in the village. On the opening
in the casine. The guests well
pal men of the Unalakh'k villa:1
the subterranean passage and IB
women, the best dancers in thd I
Alluianok and one or two old HI
ing in the dance, took the drujil
were stripped to the waist ill
deer skin, and had each a tailli
the belt behind. They had oil
skin, and boots ornamented w|l||
Around the head each had a i|l
feathers, which came down on tj
were provided with long shir
seal, cleaned, split, and sewed together. These shirts were trans-
lucent, embroidered with bits of colored worsted, and orna-
mented with short pendent strings of beads. Through the semi-
transparent dress the motions of the body were perceptible.
Their breeches were of the white Siberian reindeer, embroidered,
decorated with strips of wolfskin, and made to fit the limbs
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 153
perfectly. The upper dress came a little below the knees.
Their hair was arranged and braided on each side, with the
greatest care. Strips of white wolfskin and strings of beads
were incorporated with the braids, and pendants of beads and
bead necklaces ornamented the shoulders. Their hands were en-
cased in snow-white gloves, fitting closely and made with great
care from the tender skin of the reindeer fawn. These were
trimmed around the wrist with a fringe of wolfskin. In each
hand they held long eagle feathers, to the edges of which tufts
of swan's-down were attached. The opening chant was slow and
measured. The motions of the dancers were modest and pleas-
ing ; the extreme gracefulness of the women, especially, would
have excited admiration anywhere. They kept the most perfect
time with the chorus and drum taps. Between the syllables of
the former, words of welcome to the strangers were interpolated
in such a way as not to interfere with the rhythm. The slowly
waving feathers and delicate undulations of the dancers rendered
the scene extremely attractive.
As the performance went on, the spectators joined in the
chorus, which became more animated. Other villagers entered
into the dance, and all joined in dumb show to imitate the opera-
tions of daily life. New songs, invented for the occasion, de-
scriptive of hunting the deer, bear, and fox, of pursuing the seal
in kyaks, of travelling in the oomiaks, of fishing and other pur-
suits, were introduced in the chorus. The excitement increased,
and was added to by the applause of the spectators. All en-
tered freely into the enjoyment of the hour. Children appeared
from below, dressed in new and beautifully decorated clothing.
With the greatest gravity, and keeping time in all their motions
with the song, they deposited on the floor dishes of boiled fish,
meat, oil, and reindeer marrow; berries in a cream-like mixture
of snow, oil, and fat ; and other delicacies. This done, they
scampered out, to return again. The dance came to a close, and
the feast began. That over, all joined in a lively chorus, to-
bacco was distributed to the spectators, and the performance
closed for the night. The next evening a similar exhibition took
place, which was repeated every night for a week. The best
dancers took occasion to exhibit their proficiency singly; new
and original songs and symbolic pantomimes were introduced
'54
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
every evening. During the whole of the festival only the most
necessary labor was performed, and it would have been quite
impossible to induce anybody to do any outside work. When
it came to an end the guests departed, to reciprocate another
winter at Shaktolik. In this way the hospitable Innuit vary the
monotony of their existence, and by constant interchange of
hospitalities produce the most friendly feelings between differ-
ent tribes. Those about the Yukon-mouth seldom take part
in these festivities on Norton Sound. The latter embrace the
different tribes from Pastolik to Kotzebue Sound and Bering
Strait.
The dialects of those to the southward are so different that they
would have difficulty in intercourse with the former, which is
probably the reason of their absence ; but among themselves they
carry on an equal amount of such festivities. The semi-re-
ligious masked dances and midnight mysteries of the ancient
Aleutians find no counterpart among the Innuit of Norton
Sound.
It is impossible to doubt that, among all American aborigines,
much in their mode of life, customs, and ceremonials is of a local
nature, and due to extraneous circumstances. Much is also due,
unquestionably, to the similarity of thought and habit which must
obtain among human beings of a low type, and who gain their
living by similar means. Hence, a general similarity of many
customs may naturally be expected between both Innuit and In-
dians, as well as far-distant aborigines of different parts of the
world, and this similarity can afford no basis for generalizations
in regard to their origin.
Popoff and myself determined to join in giving a festival of the
second class, which has not yet been described. Myunuk was
chosen as the messenger. He was dressed in a new suit of clothes,
which was his perquisite ; he wore a fillet of wolfskin around his
head and carried a wand in his hand. This was about six feet
long, and curiously ornamented and carved, somewhat resembling
the Roman palms carried in procession by high dignitaries of the
Catholic Church on Palm-Sunday. He received his messages and
departed. Popoff had designated Alluianok as the one whom he
desired to honor. I chose Ark-napyak, another chief; and Os-
trofskoi another, called Andre.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 155
The messenger, first finding where the person indicated is, runs
at the top of his speed. On approaching him he shouts, " Oh ! oh •! "
as loudly as possible, and chants a lively chorus. At the same time
he delivers his message, waving his wand about the head of the
other, and tells him that Popoff, or whoever it may be, is desirous
of giving a festival, and having selected him as a suitable person
to honor, desires to know what would be acceptable to him as a
present. The other replies that he will accept the honor, and
mentions whatever he may want. In this case, Alluianok asked
for tobacco and a new shirt, Andre for wolverine skin, and Ark-
napyak for a glass of water, meaning liquor. A day was set for
the festival ; all who chose to come were welcome. We had a large
kettle, containing some ten gallons of rice, cracked wheat, and
oil, boiled into a general mush, and flavored with molasses ; and
another full of tea. Each guest was served with the former, and
received with the latter a slice of bread and a lump of sugar.
The presents were then given, and the practice is to give as much
as possible over and above what was asked for. Being without the
liquor which was so much desired, I chose to understand the request
literally, and presented Arknapyak with a large bowl full of scarlet
beads, much coveted by the Innuit, and filled up with water.
Powder, lead, caps, drill, and a little case of portable tools made up
his present, and after the others had received theirs, I distributed
among the guests small pieces of black tobacco, careful that none
should be overlooked. If the festival had been given by natives
only, dances and the chorus would have preceded the feast, but
the casarmer of the fort was unsuitable for dancing. The assem-
bly then dispersed, and we were notified to attend at the next
stage of the proceedings, in the casine of the village.
A day or two after, the messenger came to us to know what we
desired in return, using the ceremonial previously described. One
of the points which give zest to these festivals is the practice of
asking for the thing of all others most difficult to obtain. It is a
point of honor with the giver to procure it at any price or risk.
In some cases couriers are sent hundreds of miles, and the festival
is prolonged until their return, in order that the honor of the host
may be untarnished. I asked for a live seal, knowing very well
that the seal had left the coast at least three weeks before, and
that no amount of trouble would obtain one. Popoff asked for
!^6 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
foxskins and beaver ; Ostrofskoi, for a tame reindeer parka, and
wolfskin for collars.
The next day we repaired to the casine in the evening. The
custom is for those who bring presents to approach by the under-
ground passage. We sat on the floor around the aperture, and
Myunuk appeared and distributed tobacco to those present, a
beaver-skin to Popoff, and a pair of walrus tusks to me. The
giver stands in the aperture and dances and sings there for a few
moments, the old men, meanwhile, keeping time on the drums.
Alluianok came up and presented Popoff with three fine red
foxes. The giver always depreciates his present, and says there
are no more to be had, after which he stoops down and pulls out
something more, repeating the remarks until his supply is ex-
hausted. Arknapyak brought me a fine pair of winter boots
ornamented with wolverine skin, a dish of deer fat, two marten
skins, a bundle of boot-soles and some berries. Andre offered
fat, berries, a fine kamlayka, wolfskin for collars, half a sealskin
for boot-soles, meat, reindeer tongues, sinew, and a fine pair of
tame reindeer breeches. Each, after giving all his presents,
howled once or twice, danced in the aperture, and finally jumped
out to one side. The old men kept up a persevering drumming
and chorus. We distributed the tobacco and fat among them
and returned to the fort. Arknapyak said that his men had gone
to the edge of the ice after seal, and he could not yet fulfil all
of his duty, but would do so before the festival was over. It was
again the turn of the Innuit, and hoping to find me unprepared,
he asked for a plane, which of all things is most difficult to obtain
in this part of the world. I was fortunate enough to find one in
the tool-box which I bought of Popoff. It was duly presented at
the next meeting, which was similar to the one already described,
and in return I asked for a good tame reindeer suit for my ethno-
logical collection. The closing evening of the festival arrived,
and after the preliminary dances and singing were concluded,
the head of a seal appeared in the opening of the floor, the body
followed, and it began to move about, pulled by strings in the
hands of bystanders stationed for the purpose. It was dead, but
complete and frozen in a natural attitude. As it was jerked
about the Innuit imitated the cry of the seal, much to everybody's
amusement. Arknapyak then appeared and stated that owing to
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 157
the lateness of the season he was unable to procure a more lively
seal for the purpose, and hoped that this one would prove satis-
factory. He added that it would not bite. His explanation was
received with applause, and he added many other acceptable
articles to his present. The old men rose, and Alluianok the
senior chief then declared that the festival had been properly
carried out and every one satisfied. He thanked us for joining
with them in such a cordial manner, and proclaimed that the
feast was at an end. It was the first time on Norton Sound that
white men had joined with the Innuit in celebrating these games,
although StepanofF had several times done so, when on trading
expeditions among the more southern Innuit.
While collecting on the beach west of the river on the i8th
of October, I met a native who said that he had come up in my
new bidarra from the Redoubt. The stormy weather had de-
layed it. The next day it arrived at the fort, in charge of I'chuk
Koliak, a trustworthy Mahlemut, who on many occasions had
been extremely useful to our parties. His only fault was a pre-
dilection for liquor. He was honest, straightforward, and very
intelligent. He had received the name of Isaac from some of the
traders, who had also taught him to write his name legibly, but
the Innuit had corrupted Isaac into Ichuk.
Ingechuk and Andrea having arrived from Iktigalik, I endeav-
ored to engage them to take the bidarra up to that place while
the Unalaklik River was still unfrozen. They agreed, but put off
starting until the next day. When the morning had arrived we
provided bread and ukali for them, when I discovered that the
brave Ingaliks expected me to hire somebody to row them up the
river ! After expressing my opinion very freely of their laziness
and general worthlessness, I hired three Mahlemuts to take their
places. That afternoon I was seized with violent pain in my
neck and back, accompanied by fever, probably caused by camp-
ing on the river. On examining my boxes I was astounded to
find that the small supply of medicine had been left at the Re-
doubt. I felt that the case admitted of no delay. Although the
2Oth of October, the air was mild and pleasant. Not a particle
of ice was to be seen on the river or along the seashore. I went
up to the village, and through Isaac's mediation obtained two
men. Putting a little tea, sugar, and two loaves of bread, with
II
in the casine, suffering from anxiety quite as much as from the
pain, which however grew no worse. We got out of provisions
the second day, as I had not anticipated such delay. I cut the
last loaf into three parts and divided equally with my men. There
was nothing else but seal meat obtainable. I tried the heart and
liver, which were not objectionable, but the flesh impregnated
with the oil was positively revolting. The blubber, when per-
fectly fresh, has a taste exactly resembling the smell of the old-
fashioned lamp oil. Certain arctic explorers have pronounced
this, as well as the raw entrails of the seal, to be " delicious ! "
I can regard this statement only as the result of a depraved appe-
tite goaded by hunger. The blubber of the beluga and whale,
and even the flesh of the walrus, sea lion, and fur seal, is eatable.
When fresh the taste is but moderately disagreeable and is easily
conquered by hunger. But the flesh and oil of the leopard-seal
are always extremely repulsive, and cannot to the civilized palate,
by any stretch of the imagination, be considered otherwise.
Whale-blubber is a luxury compared to it.
I could not force myself to do more than taste it, and the result
was immediate nausea. Fortunately, in the evening I obtained a
small supply of venison and a deer's tongue. The latter dried or
frozen is a great delicacy, and has the flavor of chestnuts. This
flavor is lost in great part by cooking. In any shape there is no
other kind of tongue which will bear comparison with it.
Towards night of the 24th the waves fell somewhat. About
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 159
midnight I stepped out to look at the weather : snow-clouds were
driving across the sky, the surf roared, and billows dashed upon
the rocky islets. About five o'clock in the morning I rose and took
another look. The wind had subsided, but no boats would leave
that cove for six months. The weather was icy cold. As far as
the eye could reach seaward was a sheet of ice ! Aided by the
snow, the intense cold in five hours had covered the entire coast
of the Sound with ice. It was not clear, smooth, and solid, such
as makes in calm weather, but a white, frothy, rough substance,
looking like the white slag from an iron-furnace. Close in shore
it was several feet thick, but soft and unsafe, with occasional
pools of water. The Russians, who often have a substantive name
for conditions of things which we describe by means of adjectives,
call it shugdhj in distinction from clear, solid ice, which is loht.
I dismantled the bida"rka, raised her on a stage out of reach of
the dogs, made up three packs of about fifty pounds each, and
about ten o'clock started with my men for the Redoubt on foot.
The travelling was exceedingly hard ; we had to step from one
tussock to another, which often gave way, striking the toes against
the frozen ground. I had only one light parka without a hood,
and the wind was very cold. By constant exercise I managed to
keep warm, and about nightfall caught sight of the hut on the
knoll at the Major's Cove. I told the men we would camp here,
and they received the information with exclamations of thankful-
ness. The house was a wretched one, much out of repair, and in
consequence smoky. My bread was exhausted ; we had fortunately
one drawing of tea, but no sugar, and only a small fragment of
frozen deer meat. One of my men opened his pack and com-
menced unrolling a small bundle. First a piece of paper, next a bit
of sealskin, and so on, until about ten wrappers had been removed.
To my surprise it was the bread I had given him several days be-
fore. I praised his economy, but he interrupted me, saying, " Take
it ; you want it more than I do," and insisted upon my accepting
it. The other, who was almost a boy, seeing the bruised and
battered condition of my feet, brought out some pieces of cotton
drill, which he asked me to use as " nips " and to return to him
at some future time. These instances of kind-heartedness are
worthy of being remembered. They give a glimpse of character-
istics we never found among the Indians, and which eminently
160 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
distinguish the Innuit. Several similar instances were related
by members of Major Kennicott's party. Mahlemuts in their
employ, during a scarcity of provisions, denied themselves in
order that others might not suffer.
The next day we boiled our tea-leaves over again, and made the
best of our way over the ice along shore. The mouth of the Canal
was frozen, as I had hoped, and with care we crossed safely, and
reached the Redoubt just as the service was over and the inhab-
itants were coming out of church. Stepanoff, who with astonish-
ment had watched us crossing the new ice, received me hospita-
bly. I obtained the necessary medicines, and, by heroic doses of
calomel and quinine, succeeded in quelling the disorder.
Four days after, though quite weak and still far from well, I
started on my return with a Russian Creole, named Goldsen, a
sled with six dogs, and three natives. I had obtained some sugar
from Stepanoff, to make up my loss, and a good parka, with other
necessary articles. The weather was about twelve below zero,
and rather windy. We kept on the ice beyond the Major's Cove,
but as it was untrustworthy we were obliged to take to the bank.
Here the going was very bad, as previously mentioned. There
was no snow, and we stumbled over the frozen hillocks until our
feet ached again. We arrived safely at Kegiktowruk in the even-
ing. Here we took on the tent and other things which I had
been obliged to leave behind.
The next day the travelling was even worse. In many places
we had to cut our way through low but heavy willow brush, which
grows along small watercourses. We camped in a ravine near
the two islands. In the evening the wind fairly howled, and it
began to snow. The air was full of fine snow, which the strong
wind drove into the eyes. Travelling under such conditions is
almost impossible and very dangerous. The Russians call this
poorga. It is in such storms that travellers lose their way, and
are frozen to death. Clear cold, however great, can always be
borne, with proper clothing and exercise, but the poorga, penetrat-
ing to the bone, first blinds, then chills, and finally exhausts the
hapless traveller, who no sooner falls than he is covered by the
snowdrift.
The next morning was more pleasant. We passed Golsova
River about eleven. In the middle of the afternoon we saw a
THE YUKON TERRITORY. l6l
herd of deer feeding among the willow brush. The dogs started
off on a full gallop, sleds and all, and it was with the greatest dif-
ficulty that we checked them. I started in one direction, and
Goldsen in another. A doe with her fawn passed near me. I
fired, and she sprang into the air and came down full on her
horns. A few struggles, and she was dead. The others, alarmed
by the shot, were off at full speed. On examination I found that
one of the buckshot with which the gun was loaded had struck
her on the leg. Falling on her horns, she had come down with
such force as to break open the skull and pierce the brain. This,
and not the shot, had killed her. On skinning her we found the
udder full of milk, which we saved in a tin cup. It was thick
and rich, like cream. The winter coat of the reindeer is gray,
with long white hair on the throat. It is a very awkward-
looking animal when in motion, reminding one of a cow. The
eye is large and black. We cached the meat and skin, taking
only the heart and liver. We hung up a handkerchief on a snow-
shoe, and poured powder in a wide circle around it to keep off
the foxes. Pushing on, we crossed Tolstoi Point, and camped in
the house at Topanika. To reach it we were obliged to unload
the sled, and carry every article, as well as the dogs, through the
water around two points of rock. The ice was rotten, and there
was a strip of open water ten yards wide between it and the
shore. That night we had milk in our tea, the only time during
my stay in Russian America. The house at Topanika, though
well built, is very smoky, so much so that in good weather it
is better to camp out of doors.
The next day we started for Unalaklik about eight o'clock.
We had broken all the bone off the runners, and the sled
moved slowly. I pushed on ahead, and reached Unalaklik about
two o'clock ; the dogs arrived about two hours afterward.
The annual rumor of a proposed invasion by the Shageluk In-
galiks had reached Unalaklik during my absence, and after two
days' excitement had been forgotten.
November 3d, Isaac's brother arrived from Kotzebue Sound
with two kegs of rum, bought from the traders. The whole
village was in an uproar very soon, and the Russians barred the
doors and loaded their guns, shaking in their shoes with fear.
Poor Isaac came up to the fort, without a weapon of any kind,
ii
1 62 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
and the Russians seized him, tied him with ropes, and beat him
dreadfully with dog-whips. I remonstrated, but they paid no
attention to it, and when weary of abusing him they turned him
out of the fort, half naked, and blind with the treatment he had
received. As soon as it became known in the village the women
united in bewailing the misfortune, and the wind brought their
cries distinctly to our ears. Isaac's wife came up to the window
of the bidarshik's room and cried, " We will tell the Americans
when they come back, and they will not forget us," but she was
only answered with curses. More brutality joined to greater
cowardice I hope never to witness.
The storm blew over in time, though the hatred which all the
natives bore the Russians was much increased. Isaac was very
popular among the Innuit, and had never injured the Russians
in any way. I took some medicine and went down to the village
next day, and dressed his wounds and bruises, but the Russians
were afraid to leave the fort for a week.
On the 8th of November an old woman died very suddenly
in the village. The warm weather in October had occasioned
much sickness everywhere among the natives. Pleurisy and bron-
chitis were very prevalent ; many were sick, and all much alarmed.
By the liberal use of mustard I assisted many of them, and my
attempts to cure them met with the utmost gratitude from the
poor people. The weather was very cold, and a piercing east
wind prevailed, which did not help matters.
Near the fort is a small village of Kaviaks ; their chief, named
Kamokin, had been of much assistance to Captain Pirn and other
explorers in search of Franklin. He was always harping on
this subject, and brought it forward on every occasion. A more
persevering old beggar I never saw, nor were any of the others so
unreliable or so mean. A fierce bulldog given him by the Ertglish
was a perfect nuisance in the village. One of his workmen was
sick with pneumonia, but not dangerously ; he was in a fair way
to recover when the old woman died. Fearful that this man
would die in the house, which must then be deserted, Kamokin,
with the greatest barbarity, and deaf to our remonstrances, put
him out of doors in a cotton tent, without food, blanket, or fire.
Of course, in two days, with the temperature thirty below
zero and a sharp wind, the poor fellow died. His body was
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 163
dragged a short distance, wrapped in a piece of sealskin, covered
with one or two logs, and all his little property, including his gun,
scattered about on the ground. Left in this way, the dogs soon
attacked it, and it was only by threatening Kamokin that we
would take the body and throw it into his house through the
smoke-hole, that we finally induced him to give it decent burial.
The cold weather continued, and we expected Kurilla with the
dogs every day. Meanwhile I had a number of women set at
work making new harness, as the old was worn out, and we should
need a double supply. These harnesses are made with two bands
over the back, sewed on each side to a broad band which passes
around the chest and is prolonged into two traces. Beneath, a
belly-band with a button and loop holds it on. A single small
sealskin will make a dozen good harnesses. The thicker skins
make the best, and they are often ornamented with red flannel
and bright buttons.
CHAPTER V.
Arrival of Kurilla send the dogs. — Departure from Unalaklik. — Various kinds of
sledges. — Arrival at Iktigalik. — Series of detentions. — Indian avarice. — At
Ulukuk and across the portage. — Comparative merits of different sledges. — Wol-
asatux. — Arrival at Nulato. — Sham hysterics. — Fish-traps. — Kurilla's return. —
Journey to the Kaiyuh River. — Housekeeping. — Christmas and New- Year's. —
Snaring grouse. — Yukon fish. — Continued sickness. — Arrival of the mail. —
Start for the Redoubt. — How the Russians travel vs. how the Americans travel.
— Arrival at the Redoubt. — Return to Iktigalik. — Break-down and repairs. — Dog-
driving, and camp life in the Yukon territory. — Snowshoes. — Arrival at Nulato. —
Expeditions among the Nulato Hills. — Hostile Koyukuns. — Reasons for their hos-
tility.— Character of the western Tinneh. — Endurance. — Prevalent diseases. —
Snow-goggles. — Totems. — Dances and songs. — Arms. — Habits of life. — Ad-
ditional notes on the Kutchin tribes. — Making shot. — Attack on Tekunka and the
result. — Arrival of swallows and geese. — Break-up of the ice. — Narrow escape. —
Non-arrival of Indians. — Pavloff 's departure.
EARLY in the forenoon of November I2th I was called out
by a cry that dogs were coming. On reaching the river-
bank I saw the tall form of the indefatigable Kurilla behind a
rapidly advancing sled. He had hardly reached the fort when
Pavloff, Paspflkoff, Peetka, and Ivan the tyone came in sight
with two other sleds. All was as usual at Nulato, and there was
a fair prospect of abundance of fish in the coming winter. We
greeted them heartily, and were soon seated around the steaming
samovar. They were eight days from Nulato, and had found the
ice on the Yukon in good condition, though there were still open
places in it. The Russians were bound for the Redoubt, and
Ivan had come to Unalaklik to buy oil.
The 1 4th was stormy, and on the I5th I arranged to start for
Ulukuk. I was short of dogs, as Stepanoff had taken all the dogs
belonging to the Telegraph Company, except those which Kurilla
had brought from Nulato. I was able to secure nine from the
Unalaklik village, and hired three Mahlemuts to assist us as far as
Ulukuk and perhaps to Nulato. I obtained two Innuit sleds,
which would be available only as far as Ulukuk. These sleds are
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
165
admirably suited for travelling over the ice, but are too heavy to
use on a portage. They are made of spruce wood, with the run-
ners shod with bone cut from the upper edge of the jawbone of
the whale, and pegged on with birch pegs. They are brought from
Bering Strait, and good ones are worth ten sables a pair. The
sled is furnished with a flat bottom made of slats, on which the
Innuit sled of Norton Sound.
load is laid, and with a low horizontal rail. We were accustomed
to lash a pole on each side, projecting behind the sled at an angle
of fifty degrees with the runner These poles, strengthened with
a cross-bar, assisted materially in pushing and guiding the sled
and in lifting it up and down steep banks.
We had brought down from Fort Yukon to Nulato, the previous
summer, two Hudson Bay sledges and a set of harness. They are
Hudson Bay sled, loaded.
made of three birch boards about twelve feet long. These are cut
thin at one end, about three feet of which is bent over, lashed and
covered with rawhide to keep it in place. Inside of this curve the
voyageur carries his kettle. The boards are secured to each other
by crosspieces well lashed on. The load is placed inside of a large
bag as long as the sled, and made of dressed mooseskin. It is then
covered over and firmly lashed by means of a rawhide line and
netting attached to each side of the sled. A piece of mahout,
known as the tail-line, passes through a loop in the head of the sled
and is tied to the lashings over the load, binding it all firmly to-
gether. The preceding sketch shows the appearance of the loaded
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
sled. The harness is furnished with a padded collar, like a horse-
collar, but rounded, which goes over the neck of the dog, and the
traces are long. The dogs are harnessed tandem, and three good
ones make a team. The traces are buckled on each side of the
dog behind, so that the strain all comes on the load and no power
is wasted. I found it advantageous to lash two poles to the load
behind, as already described, as it is very hard work controlling
the motions of the sled by means of the tail-line alone.
The Indian sled of the country is much lighter. It is made of
birch, with thin, broad runners, which bend with the inequalities
of the road. The accompanying picture will give a better idea
Ingalik sled of the Yukon.
of it than a description. There are no nails or pins, the whole
being lashed together by means of rawhide thongs. The load is
usually covered with cotton cloth, and firmly lashed to the sides
and rail of the sled. The dogs are harnessed two and two, with
a leader, to a single line in front of the sled. The traces are tied
together, and attached by a short cord to the sled-line. The har-
ness was described in the last chapter.
We had had many discussions during the past season, in regard
to the respective merits of the different kinds of sleds, and I was
very glad of the opportunity of thus putting them to a practical
test. The Hudson Bay sled is the only one used by their voy-
ageurs ; while the Russians use a sled similar to the Indian one,
but. broader and more strongly made.
We started for Ulukuk about noon of the Kth. Our loads
were unusually heavy and the teams small. On each of the Hud-
son Bay sleds I placed about four hundred pounds, and gave them
three good dogs apiece. The Indian sled took about the same
load with four dogs, and the Innuit one had about seven hundred
with five dogs. The latter, being shod with bone, will carry a
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 167
very heavy load over smooth ice with ease. I took one of the
Hudson Bay sleds, as I always made it a rule to take as heavy a
sled as any man in the brigade. With this arrangement no man
could complain of the excessive weight of his load, and laziness
was left without an excuse. A light sled should always lead, and
break the road. This was Kurilla's post ; I brought up the rear,
to prevent the natives from needlessly lagging behind. When
sure of my men and with a good road, I always took the lead. It
is a good plan for the leader to carry the blankets, chynik, and
axes ; for if a storm should come up, and the others should drop
behind, they cannot camp until the day's work is finished, and
they have caught up their lost ground.
We found the going moderately good, and camped a short dis-
tance below Iktigalik about six o'clock. The days were begin-
ning to be short. The sun rose about ten o'clock, and by three
in the afternoon had again reached the horizon. His highest
elevation was far below the zenith.
We reached Iktigalik early the next day. Here we camped,
bought dog-feed, and rearranged the loads, substituting an In-
dian sled for the Innuit one, which was of no further use, as we
were about to make portages. Matfay had promised me a new
sled and the use of his dogs, for which I had paid him in advance.
Now, the old ruffian refused to let his dogs go at all, and gave us
a weak and almost worthless old sled. Am ilka and others had
built some new winter houses near Nuk'koh, and had deserted
Ulukuk entirely, only one house there being still inhabited. All
the Ingaliks were going to the Kaiyuh River a little later in the
season. Here Tekunka had announced that he would hold a fes-
tival. He was now on his way to Unalaklik to purchase oil. We
were delayed the next day, having to patch up the old sled, but
got off about ten o'clock. We had not proceeded far before three
of the knees on one side broke. After making the best repairs
in our power we pushed on, and about noon reached the new
village.
Here we found a large number of Indians. There was a new
sled there, and the owner asked for it a can (i Ib.) of powder, ten
balls, and ten percussion-caps. The usual cost of a sled is twenty
balls ; yet I would have purchased it, even at the outrageous
price he named ; but after paying him he stooped down and be-
1 68 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
gan to strip off the lashings, saying that the remni belonged to
another man. At this my temper, which had been at the boiling-
point ever since I left Matfay, gave way, and I expressed my de-
cided opinion of him as thoroughly as my vocabulary permitted
me. Leaving the sled and reclaiming the price, I pushed on, de-
termined not to submit to such an imposition. About a mile
beyond the village the old .sled gave out entirely. This was the
last drop. I said nothing, but took out my pipe and sat down to
calm my nerves. The others did the same, and finally Kurflla
spoke up and said that we must go back and buy the sled pre-
viously spoken of. He suggested that he had a small tin which
held only half a pound of powder, and if that were presented to
the man he might not detect the difference : in this way we
might get even with him. We had plenty of mahout to lash the
sled again. I told him he might try, and he went off and soon
returned with the sled. We had meanwhile boiled the chynik.
and now took our tea, after which we reloaded. One of our
dogs had taken the opportunity to gnaw off his harness and dis-
appear in the woods. Meanwhile it had become almost dark,
and the men were grumbling, and wanted to go back and spend
the night at the village. They invented stories about there be-
ing no ice in the Ulukuk River, and went grudgingly to their
work when I told them that stopping was out of the question,
and we should sleep only on our arrival at Ulukuk. This day's
adventures are fair specimens of the annoyances sometimes ex-
perienced in travelling, and which only patience and energy can
overcome. The dogs are given to running away when most
wanted, and light steel collars, and chains such as horses are
hitched with, would be a very valuable addition to any traveller's
equipment.
We arrived in good order, but some time after dark, and
camped in one of the winter houses. There we found a few
Indians, and obtained abundance of trout, fresh from the river,
with which we fed ourselves and the dogs, reserving the lighter
ukali for the road. A small Indian cur occasioned great con-
fusion during the night, howling and fighting, and started at
last for the woods, with several of our dogs in pursuit. I had
reckoned that old Ami'lka would be willing to lend us his fine
team, but he refused; — such is life among the Indians!
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 169
The next day was occupied in repairing damages, reloading,
and recovering our runaway dogs. The weather was disagree-
ably windy, with snow.
On the i Qth we started very early. A few miles from Ulukuk
we were astonished to see dogs coming, and in a few moments
the previously mentioned cur appeared, with Amilka's three dogs
in hot pursuit. These were immediately impounded and pressed
into the service, forming an exceedingly acceptable addition to
our insufficient teams. Even the cur was made to contribute, by
tying her to the foremost sled as leader.
In crossing one of the gullies by which the tundra is inter-
sected, the new sled was broken beyond repair. The Indians
were in despair ; but, by cutting off about three feet of the other
runner, I made a short sled, in which two dogs could haul our
blankets and other light but bulky articles. The remainder of
the load and team was distributed among the other sleds. Ow-
ing to this delay we were obliged to camp near the Vesolia
Sopka. These repeated stoppages were the more annoying as
our dog-feed was short.
The next day we made better time, and camped near Beaver
Lake. Many deer tracks were visible, and there were evidently
herds in the vicinity.
The following morning we passed Beaver Lake and One-Tree
Camp. The wind and snow were blowing just as they were the
year before, when I was travelling with Mike. I little thought
at that time that my next journey on that road would be taken
alone. Facing the keen wind, I got my nose arid cheeks some-
what frostbitten, but soon restored them by rubbing with snow.
It has been said that freezing is unaccompanied by pain, but my
experience does not confirm it. The feeling is as if a thousand
red-hot needles were being driven into the flesh. Of course,
after it is frozen beneath the skin, there is no further pain. Im-
mediate application of snow will relieve it, and the usual effects
are slight. The skin peels off and leaves a brown stain resem-
bling sunburn, and quite as ephemeral. Fire and warmth should
be avoided, as they produce an intense burning pain attended
with inflammation. The best plan in cold weather is to face the
wind boldly ; after a while the skin will become inured to it.
Arriving at Perivalli, we camped, making our supper of ukali
and tea.
170 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
The next morning we started with the twilight. The valley
through which we had been passing is of an hour-glass shape.
The narrowest part is near a round, abrupt hill, called by the
Russians the Ass's Head. It widens toward Ivan's barrabora
and Kaltag. We camped not far from the latter place. For the
last three days we had been on snowshoes, and the road was far
from good.
In the following morning early we reached the Yukon, and
crossed to the village on the left bank. Here I bought some dog-
feed and a couple of rabbits. There were many fresh marten and
fox skins on the caches, and most of the men were away trapping.
At this season the fur is the best ; toward spring it becomes faded
by the sunlight. The next day we continued on our way, reach-
ing Wolasatux' barrabora in the afternoon. Dog-feed was very
scarce, and I was obliged to give them only half a fish apiece,
instead of a whole one, which is the usual ration. I found my-
self very tired, having worked with a Hudson Bay sled all day,
and with a very heavy load. I came to a conclusion about the
sleds, which I have not yet seen any reason to change.
The virtues of the Hudson Bay style are, that it will carry very
heavy loads without breaking ; that it will make fair time on level,
hard snow ; that the method of harnessing is good ; and with
first-class dogs it will do good service. Its faults are, that it will
not carry as large a load of light baggage, dog-feed, &c., as the
Russian style ; that it is much harder to guide ; that it is ex-
tremely hard work to take it up hill ; that on a side-hill it keeps
sliding down, unless a level road is beaten for it ; finally, that it is
almost immovable in soft snow, a large pile of snow always form-
ing under the head of the sled.
For the Russian style it may be said, that, while more liable to
fracture, it is much lighter ; it will carry an equally heavy load,
with the same dogs, as the other style, and the load is above the
surface, and not so liable to injury from water or snow ; it rides
much more easily on a hillside and in soft snow, and the driver
can help the dogs much more effectually. The Hudson Bay style
is the best for carrying such loads as oil, fresh meat, flour, and
hardware ; and the other for all lighter loads. The Hudson Bay
harness is decidedly the best, but not suitable for a large team,
which would infallibly tangle at every declivity. The Innuit sled
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 171
is superior to both on the ice, and far inferior everywhere else.
The Hudson Bay dogs are swifter and better trained, but not so
enduring or tough as the dogs of the coast.
Wolasatux, poor man, was in great tribulation. His eldest son,
a bright-eyed, intelligent boy of twelve, was evidently dying.
The child was wasted to a skeleton ; his cheeks burned with fever;
his stomach alone protruded. The old man and his wife were
both laid up with pneumonia, and his breast was covered with
scars, where he had applied the actual cautery. I left as much
bread as I could spare, and some pieces of backfat for the sick
boy, who brought out from its hiding-place the skin of a lemming,
which he had prepared for me the previous summer. I made the
old man a liberal present, for he was a very generous and kind-
hearted old fellow.
About noon the following day we reached Nulato. Only three
Russians were there. The house in which I proposed to winter
was unfit for occupancy, being without windows. It had been
repaired according to my orders, and I occupied a corner in the
bidarshik's house until my own should be ready. Several of my
dogs had been taken to feed during the past summer by Indians,
who had failed to return them in the fall. I sent a man to Koyu-
kuk, where a great festival was being held, to procure the missing
animals. Fish was very scarce, the traps catching very little, as
the water continued high in the river. The next day two dogs
arrived, but a third had been killed in a rage by the Indian who
had it in charge, as he had hoped to keep it permanently. The
dogs and sleds were prepared for another journey to Ulukuk, to
bring up the remaining goods. On the 28th of November the
brigade started, in charge of Kurilla, Johnny accompanying him,
with two Indians and the Mahlemuts. The Russians got after
my alcohol for collecting, and I was obliged to poison it. I set to
work making windows, and laying my plans for putting down a
fish-trap on my own account. The idea of being dependent on
the Russians for fish was repugnant to me, and I knew very well
that they were often without fish for their own use.
Several of the Indians at the fort had been attacked by a kind
of fit, and one of these occurred in my presence. The Russians
consulted me as to some means of cure. The patient fell in a
sort of convulsion, struggling violently, appearing unconscious,
I 72 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
tearing the clothing, and breaking everything within reach.
There were no symptoms of any disease, and the fits were epi-
demic, seizing one after another at short intervals. The cases
resembled the descriptions of those people who were supposed in
ancient times to be bewitched, and also some of those appear-
ances which have accompanied cases of semi-religious mania in
Europe in modern times. Suspecting the cause of the symptoms,
I recommended the application of a birch twig, well laid on : the
result exceeded my anticipations. The patients arose in a rage,
and the epidemic was effectually checked. The reason for such
behavior was inexplicable, and is one of the mysteries peculiar to
the Indian mind. It is probable that in the course of time these
fits, at first wilful, became in a measure involuntary.
Having finished the windows, I began to put the house in
order, and it soon assumed a habitable appearance. My fever,
which I had hoped was thoroughly conquered, returned, and I
felt anything but well.
On the 4th of December, Pavloff and his companions returned
from the Redoubt. They brought discouraging reports from
Kurflla, whom they represented as without dog-feed. They
strongly opposed my putting down an independent fish-trap, say-
ing that it would cost me a great deal, that I should catch no
fish, and that they could furnish me with all I required ; but I de-
termined to persevere in my own plan. These fish-traps are the
sole dependence of the Russians and Yukon Indians in winter,
for a regular supply of food. They are made in the following man-
ner. Green spruce trees, straight-grained and without knots, are
selected. It is often a matter of great difficulty to find them.
When obtained they are repeatedly split by means of wedges,
until the wood is reduced to strips a quarter of an inch in diam-
eter and twelve feet long. The tough green wood does not break.
These strips are for the basket and funnel. Thicker ones are
used for making the fences or mats. The former are carefully
trimmed until cylindrical. The latter are tied together with
osiers until a sheet of network is formed, with the strips crossing
each other at right angles, and the meshes about two inches
long and one high. These sheets are eight feet high and ten
long. The basket is twelve feet long, cylindrical, tapering nearly
to a point at one end, and open at the other. The aperture in the
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 173
point is about eight inches in diameter, and is closed by a small
cover. The cylinder is about two feet in diameter. A large
funnel of similar network is made. The mouth of it is eight feet
square, and it tapers to a very small aperture, just large enough
to admit a fish. The point is inserted into the open end of the
cylinder, and the whole is tied together. The network of both is
fastened with strong twine of hemp, or the inner bark of the wil-
low. Holes are cut into the ice, uprights driven into the mud at
the bottom of the river, and the mats are tied strongly to them.
In this way a T-shaped fence is made, extending at right angles
to the current out into the stream, to a point where it is about eight
feet deep. The funnels, with baskets attached, are fastened to the
ears of the cross-stroke of the T, one basket pointing up stream
and the other down. They are so arranged that they can be
lifted to the surface and out of the water. The ice above them
is broken away by means of four-sided chisels made for the pur-
pose. As they are raised every other day it does not form to any
great thickness. The baskets are kept in place by sharp poles
attached to the point and to the sides of the funnel, and pushed
down into the mud. Fish going up or down stream follow the
shore until they come to the fence, which guides them to the
mouth of the funnel, when they enter the basket, from which they
cannot escape. The water passes freely through the network, and
keeps them alive for any length of time. As the water falls, the
fence is extended, and baskets moved out or new ones put down.
It is a work of no little labor to cut through the ice and put down
the trap, or sapor, as the Russians call it. This trap was original
with the Yukon Indians, but is found only below Koyukuk. The
upper Indians and the Hudson Bay people know nothing of it.
Yagorsha informed me that the Yakuts had a similar custom.
Without it, in winter, starvation would reign on the Lower Yukon.
Similar traps are used in summer and raised by means of boats.
The slender network, exceedingly frail when dry, is very tough
when wet. The fish are shaken out by opening the cover at the
point of the basket. I had great difficulty in getting suitable
wood, and had to send six or eight miles from Nulato for it. I cut
the willows on the island myself, to be ready for work when Ku-
jrflla returned.
Metrikoff, the bidarshik of Nulato before Pavloff, died suddenly,
IJ4 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
leaving two bright, intelligent children. The Russians had re-
tained them on sufferance until the Governor could be heard from
in regard to them. MaksutofFs reply was, that the Company
would do nothing for them, and they had better be given to the
Indians ! Their mother was dead, and the recommendation of
the hard-hearted Russian was carried into effect. Ingechuk, who
was a relation of the mother, came and took them to Ulukuk. It
was hard to see two such boys deprived of all prospect of educa-
tion and condemned to a worthless life with the Indians, but it
was a fair specimen of the character of the Russians in Northwest
America.
The weather had set in very cold, and averaged thirty below
zero at noon. The wood for the trap, which had been obtained
with so much trouble, proved unsatisfactory, and there was no
prospect of obtaining more until Kurilla returned. Meanwhile,
though sick and miserable, I had not neglected the collections,
and had already several hundred birdskins of the species which
are winter residents.
Late in the afternoon of December I5th, Kurilla made his ap-
pearance with the brigade. They had done everything I desired,
had brought all the goods except a bag of oil and some ukali,
and the train contained four Mahlemut dogs, beside thirteen of
mine. The Innuit had come forward and offered dogs as soon as
they heard I was in need of them. I could not have trusted any
Russian in the territory to do the work as well and faithfully as
Kurilla had done it.
The Russians were out of fish. I had ukali, but none to spare.
It was evident that nineteen dogs could not be fed at Nulato for
any length of time, and I determined to go to the Kaiyuh River,
where Tekunka was giving a festival, and distribute all but one
team among the Indians, to be fed and used until I needed them
again.
Notwithstanding they had nothing to eat, — as the day was a
Prasnik, or holiday, when they were not obliged to work, — the
Russians preferred sitting in the house and grumbling, to the
trouble of going to the fish-trap.
On the 1 7th of December the Nowikakat tyone and seven men
arrived with a small hand-sled loaded with furs, which they sold to
Pavloff. When they were at a little distance, though their num-
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 175
ber could be counted, the Russians were seized with one of their
cowardly fits, barred the gates, loaded the howitzer, and prepared
for an attack from eight men and a boy ! On their stating their
errand, the commotion subsided and the gates were opened.
I made the tyone a present of some tobacco and ammuni-
tion, in consideration of his services during the previous spring.
With Indian assurance, he immediately demanded a seine, gun,
blanket, and a large supply of ammunition, which of course were
produced forthwith.
The next day I harnessed all the dogs into one sled and started
for Wolasatux', riding several miles for the first time during my
stay in Russian America. We found all sick on our arrival, and
very short of provisions. The following morning we proceeded
up a small river and across the country, until we arrived at Te-
kunka's barrabora on the Kaiyuh River. Here we found the
festival in full blast and the place crowded with Indians, dancing
and singing all night, so that we got very little rest.
The country is rolling, sparsely wooded, and full of small lakes
and rivers, which contain many fish, especially in summer.
The next morning, as the Indians were still engaged in their
festivities and would not attend to anything else, I put on my
snowshoes and travelled about fifteen miles eastward, to the
ridge of the Kaiyuh Mountains. These are low hills, trending in
a northeast and southwest direction, and at that season covered
with snow. Beyond them the country was rolling, with oc-
casional hills, and sparingly wooded. The rivers, if any, were
hidden by the snow. I returned, and reached the house in time
to make a good camp outside, as I felt very tired and unwilling
to be deprived of sleep for another night. I made my supper on
raw, frozen whitefish, scraped up like frozen pudding. This dish
is not unpalatable, as the freezing has all the effect of cooking.
Several of the Indians made me presents of mink and marten
skins.
The next day was devoted to trading. I secured a full sled-
load of frozen fish and ukali, keeping six dogs, and hiring In-
dians to take and feed the rest. I also purchased a quantity of
frozen berries, and some mats to cover the floor of the house at
Nulato.
Tekunka promised faithfully to make one of my party down
176 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
the river in the spring, and I gave him a gun as part payment
to clinch the bargain.
The next day all the Indians dispersed to their homes. We
left Tekunka, passing up the river to a place known as Jearny's
barrabora. Jearny (meaning fat) was the name of a very stout,
greasy Ingalik, who had a house and fish-trap, where I hoped to
obtain some more fish. The afternoon was moonlight, the sun
Jearny's barrabora.
setting very early, and after stopping to buy fish we thought best
to push on. The fence of the fish-trap at this place extended
clear across the river, and was made of bundles of willow brush
tied together and placed side by side. There was only one
Indian house and two caches. The building over the entrance
to the house was large, square, strongly built of heavy logs, and
pierced for musketry.
We camped five miles beyond. I had determined to return by
another route, which would bring us on the Yukon nearly op-
posite Nulato. Here I met with a serious misfortune, losing a
fine meerschaum, which had been my constant companion and
solace. I was now reduced to a single brierwood, in very poor
condition. The next morning, starting with the first light, we
followed a very poor, roundabout trail toward the Yukon. I
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 177
went on ahead of the dogs, and soon outstripped them. About
dark I reached Nulato, pretty thoroughly tired out, having made
nearly forty miles on snowshoes. The train arrived about two
hours after.
On leaving Nulato I had placed all our slender store of crock-
ery on a high shelf, that it might be out of any ordinary danger.
What was my regret, on going into the house, to find that the
shelf had given way, and the whole was in fragments on the floor !
No more could be obtained for love or money, and we were re-
duced to eating off of tin. Luckily, I had purchased of Ketchum
a Hudson Bay cup, saucer, and plate, made of iron lined with por-
celain. These were uninjured, and afterward did good service.
Another plate was repaired by boring small holes with an awl,
and sewing the pieces together with strong waxed thread.
My efforts were soon directed to the work of supplying our
household with various necessary utensils. Lamps, small cups,
and other articles were manufactured out of old tin cans. Mos-
quito-netting furnished the material for a sieve, and with Paspi'l-
koff's assistance I made a candle-mould. Seal-oil lamps are very
unsatisfactory, requiring constant picking, and making a great
deal of smoke. Cotton twine furnished wicks, and I was soon
able to make very passable candles from my extra supplies of
reindeer fat.
The flour which I obtained from the Russians was a mixture of
rye and wheat meal, usually denominated groats. The husks were
so coarse and abundant that sifting became necessary. The Rus-
sians raised their bread by means of leaven, but as this made sour
bread I adopted another plan, which is here described for the
benefit of future travellers. A gallon of warm water was mixed
with a handful of coarse salt, flour enough to make a batter, and
was placed in a wooden vessel on the warm peechka over night.
Early in the morning flour enough was stirred in to make it of
the proper consistency. At breakfast-time the fire was made, and
after breakfast, when the coals were removed from the oven, the
bread was kneaded, made into loaves, and put in. An hour usu-
ally served to bake it, making a batch of perfectly light, sweet
bread, without yeast or leaven. White flour may be treated in
the same way, but takes longer to rise. I usually made up about
forty pounds of flour at a time, and the bread would last us about
lj% THE YUKON TERRITORY.
a week. I soon found, by calculation, that we must be very careful
with our flour, and was obliged to weigh out the daily allowance, —
a pound each, not a very large piece of such damp brown bread.
I allowed each three pounds of sugar per month, and a pound of
tea for all hands. In this way I managed to make our supply
last, although we were often on short commons. Fish, rabbits,
and grouse were unusually scarce, and often entirely deficient.
No deer visit Nulato during the winter.
I had saved a small piece of frozen deer meat for Christmas,
which found us without other supplies in the storehouse. Christ-
mas morning I bought two white grouse, and sent Johnny out to
shoot another, which he fortunately succeeded in doing. With
these, some berry pies, and some sweetened short-cake, I made
Yukon grouse-snare.
out a pretty fair dinner, and invited Pavloff and Yagor to eat it
with me, each bringing his own cup, plate, and spoon, as my
stock did not set the table. It was a lonely Christmas compared
with the last, or with any I had ever spent before. It was impos-
sible to help thinking of the dear ones at home, of the Christmas-
trees and festivities they were enjoying, and equally impossible to
doubt that they were thinking of us as we were of them, though
many thousand miles away.
New-Year's day brought cold weather, forty-eight below zero.
My hunters were unsuccessful, and our dinner was reduced to fish
soup, cranberry pie, bread, and tea. My family consisted of
Johnny, two Indian boys, and Kurilla. I sent the boys out set-
ting snares for grouse and rabbits. These were occasionally
successful, and eked out our slender bill of fare. The snares are
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 179
made of twisted deer sinew in a running loop. This is attached
to a pole, balanced, as in the preceding sketch, between two
branches, and caught over a horizontal pole by means of a small
pin tied to the snare. Brush is piled on each side ol the tracks
which the grouse run in, so that they have to pass through the
opening where the snare is set. A touch loosens the pin, and the
heavy end of the pole falls, hanging the partridge or rabbit in the
air. Some seasons hundreds are caught in this way. These
grouse feed entirely on the willow buds, and the crop will some-
times contain a pint. The flesh is hard, dry, and tasteless ; a
long experience in eating it has left an unfavorable impression.
Our fish-trap was in process of manufacture, but illness prevented
me from assisting. I seldom rose from my bed, except to weigh
out the daily allowance of bread, and I felt my strength failing
fast. In spite of this, I could hardly force myself to eat, and was
tormented with constant headache.
Cold days alternated with warm weather, and even occasional
rain. Pavloff said he had not known such a season for sixteen
years. Such mild weather in January was unprecedented.
January i6th the Indians and some Russians, whom I had hired
to help, commenced putting down my fish-trap. Kurilla came
home with an ugly wound in the thigh, from falling from the sled
upon an ice-chisel. I dressed his wound, but this disablement
was a serious misfortune. All the Kaiyuh Indians, starved out
by the unwonted scarcity of fish, had gone to Ulukuk, where
there is always abundance, to stay until March. Weeks passed
by, and not an Indian came near the fort.
The Russians were totally without fish, returning from the
examination of fifteen baskets with three poor whitefish. They
were living on tea and bread. Their dogs were nearly starving.
Ivan started up the river on his annual trip to Nowikakat, and
hoped to find dog-feed on the road.
Kurilla's wound healed rapidly, and to my great thankfulness
he was able to ride on the sled and examine the fish-trap, which
had caught six whitefish, — a good omen. The first week or two,
before the resin is washed out of the wood, the trap rarely catches
anything. On the 24th of January there were twelve fish in the
trap. From that time forward we obtained from ten to thirty
fish every two days, which drove the wolf from the door, and
l8o THE YUKON TERRITORY.
enabled me to save my ukali by leeding the dogs partly on fresh
fish. The Russian trap still continued almost empty, and if I
had not persevered in my plan of putting down an independent
trap, I should have been left without fresh provisions and lost my
dogs by starvation.
The first fish which are caught in early winter on the Yukon,
are the " losh" (Lota maculata) of the Hudson Bay men. These
are known in Lake Erie as the " eel pout," and grow in the north-
ern rivers to a very large size. I have seen them four feet long
and weighing sixty pounds. The liver is very large and full of a
rich sweet oil, which we found very useful in cooking. The livers
themselves are good eating, but very rich. The flesh is hard and
tasteless, and is usually given to the dogs. They present an ana-
tomical peculiarity in having from one to four distinct gall blad-
ders. The spawn, which occupies a large part of the abdominal
cavity, makes an excellent soup. The next most common kind of
fish is a red sucker, which grows also to a large size. The heads
make a good soup, but the rest of the body is so full of bones as to
be uneatable. The pike (Esox estor) is very common in the lakes
and small rivers, but rare in the Yukon. A salmon-trout is rarely
caught, and a belated salmon occasionally finds its way into the trap
as late as January. There are six kinds of whitefish, some large
and others small. The sea whitefish, or Morskoi seegd of the Rus-
sians, is considered the best. There is also found in spring a fish
resembling the whitefish, but dark-colored, and with a very long
dorsal fin, from which it gets the Indian name of " blanket-fish." In
July the salmon begin to ascend the river. There are five kinds.
Three of them are good eating, but the others are only fit for dogs.
After August they are bruised and in bad condition, being cast
in layers a foot deep on the banks of the small rivers. I have
seen hundreds of thousands of dead salmon cast up in this way by
the stream. Of course, in this condition they are only fit for
dog-feed, though the Indians will eat them if other food be scarce.
Most of these fish, except the salmon, are common to the rivers of
the Hudson Bay territory.
On the 3Oth of January, Pavloff returned. He had not gone far,
for want of dog-feed. His trade consisted of a black bearskin and
one lynx ; the previous year he had brought back some seven
hundred sables.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. l8l
My collection had thriven pretty well, in spite of sickness. I
had a keg of small animals and fish, two boxes of birdskins, and
other light specimens.
Still, I was fearful lest my sickness should increase so as to pre-
vent my collecting in the spring. I saw that the Russians and
Indians considered me as half dead already, and I resolved to
overcome it by force of will, if other means failed. I looked in
the glass one day, and saw such a cadaverous reflection there that
I turned it to the wall. I had already made preparations for my
journey to the sea-coast, and the birch was seasoning from which
I intended to have a long sled made, expressly to bring the bidarra
over the portage without taking it apart.
On the 3d of February there was a commotion in the fort.
Dog-trains were approaching in the distance. A rumor spread
that Stepanoff was coming, and it was amusing to watch the un-
accustomed energy with which the Russians hastened to clean
out the yard, removing the accumulated dirt of months, and
sweeping the path clean from the gateway down to the ice. It
was not Stepanoff, however, but a Russian and two Creoles,
with two of Stepanoff's fine teams from the Redoubt. On ar-
riving, they proved to be Kamaroff, Lukeen, and Aloshka ; they
brought a bag of oil for Pavloff, a two-gallon keg of molasses,
and a larger keg of salted geese, — a present from Stepanoff
for me. I knew at once that they had not come so far merely
to bring these things. I asked if any news had arrived from
Sitka, and received only an evasive reply. After a little I called
Lukeen, who was a jolly little Creole, into my house, and stimu-
lated him until he told me, with many injunctions of secrecy,
that the official news had arrived, via Nushergak and the Kusko-
qui'm, of the sale of the territory to the United States, that the
Russian American Company was wound up, and all the Russians
would return to Sitka or the Amoor River by the vessels in the
spring. This was good news, and I lost no time in hoisting the
stars and stripes on our flagstaff in front of the fort. The news
was soon made public, and all received it with joy. Old men who
had been many years in the country, detained by trifling debts to
the Company, which they had no means of paying, were extrav-
agant in the expression of their delight in the hope, so long
deferred, of seeing Russia once more. The native women, who
1 82 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
could not accompany their husbands if the latter chose to leave
the country, were in tears at the prospect of parting ; while oth-
ers, whose husbands had treated them with brutality, did not
conceal their pleasure at the hope of getting rid of them.
Kamaroff decided to try his luck in trading at Koyukuk, and
beyond ; on his return, Pavloff was to go with him to the Redoubt
for orders. I decided to accompany them, thinking, if I did
break down on the road, I should be within reach of assistance
from them, and I had many misgivings as to my own strength.
PaspilkofF at once set about making my new sled, and we began
to prepare sukaree for the road. By dint of extreme argument I
succeeded in getting Peetka to accompany me to the Redoubt.
I proposed to take Kurilla, and leave Johnny and the rest to take
care of the house.
Kamaroff and Lukeen returned with a few furs on the I3th,
and everything was prepared for an early start the next day.
Our loads consisted principally of the collections. I took a Hud-
son Bay sled, and the long sled for the boat, with eight dogs. On
the 1 4th we set out. I found myself too weak to walk, and was
obliged to ride nearly all day on the sled. We made a very short
day's work, as the Russians stopped to get dog-feed from the
fish-traps, and camped at Wolasatux' barrabora, where they rum-
maged all the caches for ukali, the Indians being at Ulukuk.
The next day we camped at Kaltag. The necessity for work and
the determination to do it were conquering my weakness. I felt
better than for months previously.
The next day we reached the hill at Beaver Lake. This was
an excellent day's work, and I so remarked to Kamaroff. " Yes,
Gospodin Doctor," he replied, with an amusing air of superiority,
" this is the way the Russians travel." I made no answer, but did
not forget the remark.
The next day we took tea at noon near Ivan's barrabora. The
Russian sleds were light, and they had full teams of fine dogs.
With our heavy sleds we were soon left behind. I forced myself to
walk on snowshoes behind the sled, and relieved the dogs as much
as possible. We passed Poplar Creek, and came to the Vesolia
Sopka about dusk. The moon was shining, although there were
dark clouds coming up, and we pushed on as fast as our tired dogs
would go. Stopping a moment to rest, I improved the opportu-
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 183
nity to sketch the scene, of which the frontispiece gives a good
idea. The crust was covered with about three inches of soft dry
snow, and the Hudson Bay sled pulled very hard. Constant exer-
cise of the lungs and whip were necessary to keep the dogs up to
their work. On we trudged, following the track, lifting the sleds
up and down gullies, pushing through occasional drifts, and shout-
ing encouragement and admonition to the dogs, calling each by
his name.
We did not turn off from the tundra at Ulukuk, but kept on,
until I noticed that there were no new tracks, and called to Ku-
rilla, inquiring where the Russians were. He replied that he did
not know ; perhaps they had camped at Ulukuk ; but as that road
was such a bad one he had kept on the Indian trail across the
tundra direct to Iktigalik. I approved of his determination, but
saw that we must reach the latter place before we could camp, as
the trees along the edge of the tundra were small and sparse, the
wind was rising, snow beginning to fall, and poorga impended.
At last we reached the river, and collected all our energies, as the
blast, carrying snow and almost blinding us, was increasing in
severity. In half an hour we passed a fish-trap, and soon after,
the welcome sight of the tall caches against the sky met our eyes.
We carried the sleds up the bank with a will and a shout, which
brought the Indians like marmots from their burrows. An In-
dian who had been with us during the early part of the day came
out and inquired where the Russians were. Kurilla replied that
we did not know, probably at Ulukuk. The air rang with their
shouts of derision, at the idea that a sick man, with heavy loads
and feeble teams, should have outstripped the fine dogs and empty
trains of the Russians. The poor dogs were unharnessed, and
immediately curled themselves up to sleep, refusing to eat, from
fatigue. It was with a pardonable feeling of pride that I took
my place in the house by the fire, and discussed the day's work
over a cheerful cup of tea. By the winding road which we were
obliged to take, we had made not less than fifty miles, unquestion-
ably the longest day's travel with loaded sleds which had been
made in that part of the territory within the memory of the old-
est inhabitant.
The next morning, after a long night's rest, we arose and fed
the dogs. The teams were loaded and harnessed up, and I spent
184 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
a half-hour purchasing deer meat and ukali for my dogs on my
return. We then started down the river, and after a mile or two
stopped to obtain some water. Just as we were about to push on,
the Russians, who had been travelling since daybreak, came over
the bank. KamarofF advanced, cap in hand, and inquired where
I spent the night. I informed him, and he remarked that we had
made an excellent day's work yesterday. It was now my turn,
and I replied, " Yes, KamarofF, that is the way the Americans
travel ! "
About three o'clock in the afternoon we reached Unalaklik.
Here we found Ostrofskoi alone, PopofF having been recalled to
the Redoubt. After some trouble, I hired a Mahlemut sled to
take our goods on to St. Michael's. All the Innuit were away
hunting deer, only two or three old people remaining in the vil-
lage.
After a cold, rough journey, we reached the Redoubt about
noon of the 23d. The wind was very strong, the ice broken and
piled up in barricades twenty feet high. The temperature aver-
aged twenty-eight below zero. We were just in time for a hot
bath, and StepanofF received me with great hospitality. A pri-
vate letter from the Russian ex-governor had informed him of the
circumstances of the sale and transfer of the country, and the
arrival of General Rousseau at Sitka. The winter expeditions
from the Redoubt had been very successful, and more furs had
been obtained than for many previous years.
I obtained two bags of flour, some powder, and tea, from Ste-
panofF. At home it would sound queerly to talk of going three
hundred and fifty miles for a bag of flour, but here it was well
worth the trouble.
Though still very weak, I felt perfectly well, and could ascribe
my recovery only to the exercise of will required by the journey.
On the 2/th of February I started with PavlofF for Nulato.
We were able to pass around Tolstoi Point on the ice, an unusual
occurrence, which facilitated our journey. We arrived at Unala-
klik on the 29th. I found that Ostrofskoi had made away with a
good many of the ukali which I had relied on to feed my dogs on
the return. It was impossible to obtain restitution, as ukali were
not to be had for the asking. These fellows are inveterate thieves.
On the 2d of March I reached Iktigalik. I had hired several
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 185
extra dogs from the Russians, and found two of my own here,
which Andrea had stolen. The place was crowded with the
Kaiyuh Ingaliks, and I gave him a rating for his dishonesty, in
their presence, which made him sneak away like a whipped cur.
We determined to strike on to the tundra directly beyond
Iktigalik, and I would recommend this plan to all future travel-
lers. It is far preferable to the old route by way of Ulukuk.
By keeping along the bases of the Ulukuk hills, a nearly even
road may be obtained as far as the Vesolia Sopka. At the first
bank beyond Iktigalik the runner of the new sled carrying the
bidarra broke short off. My mortification was great, and the
Russians passed on, thinking us disabled for several days at least.
To make a birch runner, the wood must be bent while green, and
then well seasoned. To do that here was out of the question,
and we lighted our pipes and sat down to consider what could be
done. After consultation, Kurilla started off with the axe over
his shoulder, and I made a good fire, and put on the chynik,
determined to be comfortable, whatever might turn up. Kurilla
returned with a slender spruce tree, which he rapidly hewed
into the shape of a runner. I sent an Indian back to the village
to borrow an awl and buy some small sealskin line. As soon as
the runner was hewn out, we bent it in the fire, and in two
hours we had the sled completely repaired. The new runner
was thick, heavy, and clumsy, but answered the purpose very
well. Deerskins, to prevent the sealskin from chafing, were laid
on the sled, which had no rail. The boat was then replaced, and
strongly lashed. We took our tea, and proceeded on our way.
In the afternoon we passed the Russians, who had camped near
a small stream. They were much surprised and disgusted at
seeing us so soon. We camped just beyond the Vesolia Sopka.
I had the heaviest load on one of the Hudson Bay sleds, Kurilla
had the bidarra, and an Indian called Blackbird had the other
sled.
My team comprised three dogs. The leader was a fine black
dog named Ikkee, who had a magnificent bushy tail, which was
always erect and curly. The next one was black and white, and
called Sawashka, a hard worker and of amiable disposition.
Next the sled was old Kamuk, my favorite, and the ugliest dog
in the brigade. His tail, poorly furnished with hair, was usually
1 86 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
between his legs ; his ears were short, and scored with the marks
of many battles. His face was stolid, and exhibited emotion
only when feeding-time came, or when some other dog ventured
too near or lagged behind. His body was large, and his legs
were like pillars ; his color was white, with dirty spots. Alto-
gether he looked a good deal like a lean pig. But how he would
pull!
A description can give but a faint idea of dog-driving. It is
an art in itself. The nature of dogs is cross-grained, and they
frequently do the wrong thing with apparently the best inten-
tions. Each has a peculiar look and character. Some are irre-
claimably lazy, others enjoy hard work unless pushed too far;
some are greedy and snappish, others good-humored and decor-
ous. All are very practical, showing affection only for the man
who feeds them, and for him only as long as he feeds them.
Hence the voyageur should always feed his own team himself.
They dislike the whip, not only when in use, but in the abstract.
They will always destroy one if they can get at it. The whip is
made with a short handle, a very long lash, braided of leather or
sealskin, and usually loaded with sheet lead or bullets in the
core.
As we walk behind the sled, which ordinarily travels about four
miles an hour, we have an excellent opportunity of studying
dogs. One habit appears to be ingrained in their nature. It ex-
hibits itself at street-corners in cities, and at every bush, stump,
or lump of ice which they pass on the road. When travelling
rapidly, some dog will stop twenty times an hour to examine
any bush or twig which attracts his attention. If a leader, it
checks the whole team ; if not, he usually entangles himself in the
harness, and jumps frantically to release himself as he hears the
well-known crack of the whip about his ears. If a log comes in
the way, and the driver is not ready with his help in urging the
sled over it, down they all drop on their haunches, wagging their
tails and looking about with a pleased expression, or uttering a
sentimental howl. With a crack of the whip, and a shout to
Kamuk to stir himself, their reveries are broken, and we go on.
Going down hill, the whip and lungs are again called into requi-
sition, to keep the dogs out of the way of the descending sled.
It has been said that no man can drive dogs without swear-
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 187
ing. I think it is in a measure true. At all events, he must have
a ready store of energetic expletives to keep them on the qui vive.
In Russian America we always used the indigenous epithets, which,
as we did not understand them, were hardly sinful. If there is a
tree near the trail, the dogs invariably try to pass it on different
sides, until checked by their harness ; they constantly exhibit such
idiosyncrasies, and it was lucky for Job that he was not set to dog-
driving : if he had been, I fear his posthumous reputation would
have suffered.
At noon we stop for a cup of tea. Here the true voyageur ex-
hibits himself in building the fire. A greenhorn or an Indian will
make a conical fire, at the side of which you must place your chy-
nik, and wait until it chooses to boil. A white man's fire is built
in layers. The sticks in each layer are parallel with each other,
and at right angles with those in the layer beneath. A few chips
are placed upon this pile, which presents a broad, flat top, on
which you set your chynik. A few shavings are whittled from a
dry stick, and you light your fire on the top of the pile. The
free circulation soon puts it all in a blaze, your kettle boils in ten
minutes, you drop in your tea and let it boil up once, and you are
ready for "chy peet." If the fire be lighted at the bottom, it
takes twice as long to kindle, and if you boil your tea more than
an instant, it is ruined. Many travellers drink a caustic decoction
of tannin, which they call tea ; such unfortunates are to be pitied.
Tea over, you empty out your chynik, and set it in the snow a
moment to cool, that you may not burn your sled cover. Having
replaced it, and seen that the dogs are untangled, you shout to
Kamuk, " Be off, you old sinner ! " Down goes his tail, and away
you go. A greenhorn will have burnt his skin boots meanwhile,
trying to warm his shins, and have put the axe where it will knock
a hole in the chynik or drop out through the slatting of the sled-
bottom, if you have n't looked out for him. The wind blows the
snow in his eyes ; his toes bump against the bar of his snowshoes ;
now and then he trips himself up with them : truly, the poor fel-
iow has a hard time. If he has the right grit in him, he will soon
learn, and laugh at these things as you and I do. Up hill and
down dale, until it begins to be dusky in the south. Greenhorn
thinks it is the west, because the sun sets there. In June we will
show it to him setting due north, and rising there within half an
I 88 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
hour after it went down. The chief of the brigade has been on
the lookout for a place where there is plenty of dry wood, and
having selected his ground, gives the signal for halting. Kurilla,
who delights in showing his proficiency in the use of the American
axe, makes a straight wake for yonder dead spruce. Greenhorn
takes an axe, and chooses a small tree to begin with. Somehow
or other, the chips don't fly as they do over yonder ; but, by dint
of chopping all round like a beaver, it finally falls, burying him
under the branches in the deep snow, where he must stick until
somebody picks him up.
Meanwhile the direction of the wind is noted, and the camp
placed accordingly; — not so that it will blow on the backs of
those who sit in front of the fire, — because this always makes
an eddy where the smoke will remain, choking everybody, —
but so that the wind will blow on their sides, lengthways of
the camp, and carry the smoke away. In March we must
excavate the snow to a depth of eight or ten feet before we
can find solid ground to build our fire on. If built above the
ground it will gradually sink beneath the snow, leaving us in the
cold. One Indian goes in search of water, another cuts spruce
boughs, and you instruct greenhorn in the art of placing the
twigs, stem down and tips up, so as to make a soft and springy
bed. A green log is placed at the foot of the bed, to keep the
blankets out of the fire. Some one is cutting poles for a tempo-
rary stage. On this the sleds are placed, with their loads intact,
to keep them out of the way of the omnivorous dogs. The har-
nesses are also hung out of reach for the same reason. Then
each dog receives his supper of one dried salmon, and you carry
your blankets to the camp. Kurilla comes staggering under the
weight of a huge back-log, and follows it up with half a dozen
more, and also a supply for morning use. The camp being made,
and everything else done, we finally light the fire. Greenhorn
asks why you don't do that first, and you explain that the effect
would be to keep everybody in the vicinity warming themselves,
while the camp was unfinished, and hence the other necessary
work would be slighted.
The ever grateful cup of tea being ready, and such other pro-
visions cooked as you may have, you enjoy the evening meal and
discuss the events of the day. Supper being over, you light your
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 189
pipe. What demon would have the heart to deprive the weary
voyageur of his tobacco, — or what money would buy the pleasure
which he derives from it ? Oceans of whiskey would poorly re-
place his cup of tea, and untold gold would fail to purchase his pipe.
That delicious fifteen minutes being over, one last glance must
be taken at the sleds and dogs. As you return, the inmates of
the camp are invisible, beneath the surface. The fire and smoke
and glow, which issue from the excavation in the snow and illu-
minate the dark evergreens behind the camp, remind one of the
mouth of Inferno. The deerskins are spread ; if you are luxu-
rious you have a small pillow, if not, you take the biscuit-bag as
a substitute. Water being scarce, a large cake of snow is impaled
on a stake before the fire. Beneath it is the chynik, which soon
fills with water as the cake melts. Your nips and the straw from
your boots are hung in the smoke, to be thoroughly dried for to-
morrow's use. Unless this precaution is adopted, you will have
cold feet the next day. You cover yourself with a blanket on
which skins of the arctic hare or rabbit have been sewn. This
forms a light but very warm protection. I have slept comfortably
with nothing else and with the air at sixty below zero. You pull
your head entirely under the blanket, leaving a very small hole
for air, and if the dogs, who like a warm corner, do not come and
lie down on top, you may enjoy undisturbed the sleep of the just.
Leaving our camp in the morning, we pushed on among the
trees toward Beaver Lake. Every step was taken on snowshoes.
The snow was blown in our teeth, and the wind howled in such a
way that we knew poorga was raging on the tundra. Near the
edge of the timber at Beaver Lake we found an old camp. This
we cleaned out and enlarged, making a first-rate camp of it. It
was useless to go farther, as there were no trees and it was impos-
sible to travel over the open country. The great spruce trees
rocked and moaned with the fury of the blast, and the snow flew
in sheets far above our heads. The next morning it was even
worse. As we were well supplied with provisions and dog-feed, I
concluded to remain where we were. In the afternoon the Rus-
sians came up. I invited them to occupy part of our camp, and
told them they could not go over a mile farther, and then would
not be half as comfortable. But no ; their energy was not so
easily daunted, and on they went.
190
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
I have spoken of travelling on snowshoes. To travel without
them in winter is impossible, but sometimes on an old, well-beaten
road, or with, a hard crust on the snow, and while travelling over
ice, they are not needed. The different kinds of snowshoes are,
in a measure, characteristic of the locality where they are used.
Different kinds of snowshoes.
The Innuit snowshoe (A) is small and nearly flat. It is seldom
over thirty inches long. The netting is open and strong, being
made of fine remni. That which supports the foot is made of
strong mahout, which passes through holes in the frame. It
is strong, simple, and well adapted for walking on the hard snow
of the coast. Both shoes are alike.
The Ingalik snowshoe (c) is much larger. Mine were five feet
eight inches long, and strongly curved up in front. They are
always rights and lefts, a slight difference being made in the
curves of the frame of the two shoes. They are much wider in
front, and the netting, which is of deer sinew twisted into twine,
is much closer than in the Innuit shoes. The netting under the
foot is the same. In all the snowshoes the strings are alike.
Two short loops over the toe, and a long one around the foot
above the heel, fasten it to the foot. In walking, the toe sinks
into an opening in the netting provided for the purpose. Begin-
ners generally strike their toes against the bar, but after some
experience they learn how to adjust the loops and prevent this.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 191
The Kutchin snowshoe (D) is made a little smaller than the
Ingalik pattern, but much in the same style. The netting is
much closer and finer, and is made of fine line, cut from prepared
deerskins, called babiche. The whole shoe is prettier and more
artistic. It is frequently painted and ornamented with beads.
The Hudson Bay snowshoe (B) is very small, thirty inches
being the regulation size. This is in order that it may sink
deeper in the snow and beat a better road for the sleds. It
is sharply curved upwards in front, and is furnished with a
knob to break the crust of the snow. The frame is flat, not
rounded as in the other kinds. The foot netting is put on
around the frame, and not through holes in it. All the net-
ting is very fine and close, and made of babiche. They are gen-
erally painted in gay colors, and ornamented with tufts of colored
worsted. The latter in moist snow must be a great nuisance, as
the snow must stick to them and greatly increase the weight.
In hunting, the Hudson Bay men use the larger Kutchin shoe.
The latter is probably the best of all for general use.
The next morning the wind had gone down, and we started
very early. We passed the Russian camp, about a mile beyond
ours, and soon overhauled them on a side hill, where they were
stuck in a large drift. I proposed to go ahead and break the
road for them, at the same time taking some of their load,
though my sleds were already the heaviest. My offer was ac-
cepted, and we led the way for the remainder of the trip. We
camped near the Ass's Head that night, and about ten miles
above Kaltag on the Yukon the following day.
The road on the river was exceedingly bad. The long March
day and the warm sun made the snow moist and sticky. Each
snowshoe would raise ten pounds adhering to it, and it was ex-
tremely hard travelling. We took tea three times during the day.
Tired out with running before the dogs, PavlofFs Indian lay down
on the snow and refused to run any further. None of the Rus-
sians were in a condition to take his place. We were only some
three miles from Nulato, and I gave my sled to the runner, and
took his place. It was really a relief to exercise another set of
muscles, after walking behind the sled and pushing all day. We
found all in bed at Nulato, as we were not expected for several
days, and the Russians were especially surprised to see me, sup-
192 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
posing me to have been too sick to return immediately. PavlofFs
wife had the samovar ready, and we all took a cup of tea to-
gether, which did much to relieve the fatigue of the day.
The Russian fish-trap was catching nothing. Mine had been
very fortunate. There was a pile of several hundred frozen fish
in the storehouse, quite sufficient to feed my dogs. The next day
Blackbird was handsomely rewarded for his work, and sent back
with the extra dogs to Unalaklik.
Repairs being needed on the fish-trap, I discovered that the
Russians had appropriated all my extra wood during my absence.
After some trouble I obtained restitution.
Having a small piece of glass, I inserted it in the window.
After getting the light all winter only through parchment, it was
a great relief to be able to peep out occasionally, and to admit a
few rays of pure sunlight.
The plans which had been settled upon by the Russians were
about as follows : A raft was to be built in the spring, and on his
return from the annual trip to Nuklukahyet, PavlofF was to em-
bark with all the Russian employes and goods belonging to the
Russian American Company, and make the best of his way to the
mouth of the river, where boats from the Redoubt would meet
him and convey them to St. Michael's.
In the latter part of the month of March I made several expe-
ditions, without dogs, to the hilly region back of Nulato. In this
manner much geographical and geological information was ob-
tained.
About the 1st of April, Bidarshik, one of the Koyukuns who had
accompanied us to Fort Yukon, arrived from the mountains, where
he had been deer-hunting. He brought a sled-load of meat, of
which I secured the greater part, — a most acceptable addition to
our monotonous fare of fish-soup. He brought the information
that Larriown was endeavoring to excite the Koyukuns to active
hostilities against the Nulato post. Larriown was one of a family
of five brothers, all influential men among the Koyukuns. One,
whose name I could not obtain, had recently died. He had been
concerned in the first Nulato massacre, and was accused of having
killed Barnard. Since that time he had committed many outrages.
A Yukon Indian, named Nikolai, who had been extremely useful to
Major Kennicott's party in their explorations about Koyukuk, had
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
193
an exceedingly pretty wife, and, with his brother, was possessed of
much property. In the fall of 1866, Larriown's brother induced
Nikolai and his brother to accompany him to the mountains after
deer. There the former killed both of them, and hid the bodies,
securing their guns and ammunition. All the autumn and far into
winter, the other Indians sought the brothers in vain. At last
the murderer, tired of hearing about them, led the searchers to
the place where they lay, and boldly avowed his crime. He then
went to the house where they had lived, and plundered it. Niko-
lai's mother reproached him with the unprovoked murder, and
he threw her into the fire, forced Nikolai's wife to accompany
him, and fled to the mountains. Of the whole family, only the
little son of Nikolai and his sister, who were away, escaped.
There was no one to revenge them, and the murderer escaped
unpunished. In the fall of 1867 he died of pleurisy. Much sick-
ness of the kind prevailed during the winter, and Larriown, whose
dictum as a great shaman was not to be denied, accused the Rus*.
sians of having caused the sickness and death by their sorceries.
This may seem incredible, but such reasoning is characteristic *
of the Indian mind. The remaining brothers sent beads to the
various Indians as an inducement to attack the Russians ; but so
far they had hesitated, from the scarcity of provisions. Bidarshik,
under promise of secrecy, divulged the plot to me, and begged
me to leave Nulato. I took him into the magazine, showed
him my stores of ammunition and my arms, and told him that
I was prepared for anything ; that the Russians had given
me the use of a house in the fort, and if they were attacked I
should assist them against their enemies, — giving him permission
to inform the Koyukuns of the determination. Rumors were rife,
during the entire spring, of a proposed attack, but none was at-
tempted.
Details have already been given of the practice of shamanism
among the Indians, and the various tribes have been described.
A few more particulars in regard to them and their mode of life
may not be uninteresting.
The Indian character, with some modifications, is the same
almost everywhere. The Ingaliks are peacefully inclined, and as
industrious as any Indians. They are more honest than the major-
ity of uneducated whites, and much more so than those tribes who
13
194 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
have been degraded by the use of liquor. They are courageous,
but not bloodthirsty, and are easily controlled by a firm hand.
Avarice appears strongly in their characters ; the affections are
but slightly developed, and are exhibited only toward their chil-
dren. The latter are obedient and respectful to their parents,
but exhibit no love for them. The old people live on odds and
ends of food which the young ones do not eat ; this seems rather
to be a custom than any deliberate neglect. The opinions of the
old men are always consulted, and usually followed. Foster-
children are not uncommon. The fruit of their labor belongs to
the person who reared them, and they are in a manner slaves,
but still possess property of their own, and marry when they like.
The authority of the foster-parent is retained as long as he lives.
Children are anxiously desired, even when women have no hus-
bands. The Ingalik women are less inclined to sensuality than
many others, but are by no means strict in their morals. Incon-
tinence on the part of a wife is seldom punished with anything
more than a beating. Excessive laziness or ill-temper sometimes
induces the men to discard them entirely. The women are rarely
chastised, and usually well treated. Both sexes are dirty about
their persons, and handsome women are exceedingly rare. The
old ones are often hideous. The Ingaliks are tall, but more slen-
der than the Innuit, and their legs are often ill-shaped. This
comes from constant sitting in a small canoe in summer, and
walking on snowshoes in winter. They are seldom very muscu-
lar ; those who live on fish are invariably the most dirty, weak,
cowardly, degraded, and least intelligent. Their number appears
to be decreasing. Few women have more than two children ;
twins are almost unheard of. Many women are barren. The
number of deaths annually increases, from their habit of inhaling
the smoke of the Circassian tobacco into the lungs, which greatly^
adds to the prevalence of lung diseases.
While the Indians are exposed to privations of every kind from
childhood, they are, if anything, less hardy than the whites. A
white man of ordinary strength and endurance can invariably tire
out any Indian, as soon as he has become accustomed to the
mode of life. I believe that the white can surpass the Indian in
everything, with but little difficulty, even in those things to which
the latter has devoted his attention from infancy. All my own
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
'95
experience tends to confirm this opinion, and it is certain that
Indian sagacity has been greatly overrated, especially in the fables
of such romancers as Cooper.
Diseases are quite as prevalent among them as among civilized
people. As yet, among the Ingaliks, zymotic diseases are un-
known. Pleurisy, pneumonia, bronchitis, dyspepsia (not rare),
asthma, rheumatism, colic, hydrocephalus, calculus, urethritis, and
hemorrhoids were noticed, and various mild diseases of the skin,
boils, and small tumors are not uncommon. Ophthalmia is pro-
duced by the reflection of sunlight from the mist arising from the
melting snow in the spring. To obviate this, they, as well as the
Innuit, make use of goggles after the annexed pattern. These
Snow-goggles of the Yukon Indians.
are made of soft wood, cut to fit the face, and tied by a string
behind the head. They are pierced with one or two slits which
admit of vision. The inside is blackened with charcoal, and
some have a small ledge over the slit, as a shade, also blackened.
I found these goggles superior to those of green glass with which
we were provided.
Curiously enough, a taenia, developed from hydroids found in
the reindeer, is occasionally found among these Indians. I have
seen humpbacks, club-feet, and other malformations among Ko-
yukuns, and once a deaf-and-dumb man. Strabismus is common,
and I have seen several cases of cataract.
Their remedies, besides the rites practised by the shamans, are
few and simple. Bleeding, scarification, actual cautery, ligatures,
steam baths, and fasting, are practised, but they have no knowl-
edge of the virtues of any roots or herbs. The women seem ex-
196 THE YUKON TERRITORY,
empted from the curse of Eve. Delivery takes place in a few
minutes, the mother kneeling ; no pain is experienced, and she is
about again and at her work in half an hour. The infant is
rubbed with grease, washed and put to the breast. They are
rarely weaned under three years.
The Indians are devoid of fortitude, crying at a scratch or cut
which we should consider trifling : this may be partly ascribed to
ignorance. They are short-lived, few men reaching forty-five.
The women live longer, many reaching sixty. Their exact ages
can seldom be determined, as they keep no record and soon for-
get. They can count one hundred, but no further.
The work is divided among the sexes much as among the In-
I nuit. There is no such enslavement of the women as exists
I among the Kutchin and other eastern and southern tribes. The
men do nearly all the hard work. They have no pride of family
such as is so prominent among the Koloshes, and few know who
were their grandfathers. A very few of the Ingaliks have more
than one wife ; none, as far as I know, have more than two. The
Koyukuns are more lax in this respect. Cousins do not marry
among the Ingaliks, but there are no rules observed by the Ko-
yukuns in regard to marriage. There is a superstition among
the Koyukuns that a youth must not marry until he has killed a
deer, otherwise he will have no children. They believe in love-
philters, made of an owl's liver, which, to be successful, must be
administered without exciting suspicion. The totemic system,
properly so called, is unknown among them, but they have the
practice, as described among the Innuit, of selecting a patron
spirit. Some substitute for an amulet the small brass crosses
distributed by the Russian missionaries ; sometimes both hang
around the neck on the same string.
The Kutchin have always possessed the system of totems, and
I quote the following remarks from an account of them by
William L. Hardisty, Esq., of the Hudson Bay Company. All
the Kutchin are divided into three castes or totems, called re-
spectively Tchit-che-ah, Teng-ratsey, and Nat-sah-i, according to
Strachan Jones, Esq., late commander at Fort Yukon. Mr. Har-
disty says : —
" With reference to the origin of caste it is difficult to arrive at a cor-
rect solution. I believe that they do not know, themselves, for they give
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 197
various accounts of the origin of the three great divisions of mankind.
Some say it was so from the beginning ; others, that it originated when
all fowls, animals, and fish were people, — the fish were the Chitsah, the
birds Tain-gees- ah-tsah, and the animals Nat-singh ; some, that it refers to
the country occupied by the three great nations who are supposed to
have composed the whole family of man ; while others, that it refers to
color, for the words are applicable. Chitsah refers to anything of a pale
color, — fair people ; Nat-singh, from ah-zingh, black, dark, that is, dark
people ; Tain-gees-ah-tsah, neither fair nor dark, — between the two, —
from tain-gees, the half, middle, and ah-tsah, brightish, from tsa, the sun,
bright, glittering, shining, &c. The country of the Na-tsik-kut-chin is
called Nah-t'singh to this day, and it is the country which the Nat-singh
were supposed to have occupied. The Na-tsik-kut-chin inhabit the high
ridge of land between the Yukon and the Arctic Sea. They live en-
tirely on the flesh of the reindeer, and are very dark-skinned compared
with the Chit-sangh, who live a good deal on fish. Some of the Chit-
sangh are very fair, — indeed, in some instances approaching to white.
The Tain-gees-ah-tsa, taken as a whole, are neither so fair as the Chit-
sangh nor so dark as the Nah-t'singh. A Chit-sangh cannot, by their
rules, marry a Chit-sangh, although the rule is set at naught occasion-
ally ; but when it does take place the persons are ridiculed and laughed
at. The man is said to have married his sister, even though she may be
from another tribe, and there be not the slightest connection by blood
between them. It is the same with the other two divisions. The chil-
dren receive caste from their mother : if a male Chit-sangh marry a
Nah-t'singh woman the children are Nah-t'singh, and if a male Nah-
t'singh marry a Chit-sangh woman the children are Chit-sangh ; so that
the divisions are always changing. As the fathers die out the country
inhabited by the Chit-sangh becomes occupied by the Nah-t'singh, and
vice versa. They are thus continually changing countries. Latterly,
however, these rules are not so strictly observed or enforced as formerly,
and no doubt will soon disappear altogether. One good thing proceeded
from the above arrangement, — it prevented war between two tribes who
were naturally hostile. The ties or obligations of color or caste were
stronger than those of blood or nationality. In war it was not tribe
against tribe, but division against division ; and as the children were
never of the same caste as the father, the children would, of course, be
against the father, and the father against the children, — part of one tribe
against part of another, and part against itself; so that, as may be sup-
posed, there would have been general confusion. This, however, was
not likely to occur very often, as the worst of parents would have natu-
rally preferred peace to war with his own children."
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
It is not improbable that the custom or system of totems origi-
nated in a desire to prevent war, and to knit the tribes more
closely together. It is a well-known fact that most of the inter-
tribal Indian wars have occurred between those who did, and
those who did not, adopt the system. In all other known tribes
the names of the totems are those of animals, and I doubt whether
the similarity of the Kutchin names to words indicating color, re-
ferred to by Mr. Hardisty, is anything more than an accidental
coincidence, or perhaps an error. The system is found in perfec-
tion among the Thlinkets or Koloshes.
The method of disposing of the dead has been described. The
dances or festivals of the Indians are less varied and interesting
than those of the Innuit. They are held at their yearly meetings
at Nuklukahyet, or other neutral trading-grounds. Others are
given by men who desire a reputation for liberality ; others by
the relatives of a dead person a year after the death ; still others
by the inhabitants of a village who desire to extend their hospi-
tality to neighboring villages. These dances have been previously
alluded to. Their choruses are less euphonious and less varied
than those of the Innuit. Their dances have less of a symbolic
character. Feasting and giving presents form the chief attrac-
tions at their festivals. The universal chorus is " He ! he ! ho !
ho ! " indefinitely prolonged. When the feast for the dead is
given the presents are hung on a pole. Around this the dancing
is done. The Indians wrap themselves in blankets, and the mo-
tions are simple jumping up and down, gradually moving side-
ways, as in the old game of " threading the needle." There are
no graceful motions or posturings of the arms and body, as in the
Innuit dances.
The Indians, particularly the women, are fond of singing, apart
from their festivals. Their ears are very quick, and they soon
catch up an air from hearing it sung once or twice. Our parties
contained several good singers, who enlivened the evenings with
patriotic and comic songs. The Indians soon caught up the airs ;
and " Tramp, tramp, the boys are marching," " Sixteen cents a
dozen," and " Marching through Georgia" may now be heard
from the mouth of almost any Yukon Indian. The women are
fond of making up songs of their own, which they hum over their
work. Some of these are full of sentiment and not unworthy of
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 199
preservation. The chorus always forms a prominent part. The
following is a free translation, preserving the original rhythm,
of one which I heard a Koyukun woman singing as she sewed.
It is a fair specimen of many which were translated to me, some
of which I preserved. It is the song of a mother hushing her
child to sleep, and the air was slow and soft.
" The wind blows over the Yukon.
My husband hunts the deer on the Koyukun mountains.
Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one.
" There is no wood for the fire.
The stone axe is broken, my husband carries the other.
Where is the sun- warmth ? * Hid in the dam of the beaver, waiting the
spring-time ?
Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, wake not !
" Look not for ukali, old woman.
Long since the cache was emptied, and the crow does not light on the
ridge-pole !
Long since my husband departed. Why does he wait in the moun-
tains ?
Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, softly.
" Where is my own ?
Does he lie starving on the hillside ? Why does he linger ?
Comes he not soon, I will seek him among the mountains.
Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, sleep.
" The crow has come, laughing.
His beak is red, his eyes glisten, the false one !
' Thanks for a good meal to Kuskokala the shaman.
On the sharp mountain quietly lies your husband.'
Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, wake not !
" ' Twenty deer's tongues tied to the pack on his shoulders ;
Not a tongue in his mouth to call to his wife with.
Wolves, foxes, and ravens are tearing and fighting for morsels.
Tough and hard are the sinews ; not so the child in your bosom.'
Ahmi, Ahmi, sleep, little one, wake not !
" Over the mountain slowly staggers the hunter.
Two bucks' thighs on his shoulders, with bladders of fat between them.
Twenty cleers' tongues in his belt. Go, gather wood, old woman !
Off flew the crow, — liar, cheat, and deceiver !
Wake, little sleeper, wake, and call to your father !
* I. e. the warm principle of the sunlight, which they regard as a personal spirit.
200 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
" He brings you backfat, marrow, and venison fresh from the mountain.
Tired and worn, he has carved a toy of the deer's horn,
While he was sitting and waiting long for the deer on the hillside.
Wake, and see the crow, hiding himself from the arrow !
• Wake, little one, wake, for here is your father! "
These songs are heard in every lodge. Some attain wide popu-
larity, others are unknown except to the singer, who measures
the stroke of her paddle or the motion of her needle by the simple
rhythm of the air.
The bow has long since given place to the gun among the
Koyukuns, Kutchin, and northern Ingaliks. Long, single-bar-
relled flint-locks have been obtained from the Hudson Bay Com-
pany at Fort Yukon since 1847, and at about the same time
traders from the Sandwich Islands began to visit Grantley Har-
bor and Kotzebue Sound. The latter trade a small Belgian
fowling-piece, double-barrelled and of small bore. These guns,
with some ammunition, bring twenty marten-skins, and the Hud-
son Bay guns are sold for forty.
Their habits, though not as regular as those of the Innuit, still
pursue a nearly uniform course, each successive year being much
like the previous one, and only modified by the greater or less
abundance of game and fish.
Life among the Indians is a constant struggle with nature,
wrestling with hunger, cold, and fatigue ; the victory is ever un-
certain, and always hard-earned. The opening and closing of
navigation are the two great events of the year. The months of
April, May, and June are the hardest of the season. The snow
is melting, ophthalmia attacks the deer-hunters, and the winter's
store of food is nearly or quite gone. In May the geese and
ducks arrive. The fish-traps are carried away by the rising water
in the rivers, and few have sufficient ammunition to supply them-
selves with wild fowl for many weeks. The men take their canoes
and ascend the small rivers, as soon as the ice breaks up and the
freshets drive the beaver out of their winter houses. For a week
or two they support themselves in this way, and then those who
have been successful in trapping start for Nuklukahyet to trade.
There they find the moose and deer driven by the mosquitoes
into the river, where they may be killed. Bears leave their winter
quarters, and their meat occasionally adds to the spring supply
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 2OI
of food. The women, and such of the men as remain at home,
are busy making nets and seines from the inner bark of the wil-
low and alder. The wood for the summer fish-traps is also pre-
pared, and the baskets and other parts of the trap are tied to-
gether, ready for use. On the Lower Yukon the eggs of wild
fowl are obtained in sufficient numbers to furnish a partial means
of subsistence. This is also the season for making birch canoes.
Early in June the king salmon (KahthV of the Ingaliks, or cho-
wichee of the Russians) begin to ascend the river. After the
middle of July only stragglers of this species are caught. The
chowichee are followed by two or three other kinds, and the
salmon fishery is well over about the end of August. During
this period most of the Indians are on the river, fishing, splitting,
and drying the fish for winter use. Some are smoked, but the
greater part are simply dried in the sun. They have no salt, and
never use it, even when it might be procured from the Russians.
In consequence many of the ukali have a tainted flavor. White-
fish are caught and dried at the same time as the salmon, but are
smaller, and not so extensively fished for. They are most plenty
and in their best condition in September. In the latter part of
October the ice puts a stop to fishing, until it is strong enough to
set the winter traps. In August many Indians repair to the hills,
where the reindeer are in prime condition, fat, and less timid than
at other seasons. The fawns are also large enough to make their
skins of use. Moose are very rare on the Yukon below Koyu-
kuk. In August the young geese are fledged, but cannot yet fly,
as their wing-feathers are not fully grown. The old ones have
also moulted, and many of both kinds are caught in nets. In
October and November the white grouse have returned to the
willow thickets on the river, where they are snared by hundreds.
In December the winter fish-traps are put down, and some deer-
hunting is done on the mountains. Trapping begins in October;
before that, the furs are worthless. In December and January,
trading commences with the Innuit for oil and sealskin. In Feb-
ruary and March the fish -traps and snares for grouse and rabbits
are their principal reliance. In the latter part of March the
starving season sets in again. By some tribes, April is called the
" hunger month." In May, rabbits are very plentiful for a week
or two, when the wild fowl arrive in millions, and the yearly round
is completed.
202 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
The Koyukun and Ingalik names for women generally end in
" il'no " as Tdllo-ilno, " dashing water," &c. The names of men
frequently end in " ala " as Kusko-kdla, " he who strikes," &c.,
but are not so regular in their terminations as the female names.
With the Kutchin the father takes his name from his child, not
the child from the father as with us. Thus, Kwee-ech-et may have
a son and call him Sdh-nu. The father then takes the name
Sah-nu-tee, and his former name is forgotten. Sometimes the
mother will drop her name, and be called Sah-mi-be-han, or Sah-
nu's mother.* The same practice obtains among the Indian
tribes to the south, as the Koloshes ; but the western Tinneh are
without it.
In war, when a Kutchin Indian kills his adversary, he cuts all
his joints. They are governed by the same chiefs in peace and
war. The authority of a chief is very limited ; the Indians are
very unruly, and indisposed to submit to authority. The chiefs
are chosen on account of their wisdom, wealth, or courage, and
not on account of birth. They have no insignia of office, and
only such privileges as they can take ; none that the others can
withhold from them. This undeniable fact has been universally
ignored in the dealings of the United States Government with the
Indians.
The chiefs and old men are all who are entitled to speak in
council ; but most young men will not hesitate to rise and give
their elders the benefit of their wisdom. Among the Han Kut-
chin a metal ring is sometimes used in the nose instead of the
dentalium ornament of the western Tinneh. Among the eastern
Tinneh the women are literally beasts of burden ; but they have
the privilege of disposing of their daughters at any age ; the fathers
and brothers having no voice in the matter, according to their
customs. They have the singular custom of not cutting the nails
of girls until they are four years old. The reason they give is,
that, if they did so earlier, the girl when grown up would be lazy,
and unable to embroider in porcupine quills, an art which they
carry to great perfection. The children are seldom weaned until
three years old. They arrive at the age of puberty at about
twelve or fourteen. Some of the women reach a great age ; one
* Vide account of Kutchin tribes by Strachan Jones, Esq., in Smithsonian Report,
1866-
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 203
at Fort Simpson was estimated to be ninety-seven years old.
The eastern Tinneh and Kutchin tribes far surpass the western
Tinneh in their proficiency with the needle, and in their love for
ornament. The latter care little for trinkets, seldom paint, and
will barter their furs only for tobacco and useful articles. This
should be borne in mind by traders.
Preparations for the spring shooting soon became necessary.
I had no shot, and was obliged to make all I needed. The Rus-
sians are accustomed to hammer lead out into slender bars, to cut
these in small cubes, and roll them. This process being exceed-
ingly laborious, I hit upon another plan. I took a piece of walrus
tusk and planed it off until it was about half an inch thick, flat
on each side, and about two inches wide by six long. Taking
a large nail, I filed the point and rigged a "fiddle-bow drill."
With this I bored a hole about three eighths of an inch in
diameter, a little smaller at one end than at the other. I then
filed off a little more of the point and bored another hole a
little smaller, and repeated the process until the last hole was
about the diameter of a duck-shot. I ran my lead into small
bars, and, greasing them well, wire-drew them through the holes,
beginning with the largest. The result was lead wire of the
diameter required. This was cut up into pieces, each piece
as long as the diameter of the wire. These were then rolled
with a little ashes in an iron pan under a flat stone. This pro-
duced shot nearly as round as dropped shot, though not polished.
In this way I manufactured seventy pounds of shot of different
sizes, which answered every purpose. It was a work of great
labor, but less so than by the Russian method. A man can make
in this manner about three pounds in a day. The Russians at Nu-
lato were each furnished every spring with five pounds of lead
and half a pound of powder. With this they must supply them-
selves with game, or go hungry. The same practice is usual at
Fort Yukon, except that the men are furnished with manufactured
shot.
As spring approached, we made ready for our journey to the
Yukon-mouth. The collections of natural history grew apace.
Many hundred birdskins, and other specimens, were brought
together, some of which had not previously been collected. On
the 2 ist of April, Tekunka paid us a visit. He was accompanied
204 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
by all the Kaiyuh Ingaliks who were returning from Ulukuk.
While sitting peaceably in the casarmer he was insulted and
struck by Shabounin, a convict from Archangel in Russia, who
had been sent to Nulato to build the raft on which the Russians
were to descend in the spring. I heard Kurilla calling to Pavloff,
in the yard, that Shabounin was killing Tekunka. I rushed into
the casarmer at once. Tekunka was standing on one side, his
face bleeding, and hurling defiance in good Russian at his assail-
ant. The Russians were huddled in one corner, unarmed, and
cowed by the crowd of Ingaliks, each with his hand on his gun,
which half filled the room. Sure of his power, though himself
unarmed, Tekunka did n.ot spare his tongue. He told them that
he held their lives in his hand. "A word," said he, "and my
men wash this floor with your blood. You call us ' dogs of In-
dians ! ' We know what you are, — murderers, thieves, and out-
laws, driven from Russia for your crimes ! Yet you come to our
country and abuse us without reason, take away our daughters,
and pay us with a leaf of tobacco for furs which you cannot trap
yourselves ! Why should I not avenge this unprovoked insult ?
Why do I not order my men to exterminate you like vermin ?
Because I had rather stand here and tell you in your own casarmer
that I hate, despise, and defy you ! "
Pavloff now entered, and was called upon to redress the injury,
which he did sullenly and reluctantly. Shabounin was rebuked
before the Indians for his conduct, and a present of tobacco and
ammunition was made to Tekunka, who received it with uncon-
cealed disdain. The Indians slowly left the room, and I followed
them. They took their baggage and sleds, and left the fort. It
is very seldom that such an exhibition of spirit is seen among
these Indians, but Tekunka was unusually intelligent, and had
worked in the fort among the Russians when young. It must
also be said that such an outrage on the part of any Russian
had never before occurred at Nulato, and probably very seldom
anywhere.
On the nth of April the first swallows appeared, and on the
2/th Kurilla earned the pound of tobacco by killing the first
goose of the season.
The Russian raft was well under way, and was a clumsy
concern, shaped like a flat-iron, and provided with high bul-
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 205
warks, a mast, rudder, or rather sweep, and a sail. They informed
me that it was after the pattern of the rafts on which timber is
floated down the rivers of Russia which flow into the Northern
Sea.
Meanwhile the skin had been taken off our little bidarra, well
oiled, repaired, and replaced. The mast, oars, and sail were manu-
factured, as well as an enormous paddle, which Kurilla, in his
capacity as coxswain, proposed to use himself. The Russian
bidarra was made ready for their trading-voyage to Nuklukahyet.
Johnny would accompany them, and go on to Fort Yukon with
the Indians. He was a useful little fellow, but gratitude or af-
fection formed no part of his nature, and I did not expect to miss
him much.
On the 24th of May the Nulato River broke up, and the water
and ice came down with a rush. About four o'clock in the after-
noon the ice on the Yukon moved a little, and then stuck fast.
An ice-barrier fifteen feet high formed near the bluff north of
Nulato. This remained several days without change. On the
28th I went up to the Klat-kakhatne River, and crossed in an old
birch canoe which I found there, after hewing out a rough paddle,
and leaving my axe in a dry log, four feet above the water. On
the other side the beach between the ice and the high perpen-
dicular bluff was only about six feet wide. I collected here a
number of interesting fossils which had been uncovered by the
melting snow. Suddenly I heard a crash, and the water began to
rise very rapidly. The barrier had broken, and I had to run to
escape being crushed between the bluff and the enormous blocks
of ice which the rising river ground against it. I was just able
to keep pace with the water, and found my canoe on the little
point quite submerged. On the other side the log, with the axe
in it, was floating away with the ice. I emptied the canoe, and
paddled after the axe, and got safely ashore on the Nulato side.
Here I stopped awhile and enjoyed the sight. Blocks of ice
six feet thick were driven against the bank, cutting off large
trees, and carrying ice and turf many yards inland. In some
places the ice was piled thirty feet high. I only regretted that
my artist companion of the previous year, Mr. Whymper, was
not there to preserve the scene with his ready pencil. The
break-up of 1867 was nothing to it. At the fort the ice came
206 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
close to the bank. A little more, and the buildings would have
been in danger. Pavloff said that he had seen a similar freshet
only once before in fifteen years.
The barrier being removed, the water soon began to fall, and
left the great blocks and piles of ice stranded all along the beach.
There was hardly room to land a boat anywhere near the fort.
We now set about packing up in earnest. The store was half
full of goods, which I could not carry away. The boxes of collec-
tions, with our baggage, filled the bidarra. She was a little
beauty, well shaped, light, and elegant.
The season was very late. On the ist of June, Pavloff and his
men left for Nuklukahyet. The river was full of ice, and Tekunka
and his men had not appeared ; so I was still delayed. Johnny
departed with the Russians, not even bidding me good by, al-
though he was loaded with articles which I had given him. He
had letters for Mr. McDougal, the Fort Yukon commander, which
I took pleasure in addressing to " Fort Yukon, Alaska Territory,
United States of America" as the Scotchmen had insisted against
all reason that the post was situated on the British side of the
line. As my Indians did not make their appearance, I secured
Kurilla's brother, — "Monday" by name, as he was engaged on
that day, — and determined that, if Tekunka failed to keep his
promise, I would start the next day, and trust to luck to obtain
another man somewhere on the river below.
CHAPTER VI.
Departure from Nulato. — Lateness of the season. — Veto. — Kwikhtana barrabora.
— Lof ka's. — Habits of the beaver. — Swan-shooting. — Indian carvings. — First
Indians. — Klantilinten. — A letter. — Meeting with the Mahlemuts. — Anvik. —
The Stareek. — Pottery. — Sand-hill cranes. — Canoes. — Leather village on the
Shageluk. — Great abundance of food. — Demand for liquor by the Mahlemuts. —
Dances. — Attack and narrow escape. — Leave the village. — Manki. — Ekogmuts.
— Loon-cap village. — Carvings, old houses and graves. — Great breadth of the
Lower Yukon. — Arrive at the Mission. — Pass the Great Bend. Fishing-village.
— Myriads of wild fowl. — Energetic collection of specimens. — Rasbinik village.
— Starry Kwikhpak village. — Obtain a guide. — Andreaffsky. — Tragedy in 1855.
— Mistake of guide. — Arrive at the Uphoon. — Kutlik. — Emperor geese. — Ar-
rival of Teleezhik. — Go on to Pastolik. — Beluga-hunting. — Innuit carvings. —
Drawings on bone. — Rise of the water. — Elephant bones. — Start for the Redoubt.
— News of the ships. — Arrival at the Redoubt, and meeting with old friends. —
— Traders. — Embarkation for California. — Abuses prevalent in the new territory.
— Value of a territorial government. — Necessarv legislation. — Disparagement of
the territory. — Arrival in San Francisco.
EVERYTHING was ready for our departure. The bidarra
was almost transparent from the oil which was smeared
upon the outside, and inside it was as dry as a bone. Tekunka
had apparently deceived me. There were no signs of him or his
men. Long experience had inured me to such disappointments,
but there were few Indians at Nulato, and it was difficult to fill
the place of those whom I had expected. By giving to Monday's
mother all the ukali and oil which were left over, I induced him
to go with me, as the old woman, with these provisions, would
not suffer from hunger before his return.
On the morning of the 2d of June everything was put aboard.
The supplies which I left behind were put into the storehouse,
and the door fastened with a padlock and chain and then securely
nailed up. The Koyukuns were already threatening to burn the
post as soon as the Russians left it, but, in case they did not, the
goods I left behind might prove of some use to somebody.
The beach in front of the fort was covered with large blocks of
208 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
ice, and the quantity of ice in the river was much greater than
usual for the time of year. We pushed off with some difficulty,
on account of the low water, and finally reaching the channel,
took a last look at the old fort of Nulato. The day was cloudy
and cold, with a head-wind. Not a mosquito had yet shown
himself, a fact which proved, more than anything else, the un-
common lateness of the season. Our little company consisted of
myself, Kurilla, Monday, and a little foxy Koyukun dog called
Bushy, which was my especial pet. The stars and stripes and
the scallop of the Scientific Corps floated from the mast, which
was also decorated with a broad-tailed arrow ornamented with a
blue muslin fly. I took the stroke oar and Monday the bow, as
Kurilla' s skill was needed to avoid the numerous floating cakes of
ice in the rapid current. I found that my sickness had unfitted
me for severe labor, and after a few hours I changed places with
Kurilla.
The river presented a very different appearance from that of
the previous year, when we started up the Yukon. Now large
blocks of ice were piled up on the shores, where they had been
driven by the first high water ; no weather had yet occurred warm
enough to melt them. We took our daily tea near the Shaman
Bluff, close by the coal seam, and, while enjoying our meal, Kurilla
was quick enough with his gun to bring down a mallard which
flew overhead. As we pulled down the river I was so fortunate
as to secure a pair of the beautiful Harlequin duck (H. torquatus}
which flew from the mouth of a small stream. This elegant duck
is very shy and solitary in its habits, preferring the small streams
which wind among the trees, away from the main river. We saw
no Indians on the banks, as the fishing-season had not com-
menced. Late in the evening we arrived at Kaltag, and camped
on the left bank. The ground was still muddy from being over-
flowed, and the willow leaves were still folded. At the Kaltag
village we found Matfay and his family from Ulukuk. They pro-
posed to make a trading-voyage down the river a little later in
the season. Big Sidorka was also there. He had promised to
accompany the Russians to Nuklukahyet, but the threats of the
Koyukuns and the ice in the river had caused him to change his
mind. He was now very anxious to go down the Yukon with me,
as he had never been below Lofka's barrabora. We boiled our
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 209
ducks, and found them all very lean and tough from the scarcity
of food. The horsetails (Equisetce\ on which they feed, had hard-
ly begun to show themselves above the mud.
Wednesday, June ^d. — As there was little prospect of obtain-
ing a more suitable man farther down the river, I decided to let
Sidorka go with us. His Indian name was Veto, and by that we
called him. The brown sandstones on the right bank cease at
Kaltag, and below is a long stretch of gravel banks, and then
gray sandstones and shales with very poor vegetable remains.
At the village near the bluffs below Kaltag there were a few
Indians. Here I bought half a dozen martens for a few loads of
powder and ball. The wind kept obstinately ahead, and impeded
our progress a good deal. We took tea near the mouth of the
Kaiyuh River. The left bank of the Yukon appears to be gener-
ally low, with hills in the distance. The right bank is always the
higher, and the river seems to run on the right side of a broad
valley, of which the bluffs on the right bank and the distant hills
on the left form the boundaries. The vegetation resembles that
farther up the river, but here the willows and poplars attain a
larger growth. We pitched the tent on the banks of a small
creek, where the level dry ground formed an excellent camp-
ing-place. There were the remains of many old Indian camps
here, and we saw a large number of sand-hill cranes, besides
adding to our collection a specimen of the beautiful purple sand-
piper.
Thursday, Ajh. — I rose very early, and taking my gun, went to
a pool near by, where I got a shot at a swan, but failed to bring it
down. By patient waiting I finally succeeded in getting a brace
of green-winged teal, which are the best eating of any of the
water-fowl found on the Yukon. The mosquitoes were abundant
here, as the location was warm and sunny, and I soon awoke the
Indians by raising a corner of their tent and giving the preda-
ceous insects access to the interior. The sun shone brightly, and
the day was most beautiful. We soon pushed off and continued
on our way. We passed through a number of sloughs, and
stopped at several of the islands to shoot. On many of them
small lagoons exist, and on these the water-fowl congregate early
in the morning to feed. We obtained quite a number of brant
and several ducks. A downy owl (Brachyotus Cassini) flew out
14
2IO
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
from a thicket and, probably impelled by curiosity, followed the
boat at a short distance for nearly a mile. The superstitions of
the Indians were excited, and they finally shot the bird, which fell
in the water and continued to follow us, carried by the current,
even in death.
The alder buds were just opening, and the tender leaves began
to appear. About ten o'clock, passing through a small pratoka,
we saw on a gently rising mound a white Greek cross. This
spot, according to Kurilla, was the place where the boat for
Nulato with goods from the Redoubt was once caught by the ice
and frozen in. The crew built a house and wintered here. They
called it Kwikhtana barrabora or Cold House, from the extreme
cold which they suffered. One of them, who died, was buried on
Site of Kwikhtana barrabora.
this mound, where the cross marks his resting-place. Game was
scarce, and we were obliged to be economical with our stores.
For dinner we boiled three geese and a duck in the big kettle. I
usually made away with the duck and a plate of soup, beside tea
and sukaree, while the Indians never failed to clean out the
kettle, leaving only the bones, which were the dog's perquisite.
In the afternoon we crossed the river to a slough which Kurilla
said was a short cut ; but after going a little way the wind was so
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
21 I
strong and dead ahead that I determined to turn back and go by
the main river, where we were sheltered by the high bank. We
saw many fresh tracks of the black bear along the muddy shore.
Crossing again, we continued along the right bank, which in some
places is composed of trachytic rocks of different colors. These
do not rise to any great height, and are soft and crumbling.
Yellow, red, green, blue, and all transitions from black, through
gray, to white were observed. Toward evening we approached
the Yakutz-kalatenik River, at the mouth of which is an Indian
house in a very dilapidated condition. This is known as Lofka's
barrabora. It had a melancholy appearance in the twilight,
Lofka's barrabora.
being deserted and falling into ruins. We decided to camp here.
As we pulled toward the beach, a large otter started from among
the willows and ran along the shore. We had brought along a
small canoe made of three boards, and Kurilla hastily jumped into
this and made for the beach. He landed, but the otter was too
quick for him ; it plunged into the water near the river and dis-
appeared. We put up the tent, boiled the chynik, and retired to
rest. The rain, which soon came on, did not disturb us, as every-
212 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
thing had been put ashore and covered with the bidarra before
we had turned in.
Friday, ^th. — The rain had ceased about four o'clock in the
morning, and it had cleared off finely. A stroll along the banks
of the small river revealed many fresh beaver-tracks. The
beaver, when forced to leave his house by the spring freshets,
which fill it with water, seeks his living along the banks of the
small rivers, until the waters subside. He is a gregarious and
playful animal, fond of gymnastics for their own sake. When he
finds a steep, smooth mud-bank, he usually amuses himself by
crawling up and then sliding off into the water, repeating the
process many times, apparently enjoying the fun as much as
boys do coasting. He is nocturnal in his habits, and very timid.
Taking the small canoe, Kurilla paddled patiently up and down,
making as little noise as possible, and scanning the water near
the banks for the beaver's nose. This is the only part visible,
the rest being below the surface. A crack, followed by a shout,
told that my old Scotch rifle had done its work, and Kurilla soon
appeared in triumph, bearing a small beaver. The flesh of this
animal is to most persons disagreeable. A slight odor and flavor
which accompany it frequently produce nausea with those un-
accustomed to it. I never ate the meat, but the paws and tail I
found very good. The former are covered with a black skin, with
only a little hair near the junction with the arm or leg; when
thoroughly boiled they resemble pigs' feet. The tail is composed
of muscular fibre containing a large amount of a peculiarly sweet
fat in the interstices. The skin which covers the tail has the ap-
pearance of scales, but there are no real scales. The skin readily
peels off if scorched in the fire, and the tail, when well boiled, is a
delicious morsel. The muscles and inner skin are reduced by
boiling to a kind of jelly, and the whole is so rich that one cannot
eat much of it. The castoreum, which is used in medicine, is
contained in two glands which open near the tail. Their use is
not clearly understood, but is probably similar to that of the
musk glands in the muskrat and muskdeer. A favorite amuse-
ment among the Kutchin Indians consists in taking the humerus
in the hands and endeavoring to break it ; as it is very short and
strong, this requires considerable strength. After skinning the
beaver, and stretching the skin on a hoop of green willow, we
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 213
pushed off. The wind was, as usual, dead ahead and very strong.
Although aided by the current, we had hard work to make head-
way against it. Blowing against the stream, it raised quite a sea
on the broad river, and as our gunwale was only four inches
above the water, we found it necessary to keep close in shore.
We stopped to rest several times, and arriving near a broad, shal-
low lagoon, we went ashore, and creeping behind the willows,
tried to get a shot at some of the water-fowl which were feeding
there. My favorite, of seven guns, was a Scotch rifle, which had
been bored out so that it carried shot as 'well as ball. It was re-
markably long in range, and very true. The ball which I used with
it was a long conical one, weighing an ounce and a quarter. One
of these was quite enough to bring down anything which it hit.
Loading with buckshot, I waited for Kurilla, who had gone to the
other end of the lagoon, where several swans were gracefully
seated in the water. The report of his fowling-piece, which
brought down a couple of brant, roused the swans from their
reveries ; and striking the water with their broad wings, they rose
slowly and sailed through the air in single file toward my hiding-
place. They are not rapid flyers, and I could count every sweep
of their strong white wings. As they followed one another, ut-
tering their harsh cry at intervals, their heads and necks in a
straight line, they looked anything but graceful, and would hardly
be recognized as the same birds so lately seated on the water,
fust before getting in range, they most provokingly changed their
course and struck out across the Yukon ; so I had my trouble for
my pains. »
Before returning to the boat I secured a mallard and a white-
fronted goose, to which the Indians added several pintails, and
seven brant, so that our larder was well supplied. Toward even-
ing we began to look for a camping-place, but everywhere the
shore was covered with great blocks of ice, some distance above
the water, and we were finally obliged to haul the boat up on a
large ice-sheet which was grounded on a sand-bar. Here we
camped, and a most uncomfortable camp it was. We had to
travel a long distance to obtain driftwood sufficient to make a
fire. Sand makes the hardest bed known ; fine gravel is much
more comfortable. The mosquitoes too, though not abundant,
were by no means idle. Everything along the river showed that
214 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
it was an unusually late season. Few small birds were seen, and
no butterflies as yet. The birch, poplar, and willow had only be-
gun to unfold their leaves, while on the north slope of the hills
snow still rested.
Saturday, 6th. — We started early, and pulled against the same
strong wind. We landed at a village which was quite deserted,
the inhabitants being away after beaver. The facility in carving,
shown by the Ingaliks of the Lower Yukon, was well displayed
here. Paddles, dishes, and other articles lay scattered about
where the owners had left them. The winter houses were half
full of water, and the Indians had evidently been living for some
time in three large summer houses. Among other things lying
about, I noticed a large scoop or shovel shaped like a table-spoon,
but seven feet long. It was carved out of one piece of wood,
and ornamented with designs in red chalk and charcoal. It was
of very graceful shape, and had evidently been used for throwing
out the ice from the aperture through which the fish-traps are
raised in winter. I noticed a small bowl prettily carved, with two
ears or handles. A long stick, to which a block of wood is
attached at one end, is used, with the bowl referred to, for grind-
ing up tobacco into snuff. My Indians were anxious to appro-
priate some of these articles, but I would not allow them to do
so in the absence of the owners. The paddles, many of which
were seen, were curiously painted with green, red, and black, and
were smaller and more pointed than those in use farther up the
river. The paddles decrease in size as we go down the river ;
those at the Yukon-mouth are very small and narrow indeed.
We passed a very small waterfall during the day, the first I had
seen on the river.
On a small island we saw the first Indians. There were only
three or four, and they were much alarmed when they first saw
us. We landed, and found that they were making fish-traps.
They had nothing to sell except some eggs, and a few ukali,
which I bought for the dog. After making them a present of a
few leaves of tobacco, we pushed off and continued down the
river.
The boat was ill stowed, and a good deal of mud had gathered
in her bottom from our feet, so I determined to camp early, turn
her over, and wash her thoroughly, after taking out the goods.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 215
Nothing rots a bidarra like mud or dirt inside of it. We camped
near a small brook, and Kurflla started off after game, while we
attended to the boat. We finished cleaning her and gave her a
good oiling before getting supper ready. The three Indians pol-
ished the beaver's bones, while I regaled myself on a fat teal
roasted on a stick before the fire.
Sunday, Jth. — The day opened fair, but with the same wind,
which was soon attended by smart showers of rain. We pulled
along shore, and about ten o'clock came to the point where the
Russians had located a sort of rapid. It proved to be nothing
more than a piece of swift water, running along the base of a
range of low conglomerate bluffs, for two or three miles. The
river here was quite broad ; to the right were successive hills,
rising one after another, and fading into purple distance. The
left bank was, as usual, low, and a large island divided the river
a few miles beyond. Kurflla said that the Indian name of the
place was Klan-ti-lin-ten, meaning " rocks and strong water."
The Russians had reported a coal seam here, but the rocks are
conglomerate, preceded by trachyte of various colors, and fol-
lowed by beds of clay, quartzite, and yellow gravel.
I landed to take the annexed sketch, and to examine the rocks.
While so doing, an arctic hare scampered by on the edge of the
bluff. Kurilla was too quick for her, however, and a shot from
my rifle brought her down. I was sorry afterward, when we
skinned the animal, to see that the teats were full of milk ; for it
showed that she had, somewhere, a family of little bunnies, who
would suffer and probably die for want of a mother.
We took tea at a small rivulet about noon, and concluded to
remain there until the wind fell somewhat. We scoured the small
lakes near the river for game, and came back to camp well loaded.
About sunset the wind became less violent, and we pushed a little
farther down stream, camping about nine o'clock.
Monday, %th. — As we slowly descended the river, we saw a few
Indians on the bank. They appeared to be shy, and indisposed
to meet us, but finally one of them put off in his canoe, and ex-
tended a bit of paper in the end of a long cleft stick. I took it,
and he immediately paddled away as fast as he could. It was a
bit of yellow tissue paper, carefully folded. I opened it, and after
removing several wrappings I came to a bit of white paper, ap-
2i6 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
parently the blank edge of a newspaper. On this was a rude
drawing of a boat, by its side a bottle, and under the drawing, in
a straggling hand, was written, " Isaac Koliak."
The meaning was evident. My intelligent Mahlemut friend
had crossed the portage from the seaboard to Anvik, not far be-
low on the Yukon, and was going down the Yukon on a trading-
voyage. He knew I was coming down the river, and sent this
note by one of the river Indians to inform me of his proximity.
We passed the northern entrance of the great Shageluk slough,
and continued down the main stream toward Anvik. There were
numerous large, well-wooded islands, and the mouth of the slough
might easily be overlooked. A little later we saw a camp on the
right bank, and, pulling toward it, soon recognized Isaac and his
party. They received us with the most lively demonstrations of
welcome, and declared their intention of going down the river
with us. The party comprised about thirty Mahlemuts, male and
female, and their children and dogs. Isaac told me that he had
crossed from Kegiktowruk late in the spring, with three large
bidarras on sleds drawn by dogs, and had descended the Anvik
River after the ice had broken up. His intention was to descend
the Yukon, trading as he went, and to meet the American traders
who were expected at St. Michael's in the early summer. The
articles which they had brought for trade were principally skin
clothing of their own manufacture, needles, tobacco, guns, and am-
munition. They proposed to buy furs, and wooden dishes or kan-
tags, of Indian manufacture. The Innuit are accustomed to make
these voyages for the purpose of getting rid of their old guns and
Kantags and wooden ladle.
surplus ammunition, at prices much higher than they pay for new
ones to the traders at Grantley Harbor and Kotzebue Sound.
The wooden ware is an article of trade with the Innuit of Bering
Strait, where wood suitable for the purpose does not grow. I
AN VI K STAREEK.
"One more leaf of tobacco."
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 2i;
took Isaac on board as a passenger, while his party got their
boats ready to follow us to Anvik.
We reached the mouth of the Anvik River about noon, and
pulled up the stream for a short distance, to the point where the
village is situated. Here both sides of the Yukon are rather
high. Not far below they become low and flat. The Yukon
widens, and here a series of sand-bars exists, which is the first ob-
struction to navigation as we ascend the river from the sea.
These bars change somewhat every year, but a native pilot can
find a five-foot channel during the lowest stage of the water in
the fall. Anvik is a large village, of some ten or twelve houses,
each of which may contain twenty inhabitants. The natives are
Ingaliks, but from constant intercourse and close proximity to the
Innuit tribes of the coast, they have adopted many of the Innuit
customs. Among these, that of wearing labrets is most conspic-
uous. The language spoken is the true Ingalik, with no inter-
mixture of Innuit words, except such as are used to designate
objects which they obtain from the latter in trade, and for which
there are no Indian names. A jargon containing a large number
of words of both languages is used in trading. This is also used
in intercourse with the Russians, who understand something of
the Innuit dialects. This fact is a sufficient cause of miscompre-
hension in regard to the different dialects, and should be borne in
mind by philologists. A similar jargon is in use wherever the
Indians trade with the coast tribes.
We boiled the chynik, while I examined the village and took
notes of points of interest. The chief man of the village had
been hired by Isaac to descend the Shageluk and meet him at
the southern entrance ; but an old fellow who appeared to have a
good deal of influence came forward with two fish, which he pro-
posed to sell for tobacco. The price of a salmon is a leaf of
tobacco, on this part of the Yukon. He wanted two leaves
apiece, complaining that it was early in the season and fish were
scarce, while the leaves were very small ! His parka was almost
deprived of hair by long use, his breeches were shiny with
grease and dirt, which also incrusted his hands and face, while
the hair on his aged head, though cut short, stood erect as if in
protest against the invasion of so much raw material. He looked
so comical, as he stood haggling for a leaf of tobacco, with his
2i8 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
head on one side and his small eyes glistening with excitement,
that I gave him the price he asked, and made it square by taking
his portrait. Dirt was the prominent characteristic of the village.
The year before, we had touched here, and the space in front of
the houses was red with thousands of salmon, split and hung up to
dry. It was yet too early for the fish this season, and there were
many new baskets and nettings lying about, — the material for
projected fish-traps. Many of the inhabitants were absent, after
beaver. One man brought me ten fine marten, but asked so high
a price that I refused to buy them. The Stareek (old man)
brought me two marten and some mink, which I bought, but the
Mahlemuts had purchased most of the furs. Well armed, bold,
and numerous, the latter completely overawed the degraded, fish-
eating Indians, and forced them to sell whatever they had, at the
purchaser's price.
I noticed that the graves or coffins here, instead of being
covered with logs, as farther up the river, were filled in with
earth beaten down hard and plastered over with clay. They
were larger, rather more elevated, and painted more after the In-
nuit fashion than those farther up on the Yukon.
I saw quite a number of clay pots and cups of native manu-
facture here. They were mostly large, holding three or four gal-
lons, but some were smaller, and one was evidently modelled after
Indian pottery.
a Russian mug. The common Innuit lamp is also made of clay,
and all their pottery is rudely ornamented with lines, dots, and
crosses. They are about three quarters of an inch thick, of a dark
bluish clay, and were perfectly black from smoke and grease. I
would have purchased some of them, but they were so large and
so exceedingly dirty that I did not care to put them in the boat.
This kind of pottery was formerly universal, but has been super-
seded by the kettles of the traders. The pots are made by hand,
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 219
and therefore not perfectly round or symmetrical. They are
dried in the sun, then baked, and will stand the fire very well.
The Innuit name for the pots isAtkusik, for the saucers or lamps
Nunuk, and for the cups Im-owun.
We left Anvik soon after drinking our tea, with Isaac on board.
The wind was so high that we could not cross the river, and rain
coming on, we soon camped on a small island. The other boats
crossed to the other side, and we lost sight of them. Starting
from camp, I saw and killed a large sand-hill crane. These birds
are plenty on the Lower Yukon. I have seen thousands of them,
but never of any color except brown, gray, and fawn color.
White ones are unknown, and I doubt the correctness of the
theory which considers the white crane of the Mississippi valley
and the sand-hill crane to be one species.
Ttiesday, tyJi. — The rain ceasing, we passed down the river
and entered a long slough or cut-off. Near noon we stopped and
took tea. Soon after, we came to an Ingalik camp where they
were making birch canoes. The birches of the Lower Ingaliks
are very different from those of the Upper Yukon Indians. The
Ingalik birch canoe.
rough waters of the broad river need a stronger canoe than those
used by the Kutchin tribes. Everything is carefully carved and
smoothed. The frame is stout and strong, and ornamented with
red paint. The bark is shaped over a mound of the exact size of
the proposed canoe, and sewed with spruce roots. The cut rep-
resents the canoe before the gum is placed over the sewing.
The paddles are lance-shaped, small and slender, and ornamented
with the most fantastic figures, in red, black, and green. I ex-
pressed a desire to see the green pigment, and one of the Indians
produced some. It was a sort of fungus (Pezizci) or mould, which
penetrates decayed birch wood and colors it a deep blue-green.
I bought a small model of a canoe, from which the above figure is
drawn. There were seven large canoes nearly finished, and
several in process of manufacture. The Ingaliks take fleets of
220 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
these new canoes down to the delta in the fall, and trade them
to the river Innuit for oil, ivory, boot-soles, and other articles.
Isaac expressed a great desire to take one of the little model
canoes to his baby, and I bought one for him, to his great delight.
We also purchased some fish and berries, and went on our way.
We passed a large winter village between two hills, known to the
Russians as the Murderer's Village. Crossing the Yukon about
three o'clock, we came to the southern entrance of the Shageluk
slough. Ascending a little way, we reached the Leather Village
of the Russians. This is a large Ingalik summer village, the
inhabitants in winter living at the last-mentioned settlement.
Here we saw the cotton tents of the Mahlemut camp near the
Indian houses. Isaac's wife stood on the bank, holding the baby,
which crowed and exhibited all its infantile joy at seeing its
father, who still further delighted this promising member of the
family by producing the toy canoe.
We left the boat in the water, and took only our tent, cooking
utensils, and blankets ashore, as the number of natives was so
great that I thought it the safest way, especially as these Indians
have a reputation for stealing. Leaving one man on the watch, I
strolled into the village. The amount of food collected here was
almost inconceivable. Large stages were groaning beneath the
weight offish, caught and dried the previous season. Long lines
were strung with fresh white-fish, drying in the sun. Rows of
caches full of dry fish, meat, fat, and skins of oil, showed that
hunger need not exist in this favored locality.
The fresh meat of three or four moose, just killed, was lying in
one pile ; another contained the haunches and shoulders of ten
deer. Every few minutes a canoe half full of fresh white-fish
would arrive from j the fish-traps, and in no part of the Indian
(country have I ever seen food so plentiful and so easily obtained.
I was informed that the natives had quite a trade with those from
/.other places, who came to buy ukali in the winter and spring.
i/vThe summer houses were large and well built. The walls even
of the caches were thick, and in many cases pierced with loop-
holes for guns. There were but few dogs about, and I noticed a
large white-breasted thrush tied by the leg, and apparently quite
tame. I tried to buy the bird, which I had not seen elsewhere,
but the owner could not be found. The Indians told me that
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 221
Teleezhik, the old Russian interpreter, had been there the previous
day, and was now trading for furs farther up the Shageluk. I re-
turned to my tent, and bought a lot of fresh meat and some fat.
Isaac came up and said that his brother had come with him, and
had a little liquor which he had bought of the traders, but not
enough to make a " good drunk." " Now," said he, " we want you
to sell us your whiskey, and we will pay you well for it, with furs
or anything you want." During my absence the rascals had dis-
covered a can of alcoholic specimens in the boat, and supposed it
was whiskey. I told him that I wanted it myself, that it was not
good to drink, &c., but he went away very sulky. The Mahle-
muts, male and female, now dre-ssed themselves in the new fur
clothing which they had brought to sell. Old Abraham, Isaac's
father, commenced drumming, and the rest soon began one of their
characteristic dances. Those who did not dance raised the old
" Ung-hi-yah " chorus and kept time, clapping their hands. It
was a sight to remember. Ten or fifteen clean, handsome, stal-
wart Innuit, going through the graceful gesticulations of their
national dance, dressed in new and handsomely trimmed parkies
of every variety of skin, — with the tall poplars and spruce for a
background, a fire on one side, and above the genial twilight of
the arctic night. Their wild chorus added to the charm of the
scene. Around them in a wide oval were huddled the well-fed
but filthy Indians. Their skin clothing was hairless from long
use, and while almost dropping off them from decay, glistened
with vermin. Degradation, filth, stupidity, fear, and wonder
marked their features. The meanest of the Innuit far surpassed
the best of them in strength and manliness. Their miserable
condition was due in great measure to their sedentary habits,
constant fish diet, and natural indolence. Very few had guns at
all, and those which they did have were old, worn out, and nearly
worthless. The Ingaliks who live farther up the Shageluk are
said to be more intelligent and active, probably because they sub-
sist on the deer and moose which they are obliged to hunt. Af-
ter the Mahlemuts had concluded their dance they distributed
tobacco in small pieces to the bystanders. I repaired to my tent,
took supper, and putting the alcohol-can, for safety, into the tent,
lay down to rest. I had not got asleep, when I heard something
crash against the tent-pins, breaking down two of them. At the
222 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
same time, Kurilla shouted to me from outside that the Mahle-
muts were after the alcohol. I shouted back to look sharp, as
they would not get it while I had a loaded gun. I pulled on my
boots, seized my revolver, which lay by my head, and threw back
the flap of the tent. There stood a Mahlemut with his hand on
the trigger, and the muzzle of his gun about two feet from my
breast. At the same moment, Kurilla' s long arm jerked the gun
from his hands, and flung it far away among the bushes.
I stepped out of the tent, and the Mahlemuts slunk away with-
out a word. They were intoxicated, having drunk the liquor of
which Isaac had spoken. The Indians had hidden themselves,
while my men, guns in hand, stood near the tent. If the Mahle-
muts had been sober, they would not have behaved so. It was a
narrow escape, which I hardly realized at the time. The in-
truders retired to their tents, seeing us armed and ready for any-
thing. The Indians now mustered courage enough to come out,
and the chief came to me and begged me, with many bows and
deprecatory gestures, to remove my camp, as he was afraid there
would be trouble yet. " You know these Innuit are so very
bad, so horribly bad, such beasts, worse than dogs," said he, al-
most with tears in his eyes. No doubt he was thinking of the
miserable gun which they had just given him for twenty fine
marten skins, which he dared not refuse them. I consulted with
Kurilla, and then told the chief that we would move our camp to
the island in the middle of the river, and if any one wished to
trade meat or fur they would find us there. The tent and other
traps were thrown into the boat, and we pulled across a very swift
current to the island. Just as we hauled up the boat, Kurilla shot
a swan who was sailing slowly overhead, and taking the little
canoe, he started down stream after it. Some Indians came over
with beaver skins and tails, which I purchased ; and I hired one of
them to act as sentinel during the night, with a good fire to keep
off the mosquitoes. When Kurilla returned we gave our watch-
man the swan to pick, to keep him awake, and turning in, were
soon lost in slumber.
Wednesday, loth. — We pushed out into the rapid current very
early in the day, while we saw nothing more of our Innuit friends,
who were probably sleeping off their headaches. We pulled hard,
hoping to reach the Mission before night. We passed a village
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
223
of two houses, called Manki, interesting principally as being the
most inland Innuit village on the Yukon. The difference of
stock was apparent only from the countenances of the natives
and the dialect which they spoke. The latter exhibited no signs
of any mixture of Indian words. It was quite incomprehensible
to my men, who had been able to converse freely at the last vil-
lage. I could understand only a few words, which resembled the
Mahlemut, though the grammatical construction was the same as
that of the other Innuit dialects. These natives belong to the
Ekogmut (sometimes called Kwikhpdgmuf) tribe, and are known
First Premorska village.
to the Russians as Pre-morski, or " dwellers near the sea." They
extend to the seaboard, on both sides of the river. Their habits
in general are similar to those of the coast Innuit already de-
scribed, but are a little modified by their situation on a river,
which presents some conditions which do not obtain on the sea-
shore. They are at peace with the adjacent Indians, probably
as much because both are miserable cowards, as from any other
reason.
As we sailed down the river, an old fellow in a small bidarra
came out from a river which entered the Yukon from the west,
224 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
and brought some cranberries for sale. A great difference is
noticeable between the villages on the Upper and those on the
Lower Yukon. Below, we find large, solid, permanent houses,
gayly painted paddles, and great abundance of skin boats, the
prows of which are frequently fashioned to resemble the head of
some beast or bird ; above, the dwellings are at best miserable
huts, tents, or temporary shelters made of brush. Dirt, and a defi-
ciency of the ornamental, mark the upper villages, while the only
boats are the frail and carelessly made birch canoes. A little
farther on we met a three-holed bidarka with a Creole from the
Mission in it. He was going to the small river we had just
passed, to try and hire the bidarra from the natives, for a trip to
the Redoubt. He gave us some goose-eggs, and went on his way.
We kept on until eight o'clock in the evening, and finding that
we could not reach the Mission within several hours, camped at a
native settlement, called by the Russians Loon-cap Village. We
pitched our tent near a small brook, and soon had the kettle on
the fire. This village presented many points of interest. The
number of inhabitants was only eight or ten, the remainder
having died. This decrease in population is noteworthy along
the Lower Yukon. Everywhere there are fewer natives than
formerly. The decrease is partly due to lung diseases, which
arise from their habit of drawing the smoke of the Circassian
tobacco into the lungs. In this particular village, within a gen-
eration, there had been several hundred inhabitants. There were
eight large summer houses, in each of which a hundred people
might have been comfortably accommodated. These houses
were built of immense planks, hewn out of single logs with stone
adzes. Many of these planks were four inches thick, and three
feet wide by twelve feet long. The houses were in a miserable
state of decay. Water stood in some of them, and only one or
two were habitable. The rafters were carved into rude imitations
of animals, and still retained traces of the red earth with which
they had been painted. The graves were the most conspicuous
and remarkable part of the village. They exceeded any I have
ever seen on the Yukon, in intricacy of ornament, variety of de-
sign, and in their number compared with the size of the village.
They were on the hillside, a little way above the houses. I no-
ticed that they were not covered with logs or slabs of wood like
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
225
the Ingalik graves, nor with earth and clay like those at An-
vik, but were filled with earth over the body, and then carefully
covered with pieces of birch bark, held down by heavy stones.
The supports of the box were immediately underneath it, and
large baluster-like standards ornamented the corners. Many of
the boxes were carefully fitted, smoothed, and painted with va-
rious designs. Some had fur animals depicted on them, showing
that the dead person was a successful trapper. Others had the
bear, deer, and other animals, denoting the graves to be those of
hunters. Fish, birds, pictures of seal and beluga hunting, were
painted with the usual red pigment on others. Many were
studded with pegs of ivory or bone ; some were surrounded by a
carefully carved and painted railing. Drums, kantags, paddles,
bows of tremendous size bound with sinew, arrows of bone carved
into intricate lace-work, quite different from anything I have seen
elsewhere, strings of beads, belts, pieces of brass scratched with
patterns, kettles, and other articles of use and ornament were
attached to many of the coffins. On posts in front of some of
them were separate pieces of wood-carving, such as masks re-
sembling the human face, and trimmed with wolfskin, carved
human heads, beavers transfixed with arrows, fish, beluga, and
boats with men in them, all variously painted.
The ethnologist would find a wide field in the vicinity of this
village alone. The few inhabitants had a melancholy cast of
countenance, as if conscious that they were living among the re-
mains of the ingenuity of their ancestors, which they could not
hope to emulate. They were successful in hunting ; that very
day a bear and three deer were killed, with nothing but arrows, a
few rods from the houses. The men wore dresses of birdskins,
which are common on the Lower Yukon. Some of them had
caps made of the skin of a loon or hawk, with the breast above,
the head still attached and hanging down behind, and the wings
on either side. The vegetation was luxuriant. I forced my
way to the vicinity of the graves through a growth of grass and
weeds four feet high. Care was necessary to avoid falling into
excavations, the sole remains of ancient winter houses long since
rotted away.
I bought some fresh venison, and after a hearty supper we
turned in.
15
226 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
Thursday, nth. — After collecting a few plants, among which
were the blossoms of black and red currants, we pushed off on
our way to the Mission. The trees had already become less
abundant, especially on the right bank. The latter was pretty
high in many places, and trachytic rocks were observed. In
some places the river is exceedingly wide, and once or twice,
when we were in the current close to the right bank, the left
bank was quite invisible. A broad, smooth sheet of water
stretched to the west, undisturbed by any ripples, and not broken
by islands or dry sand-bars. The scene strongly impressed upon
the observer the majesty of the great river upon which we were
travelling. About ten o'clock the basaltic rocks indicated the
proximity of the Mission, and hoisting the American flag and
that of the Scientific Corps, we rounded a point, and the build-
ings came into view. The water near the shore was shallow,
and we had some difficulty in hauling in our heavily loaded
boat. We fired a gun, and were saluted in return by the Rus-
sians.
We found that the missionary of the Greek Church in the
District of St. Michael's (commonly known to the Russians as
the Pope) was on the point of starting for the Redoubt. He
had dismantled the church of everything valuable, and had nailed
up the door. At his request I took an inventory of the houses
and articles of furniture he left behind, as he hoped to sell them
to the Americans when they arrived. He then applied for med-
ical advice, and gave a lengthy description of his personal mis-
eries, which were all clearly referrible to an undue indulgence in
alcoholic stimulants. This, I believe, in the Greek Church is
not considered to detract from the holiness of its ecclesiastics.
All of those I have met with in Alaska and Kamchatka were
inveterate topers. He told me that he had been seven years a
missionary on the Yukon, and that he thanked God that he now
had an opportunity of returning to Russia, where a glass of rum
might be had for twenty-five kopeks (five cents). I cautioned
him against delirium tremens, and bade him good by. His Creole
servant, who accompanied him to St. Michael's, had a very
pretty wife, and I doubted if something more than a fatherly
benediction did not lurk in the kiss Father Larriown gave her
just before he embarked.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 227
The other Russians at the Mission were Milavanoff the bidar-
shik, and Goldsen, who had been acting as secretary. Mila-
vanoff was a good trader, but an invalid from liver complaint,
which is common among the Russians in this country. He gave
me a good supply of bread, as my own was nearly exhausted, and
I made him a present of my Derringer, to which he had taken a
fancy. I was sorry to find that I could not get an interpreter
here, as the Innuit dialect of the delta was incomprehensible to
all of our party. The buildings at the Mission, except a new
house of MilavanofFs and one belonging to the Pope, are very
rotten and miserable. The place is a very unhealthy one.
It is situated between two hills which shelter it completely from
the wind. Several pools of stagnant water are close by. The In-
dian village is very filthy, and their
refuse from fish and other matters
is everywhere scattered about. I
counted six dead dogs among the
bushes, and close to the houses there
is a large number of graves, both
Russian and native. Some of the
latter were curious, and were fur-
nished with the baluster-like sup- Ekogmut grave"
ports before mentioned.
We emptied our boat, turned her over, gave her a good oiling,
and left her to dry. This is imperatively necessary when travel-
ling in skin boats, and should be done at least once in ten days,
if possible. We all took a good steam bath, which was a great
luxury. Once, farther up the Yukon, I had tried the experiment
of bathing in the river, but the water was so cold that only a
single plunge was endurable. In this part of the river the water
is so muddy that it adds nothing to one's cleanliness to bathe
in it.
Friday, \2th. — After securing a number of specimens, grind-
ing our axes, and performing a variety of similar small jobs, we
again proceeded on our way. Just below the Mission we saw a
native attacking a beaver with one of their bone tridents. Ku-
rilla started to his assistance, in the canoe, with his gun ; after a
little while they returned, and I bought the animal, as it lay, for
three bunches of Circassian tobacco. We kept on all night, as
228 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
the air is cooler than in the day, and there is no darkness, though
the sun goes a little below the horizon. No stars were visible all
night.
Saturday, i^th. — About midnight we rounded the Great Bend.
Here we met the head-wind blowing in our teeth with redoubled
force. For all the use they had been, so far, we might as well
have left the mast and sail at Nulato. At the Bend we found a
camp of natives who were waiting for the wind to subside. They
had nothing for sale except a few mink and some eggs. I bought
some swan's eggs for scientific purposes, and also a bow of the
kind in use in the Yukon delta. These bows are made of spruce,
which has little elasticity when dry, and is very liable to break.
To remedy this defect the bow is bound with cords twisted from
deer sinew, as shown in the annexed figure. This gives it great
Ekogmut bow.
strength, and overcomes the brittleness of the wood. We took tea
in a slough, and about noon stopped at a village where the inhab-
itants were engaged in fishing. It is only by personal inspection
of such a village that any one can obtain an adequate idea of the
immense quantity of fish which is annually caught and dried on
the Lower Yukon. Several acres of ground in front of the sum-
mer houses were literally covered with standards and stages bear-
ing line after line of fish, split and hung up to dry. The odor is
borne to a great distance by the wind. The dogs, children, and
other inhabitants of the village, during the fishing-season, recall
the old lines, —
" Jeshurun he waxed fat,
And down his cheeks they hung ! "
while the long rows of caches are crammed with provisions for the
winter. This condition of things holds good as far as Anvik.
Beyond that point the fish are scarcer, and, as previously related,
Nulato is far from furnishing food of any kind in plenty. In the
foreground the different parts of fish-traps were lying, in readi-
,1111 III
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 229
ness to repair any damage, or put down a new trap, if the water
fell so as to render it necessary. Here some men were emptying
the fish out of a basket, and there others were returning with a
canoe-load of salmon from some distant zapor.
We .bought a few whitefish, and some mink. I saw two red fox
cubs with collars, tied to stakes in some of the houses. These
were apparently intended to amuse the children. We then
departed, and finally camped on a sand-bar which was literally
alive with wild fowl. We were now getting into the region
where they abound, during the spring and summer, in myriads.
The report of a gun will often raise such immense flocks of geese
as literally to darken the air ; sometimes a flock will be four or five
miles long, and two or three rods wide, flying as close together
as they can with safety. Swans whitened the surface of several
lagoons, and from them down to the tiniest snipe, not weighing
more than an ounce, every kind of wild fowl abounded in pro-
fusion. Their eggs were scattered over the sand-bars, and a
hatful could be obtained on any beach. On attempting to empty
the swan's-eggs which I had purchased the day before, by means
of a blow-pipe, they resisted all my efforts. On breaking them,
what was my surprise at finding that they had been hard boiled
by the natives, to keep them from spoiling !
The real work of the season had been well commenced at Nulato,
but partially suspended since we left, as we had procured but few
birds new to the collection, since leaving that point. Now I had
my hands full, and leaving the task of navigating to Kurilla, I was
constantly occupied skinning the birds which we obtained at
every turn. I passed many a night without getting an hour's
sleep, in order that rare birds might be preserved ; and the work
of preparing birdskins is anything but a pleasant one. The
results to be obtained for natural history were so great, that it
was impossible to grudge a moment of time so spent, or to neglect
any opportunity of adding to the note-book or the collection.
Sunday, i^tk. — Passed the Rasbinik village, where I bought a
marten-skin and a haunch of reindeer meat. The natives here
always cut a small piece off every skin after selling it, for luck
as they say. Toward night we reached the village of Starry (old)
Kwikhpak. Here I found a man named Yaska, who had been
interpreter at Andreaffsky. I explained to him that I wished to
2 30
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
visit the Kusilvak Slough, and obtain eggs and skins of the
beautiful emperor goose (Chloephaga canagica), which breeds in
abundance there, and there only. He could not go himself, but
obtained a boy who knew the way, and explained to him what I
wanted. The village was full of fresh skins of the reindeer fawn.
I counted a thousand and seventy-two bunches hanging up to
dry. Each bunch contained four skins, or enough to make a
parka. This would give a total of nearly four thousand three
hundred of these little creatures, which had been killed during
the past two months. The village contained a great deal of dry
meat and fish, but the inhabitants were squalid and dirty. I saw
Andreaffsky.
a tame owl sitting on one of the rafters, and a few marten-skins
were hanging on a cache. I bought an otter-skin of the finest
quality, for four bunches of Circassian tobacco. Not wishing to
camp in such a dirty place, we proceeded a little way down the
river with our guide, and camped.
Monday, \^th. — While collecting in the morning, I found cow-
slips in blossom on the marshes, and obtained the eggs of the
beautiful white-winged gull. The long-continued and never-tir-
ing head-wind was stronger than usual this morning. To avoid
it, we entered a long slough, where we took tea, and I collected
many yellow butterflies (Pieris venosa Scud.), the only species
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 231
which I noticed on the Yukon near the sea. About one o'clock
we emerged from the slough, and at this point killed several
geese. The waves were very high, and after an hour's hard pull-
ing we passed the mouth of the Milavanoff River, and finally
reached Andreaffsky Fort. It was quite deserted. The solitary
fort, with the windows all nailed up, the bare hills, and cloudy
sky, made the place seem more lonely and dreary than ever.
We hauled up the boat, and boiled the chynik, and rested until
the wind should abate a little.
'Andreaffsky was built in the form of a square, the buildings
making two of the sides, and a stockade the other two. It con-
tained barracks, a store, magazine, cook-house and bath-house.
It was erected about the year 1853. In 1855 it was the scene of
a mournful tragedy. There was formerly an Ekogmut village
near the fort. Several of the natives were workmen at the fort.
No trouble had ever occurred. Several of the garrison had gone
up to Nulato with the annual provision-boat, and only the bidar-
shik and one Russian, besides the native workmen, were left in the
fort. One Friday in August, the natives attacked the Russians
as they came naked out of the bath, and killed them with clubs
and knives. A Creole boy escaped to the hills, and finally crossed
the portage to the vicinity of St. Michael's. When he reached that
point the Uprovalisha was away, and his secretary, Ivan Kogen-
ikoff, was acting in his stead.
The Russians had long murmured at the conduct of the Com-
pany, in leaving unavenged the Nulato massacre. The oppor-
tunity of settling accounts with the natives was too tempting
to resist. Kogenikoff and Gregory Ivanhoff, with two Creoles,
immediately started for the fort. On reaching it they found
everything in confusion. The dead bodies lay at the door of
the bath-house. The natives, not knowing how to use flour,
had merely carried off the sacks. They had also ripped open
the beds, and carried away the ticking, while the mass of
flour and feathers was left on the floor. After satisfying them-
selves that there was no living thing in the fort, the Russians
started for the village, which was about a mile off. As they ap-
proached, Kogenikoff saw a man standing in the door of one of the
houses and pointing a gun at the approaching party. It after-
ward turned out that the gun had no lock ; but not knowing this,
2-2
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
the Russians fired, and killed the man. The natives, who were
few in number, came rushing out, and were shot down without
mercy. The Creoles, who, when aroused, have all the ferocity of
the aboriginal savage, attacked the shaman and beat out his
brains with clubs. None were spared. The blood shed at the
fort was not yet dry, and the infuriated Russians resolved that
the authors of that cowardly outrage should be exterminated
without mercy. When they stayed their hands the work was
done. Fathers, mothers, and children had passed their " evil
quarter of an hour." The result was wonderful. From that day
to this not a native on the Lower Yukon has lifted his hand
against the whites. The bloody lesson was not thrown away.
The strong hand, which alone commands the respect of savages,
was worth a thousand missionaries. To this day the natives trav-
elling on the river near the fort pass by on the other side. Large
quantities of tobacco and other property, stolen from the fort, were
found in the village. Around the necks of most of the dead,
crosses were found hanging, indicating that the thieves and mur-
derers were baptized converts of the Yukon Mission.
The only articles remaining in the fort at the time of our visit
were three six-pounders, and some old iron. Toward evening,
though the river was still very rough, we embarked, and by keep-
ing close to the bank managed to travel several miles farther.
The white dome of the Kusilvak mountain loomed up grandly to
the southwest. Just south of it is a shallow slough which leads
into the south slough of the delta. This is navigable only for
bidarkas. The trees were now reduced to low willows, and the
level character of the country to the north and west showed that
we had passed all the mountains. A few low hills still fringed
the right bank, but the general level of the country was only
a few feet above the sea. We finally camped on the bank of a
small stream, which our guide said was called Egg River.
The evening was cold and raw, the sky cloudy and sombre, and
the vegetation far less advanced than that a hundred miles
inland. Fragments of ice, the remains of huge blocks left by the
freshet, still lay on the shore.
Tuesday, i6th. — The whole morning we pulled against a
strong steady head-wind. We passed into a narrow slough, and
by a turn to the northward were able for the first time to use our
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 233
sail. Convinced that we were passing the mouth of the Kusilvak,
we crossed to the other side of the river. Two hours were con-
sumed in doing this, although we made at least three knots and a
half an hour. The aspect of the country, flat, marshy, and
muddy, was truly desolate. We saw immense numbers of wild
fowl in the distance, but no other animals. We camped on the
left bank, and I noticed that the mice in winter, crawling along
the surface of the snow, had gnawed the bark from the willows
full six feet above the ground. This would indicate that the
snow falls at least to that depth. A few warblers were building
their nests in the thickets, and I noticed the tracks of mink along
the muddy beach.
Wednesday, \jth. — Our guide to my astonishment insisted on
crossing the river again. As none of us understood the Pre-
morska dialect, we were unable to find out what his intentions
were. About noon we stopped at a small island and collected
about fifty eggs of the water-hen (Mergus serrator). They were
laid under logs, without any lining to the nest, and covered care-
fully with dry leaves and down. The parent birds flew, scream-
ing, round the island, out of gunshot. About half an hour after,
our guide brought us to the mouth of the Uphoon ! I recognized
the place immediately, and by referring to my vocabularies
managed to make out that he had supposed this was our desti-
nation, and that he knew nothing about the Kusilvak. This was
a great disappointment to me, as I had hoped to obtain large
numbers of the eggs and skins of the Emperor goose. However,
there was nothing to be done but to make the best of it. I paid
him, and he started homeward, while we kept on our way through
the Uphoon. The small beaches were plentifully strewn with
eggs. The most common were those of Hutchin's goose, the
white-winged gull, and the pin-tail duck. I had instructed Ku-
rilla in the manufacture of omelets, and they now formed part
of every meal. The egg-shells were carefully emptied with a
blowpipe and devoted to science, while the contents went into
the frying-pan. We camped on a high bank, which bore the re-
mains of many native camp-fires, and just before turning in I was
fortunate enough to shoot a fine specimen of the beautiful red-
necked loon. The Uphoon is an excellent collecting ground, but
the emperor goose is seldom seen there.
234
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
Thursday, \%th. — We started late, after unlimited omelet, and
rowed slowly through the various windings of the slough.
Now and then we stopped to collect eggs or specimens, and the
boat was fairly covered with our feathered prizes. We passed
one deserted native house, and about dark arrived safely at Kut-
lik. This settlement consists of one house, built by a Russian
called Ananyan, containing a living-room, kitchen, and bath-room,
under one roof; a single Innuit barrabora stands near it, and a
great cache, the largest in the country, has been erected behind
the house. The house was entirely empty, and had such a smoky
smell that I decided to sleep in the tent, and only to do my bird-
Kutlik.
skinning inside, where there was room to spread out the skins
to dry. I proposed to spend several days here, and to send
the Indians out shooting, while I kept at work preparing the speci-
mens. Ananyan, with his family, was away in the Kusilvak, where
he was salting chowichee (Salmo orientalis Pall.) for Stepanoff.
The next day I busied myself repacking the specimens which
had been collected on the road. I sent out all the Indians with
liberal supplies of powder and shot, and promised ten balls as a
present to whoever should bring in one of the much-desired geese.
I blew about five dozen eggs during the day which is an under-
taking to be appreciated only by those who have tried it. To-
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
235
ward evening it rained, and I moved everything from the tent
into the house, except my blankets. The men came back loaded
with game, and the indefatigable Kurilla, with an unwonted smile
on his sober face, unfolded a piece of cotton and brought out a
magnificent old gander of the right sort. The golden tips to the
snowy feathers of the head, the beautiful "ashes-of-roses" color
of the body, marked with half-moons of black, gave it the undis-
puted right to its proud title of the Emperor, or, in Russian,
C&sdr-ka.
The Emperor goose.
The following day and the one after that were spent much
in the same way. I was busy preserving and packing the
skins, while the Indians were constantly out gunning. Sidorka
added another goose to my collection, and I obtained near the
house several pairs, and also the eggs of a curlew (Limosa uropygi-
alis) not previously found on the American continent. On Mon-
day, Kurilla heated the bath-room, and we all took a steam bath.
In the evening about half past eleven that old veteran Teleezhik
arrived from the Shageluk with a boat-load of furs. He would
only stop to drink tea, however, and with his two companions
pushed on to Pastolik. He had obtained about a thousand
martens.
236 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
Tuesday ', 2^d. — After packing up all the collections, I con-
cluded to follow Teleezhik to Pastolik. We arrived there safely,
and had hardly landed our cargo before a strong head-wind
sprang up, so that we had been just in time. Pastolik is a Una-
leet village of some thirty huts, mostly built of turf and driftwood.
Just now it was without inhabitants. It is situated on the shore
of a wide inlet, into which the Pastolik River empties. The
mouth of this inlet is nearly closed by a bar which is almost dry
at low tide. Inside of the bar there are deep places, and here a
beluga fishery is carried on in the month of August. The beluga
is a small white whale, allied to the sperm whale and porpoise.
They come into the shallow water to breed, and are prevented
from getting out of the inlet by the bar. When the tide falls, the
natives in their kyaks attack them with lances, and large num-
bers are killed. The flesh is eaten, and the blubber and oil pre-
served for trade and winter use. The length of these animals
seldom exceeds fifteen feet, and a large one will weigh about two
thousand pounds. I counted eighty skulls lying about the huts,
the remains of the fishery of the previous year. The teeth of the
beluga are of the consistency of ivory, and are extensively used
by the Innuit in making small carvings. Birds, seal, deer, and
other animals are imitated with some skill by the natives, and
many articles of use and ornament are made by them from ivory.
The previous year, on our arrival from Nulato, I purchased a
large number of these articles. An awl or bodkin is here repre-
Ivory bodkin.
sented. The larger articles of ivory are made from walrus tusks,
which are obtained by trade with the natives of the northern
coast. In July and September a seal fishery, similar to that at
Kegiktowruk, is carried on here, and many are secured in nets.
These nets are exceedingly strong, and are made from remni,
Seine needle.
with a peculiar needle, which is here represented. The Innuit
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
237
women are extremely expert at this kind of work. I am informed
that with similar nets, during the moulting season, they secure
large numbers of wild fowl and also many arctic hares in the fall.
During the moulting season they obtain many skins of the differ-
ent species of divers, by driving them into shallow water where
they cannot dive, and spearing them with bone tridents. Of these
skins they make parkies and other articles of clothing, some of
which are very tasteful.
The Innuit have also a custom of making, on flat pieces of
bone, rude drawings of animals, hunting parties, and similar things.
INNUIT DRAWINGS ON BONE.
Wolves after deer.
Deer -hunting.
These drawings are analogous to those discovered in France in
the caves of Dordogne, and the preceding sketch of the drawings
on either side of two bone knives illustrates their general character.
I have seen an ivory bow, used in connection with a drill, and
made of an entire walrus tusk, which had depicted on each of
the four sides every pursuit followed by the Innuit from birth to
interment. These facts have a peculiar interest as showing some
similarity between the customs of the present Orarian tribes
238 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
and those of the ancient European cave-dwellers. Similar draw-
ings are common everywhere among the Innuit, while I have
never seen among the Tinneh tribes of the northwest any similar
specimens of art. Some of the Innuit tribes to the southward
exhibit much more ingenuity in such matters than those of Nor-
ton Sound and the vicinity.
Back of Pastolik are extensive marshes bounded by the low
range of the Pastolik Hills, while at their foot the Pastoliak
River flows, emptying into Pastol Bay. These marshes are the
favorite haunts of myriads of wild fowl.
Wednesday, 2^th. — This morning an unexpected misfortune
occurred. The strong west wind raised the water so high that it
not only invaded our tent near the shore, but surrounded the
boxes of birdskins before we became aware of it, and I was
obliged to empty them, unpack every individual specimen, and dry
it in the sun. This was fortunately accomplished and the speci-
mens repacked, when clouds came up and it began to rain. From
the marshes my Indians obtained many fine birds and eggs,
including several specimens of the exquisite Sabine's gull (Xema
Sabinii), and a pair of Emperor geese. This is nearly the most
northern point reached by the latter species.
A solitary native arrived in a kyak at night, and reported
others on the way. I picked up near the village a large portion
of the skull of the extinct elephant (Elephas primigenius). These
bones are not so common as the teeth and tusks, being found on
the surface only, and usually much decayed ; while the bones of
the musk-ox and fossil buffalo found in the same situations are
much better preserved, and sometimes retain some of the ani-
mal matter in the bone. The natives have no tradition of any
other large animal than the reindeer and moose, and regard the
elephant and musk-ox bones as the remains of dead " devils."
The tusks are not so well preserved as those found in Siberia,
which are usually buried in the earth. The former are black-
ened, split, and weathered, and contain little ivory in a state fit
for use, though the Innuit of the Arctic coast occasionally find
them in such preservation that they make kantags or dishes of
the ivory, according to Simpson.
On Friday, Goldsen arrived in a three-holed bidarka with his son
and an Innuit lad. He reported that Milavanoff was at Kutlik.
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 239
Saturday, 27 'th. — The wind being nearly fair, all hands loaded
up, and we started for the Redoubt. I had hoped to get a larger
boat at Pastolik, fearing to trust my little bidarra to the waves of
the open sea, but there were neither boats nor natives at hand.
We sailed well, and soon outstripped Teleezhik, though the nim-
ble bidarka led the fleet. We drank tea on the shore, about
ten miles from Pastolik, and then pushed on toward Point Roma-
noff. Goldsen arrived at this point some time ahead of us, as
it had become quite calm.
On reaching the village, near the solitary hill which marks
the point (which is the Cape Shallow Water of Cook), I was
about to land, when Goldsen cried out to me, "Hurry up! Mr.
Doctor, don't stop for a moment, there are two American ves-
sels at the Redoubt ! " My joy and excitement can hardly be
described. Our ignorance of any details only added to it. The
news was obtained through a native who had been to the Canal,
and had only seen the vessels. I immediately proposed to Gold-
sen to put his native into the bidarra, while one of my Indians
would take the other paddle, and I would accompany him in the
swifter bidarka to the Redoubt. This arrangement was soon
completed, and I left Kurilla to bring the bidarra to St. Michael's.
We touched at Pikmiktalik, and entering the Canal took tea on
the bank. While the chynik was boiling I took a bath in one of
the lagoons, and otherwise prepared myself to meet civilized
beings once more. After tea we pulled vigorously all night.
Sunday, 2$t/i. — About three o'clock in the morning we reached
the northern mouth of the Canal, and saw a small schooner lying
in the bay. To the eastward a bidarra was pulling for the Canal,
but seemed rather to avoid us. Taking Goldsen's glass, I made
out one white man in it, and the round sides of two barrels rose
conspicuously above the gunwale. I felt sick as I sat down,
knowing that the cargo must consist of rum, and seeing already
the beginning of evils whose future growth none could estimate.
We pulled up to the landing near the boat-house. Everything
seemed much as usual, and everybody was evidently asleep. My
eye soon fell on a pile of boxes, which were not of Russian make,
and just beyond was a lot of American tin cups. I hastened to
the house on the point, which was evidently occupied. Entering,
I nearly stumbled over a sleeper on the floor. He rose and came
240 THE YUKON TERRITORY.
out into the light, and I was soon shaking hands and exchanging
hurried interrogatories with Mike Lebarge. The unmixed delight
with which I welcomed his familiar face can hardly be appre-
ciated. I found, to my own astonishment, that speaking English,
after a year of nothing but Russian and Indian dialects, was any-
thing but easy, and for several days I was obliged to resort to
Russian when fluency was required. The news, much of it eigh-
teen months old, was all news to me, and it was weeks before I
gained anything like a comprehension of the events which had
occurred in the civilized world since I last heard from it. My
only disappointment was that they brought me not a single home
letter. All of these had been sent to Sitka or elsewhere, in ig-
norance of my whereabouts. I had not heard from home for
nearly two years.
Captain Smith had left with his vessel for Grantley Harbor. He
would return to St. Michael's, and I made the necessary prepara-
tions for accompanying him to California. I must pass over the
events of the next month at the Redoubt. Several trading com-
panies, beside that which Mike represented, intended to send par-
ties into the country. The vessel in the bay was principally loaded
with liquor, which had in some mysterious way eluded the vigi-
lance of the United States officials at Sitka ; she belonged to one
of these companies. Some time after, the vessel arrived which
had been sent to take back those Russians who desired to return
to Russia. Very few went in her, as most of them were hired by
the new trading companies. To Mr. George R. Adams, and Cap-
tain Riedell, of the brig Constantine, I was under many obligations.
On the 2 ist of July the schooner Frances L. Steele arrived from
Bering Strait with Captain Smith on board. On the Qth of Au-
gust, having shipped the collections, I embarked for San Fran-
cisco via the Aleutian Islands. We touched at St. George's
Island and some of the Aleutians on our way to California.
The incidents of the voyage need not be recounted here. It
is sufficient to say that I obtained abundance of evidence that
during 1868 great abuses were prevalent in the new territory.
One trading company in particular, hoping, by its large capital
and connection with the officers of the defunct Russian Company,
to crush all smaller concerns, had not hesitated at force, fraud,
and corruption, to attain these ends. It would be impossible to
THE YUKON TERRITORY. 241
believe in the probity of some of the officials (since removed)
at Sitka, as it was impossible to avoid seeing the outrages which
had been committed. One instance of the temper of these
traders will suffice. A party, consisting of several German Jews,
one Russian, and some other foreigners, had staked out the places
where the fur seal come up on the island of St. George, and
declared their intention of holding these tracts of beach under
the homestead laws (!) by force, if necessary. Two unarmed
Americans, who had served in the army and navy during the late
war, and who had a permit to seal from the Sitka authorities,
having trespassed on the land staked out, were set upon by a party
of armed natives, led by a member of the company referred
to, were tied hand and foot, and left all night in a mud hovel used
for storing salt. The next day they were released on condition
that the trespass should not be repeated.
In their present condition the Creoles are unfit to exercise the
franchise, as American citizens. If a territorial government
should be granted to the handful of Americans now resident in
the territory, it would simply give the stronger companies the
power to crush and ruin the weaker ones, and a full opportunity
of smuggling and selling liquor would be afforded to the former.
The present system of a military government, with honest officers,
is unquestionably the best, until the proper reservations are made
and regulations in regard to trading are enacted. The territory
is not likely to be populous for many years, and should rather be
regarded as a great storehouse of fish, timber, and fur ; from
which American citizens alone should be allowed to draw sup-
plies, under proper restrictions and on payment of reasonable
taxes. The country, under a monopoly, afforded one hundred
thousand silver rubles a year, taxes, to the Russian crown, and,
with the development of other resources than the traffic in
furs, can certainly afford as much to the United States. I speak
from no uncertainty, but from positive knowledge ; I believe that
a proper and not onerous system of taxation would afford two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars in gold per annum.
It is but reasonable to "suppose that a territory separated by sea
and foreign territory from the United States — being in point of
fact a colony — should need, and be the subject of, special legisla-
tion, differing in many particulars from that applied to territories
16
242
THE YUKON TERRITORY.
which are merely continuations of densely populated districts
under State jurisdiction.
I have seen with surprise and regret that men whose fore-
fathers wielded the axe in the forests of Maine, or gathered
scanty crops on the granite hillsides of Massachusetts, have seen
fit to throw contempt and derision on the acquisition of a great
territory naturally far richer than that in which they themselves
originated, principally on the ground that it is a " cold " country.
This complaint is but half true to begin with, since on half of the
coast of the new territory the thermometer has never been known
to fall below zero. Icebergs are unknown in Alaska from Dixon's
Entrance to Bering Strait, and no polar bear ever came within
a thousand miles of Sitka. On the other hand, has the race of
hardy pioneers died out among us ? Do we, as a nation, sigh only
for indolent siestas in the canebrakes of Cuba ? In a country
where all that we honor and respect has grown from the efforts
of those whose energy, fostered by conflict with the elements,
has made a garden of the rock, turned the forest into fruitful
fields, and drawn the precious minerals from the flinty bosom
of the earth, there can be but one answer to such a question.
We have bought for a nominal price the key to the North
Pacific. It can no longer be said that three ironclads can block-
ade our entire western coast. Two hundred and fifty years hence
there may be a new New England where there is now a track-
less forest. The time may come when we shall call on our Pacific
fishermen to man our fleets, on the lumbermen of Alaska and
our hardy northern trappers to don the blue, and strike another
blow for unity and freedom. The oak must weather the storms
of many winters before it gains maturity. Alaska is not a Cali-
fornia, where cities arise in a night, and may pass away in a day.
Meanwhile we must be patient.
We entered the Golden Gate on the 2Qth of September. I
cannot close this partial record of my experience in the north,
without a word of acknowledgment to those California!! friends
who made my welcome back so warm. The friendship of Cali-
fornians, easily acquired, is as precious as their own gold, and
as enduring as their Sierras. When I stepped on board the
steamer, eastward bound, I felt almost as if I were leaving rather
than approaching home.
PART II.
EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT
ON AN
EXPLORATION MADE IN 1887 IN THE YUKON
DISTRICT N.W.T.
ADJACENT NORTHERN PORTION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
BY
GEORGE M. DAWSON, D.S., F.G.S.
CHAPTER I.
The Yukon Expedition — Its purpose — Arrival at Wrangell — Dease Lake — Boat-
building— The confluence of the Dease and Liard Rivers — Ascent of the Liard and
Frances Rivers to Frances Lake — Examining and mapping the lake — Difficulties
of portaging — The Upper Pelly — Descent of the Pelly — Mr. Ogilvie's preliminary
report and map sheets — Chilkoot Pass — Distance travelled by the Expedition
during the exploration — River systems of the northern part of British Columbia
and the Yukon district — -Characteristic features of the region — 'The estuary of the
Yukon — When first explored — The name Yukon first applied in 1846 — The
source of the Yukon an interesting subject of inquiry — Its width, depth, and
velocity — Principal routes of travel— The Taku River — Rivers of the Upper
Yukon Basin — Total length of v.aters navigable — Routes of access employed in
1888.
THE Yukon Expedition was undertaken for the purpose of
gaining information on a vast and previously almost un-
known tract of country which forms the extreme north-westerly
portion of the North-west Territory. This tract is bounded
on the south by the northern line of the Province of British
Columbia (lat. 60°) , on the west by the eastern line of the United
States territory of Alaska, on the east by the Rocky Mountain
Ranges and I36th meridian, and on the north by the Arctic
Ocean. The region thus generally indicated is referred to as
the Yukon district, from the fact that the greater part of its area
lies within the drainage-basin of the river of that name.
The Yukon district has a total area of approximately 192,000
square miles, 150,768 square miles being included in the water-
shed of the Yukon. The superficial extent of the district is
nearly equal to that of France, greater than the United Kingdom
by 71,100 square miles, ten times the area of the province of Nova
Scotia, or nearly three times that of the New England States.
The writer was placed in general charge of the expedition,
with Mr. R. G. McConnell, B.A., and Mr. J. McEvoy, B.Ap.Sc.,
also of the Geographical Survey, as assistants, while Mr. W.
B
246 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Ogilvie, D.L.S., was intrusted with the conduct of instrumental
measurement, and the astronomical work in connection with the
determination of the position of the I4ist meridian.
We left Ottawa on the 22nd of April, 1887, travelling by the
Canadian Pacific Railway to Victoria, and reached Wrangell,
at the mouth of the Stikine River, where our work was
practically begun on the i8th of May. Here Mr. McConnell
stayed behind, for the purpose of getting Indians and canoes to
enable him to make a micrometer survey of the Stikine from
the end of the line measured by Mr. J. Hunter in 1877, to
Telegraph Creek, while I proceeded up the river by the first
steamer of the season to Telegraph Creek, the head of naviga-
tion. From thence, goods are carried by pack animals to
Dease Lake, the centre of the Cassiar mining district. On
June 5th, we reached the head of Dease Lake, and found the
greater part of the lake still covered with ice. It was not until
the gth that we were able to reach the point on the shore near
Laketon at which two men, previously sent on in advance with
an Indian packer, were sawing lumber for boats. Seven days
were employed in this work and in constructing three boats.
On the evening of the i6th, a strong wind having broken up
the remaining barrier of ice, we reached Laketon with our boats,
Mr. McConnell, with a crew of five Coast Indians intended for
my work on the Upper Liard, having meanwhile joined us.
On the i8th we started, and on the 23rd reached the " Lower
Post" at the confluence of the Dease and Liard Rivers. Here
Mr. McConnell, with one boat and two men, separated from us
for the purpose of surveying and geologically examining the
Lower Liard.
On leaving the confluence of the Dease and Liard, my own
party included, besides myself, Mr. McEvoy, Messrs. L. Lewis
and D. Johnson, engaged at Victoria, two Tshimsian and three
Stikine (Thlinkit) Indians, all good boatmen. Two local
Indians hired as guides, and to help in portaging, deserted a
day or two after engaging ; and from the " Lower Post " to
near the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes, for an interval of
more than six weeks, we met neither whites nor Indians.
The ascent of the Liard and Frances rivers to Frances Lake
proved unexpectedly difficult and tedious, the rivers being swift
THE YUKON TERRITORY 24?
throughout and three bad canons having to be passed through.
Frances Lake was reached on the 8th of July, and after spending
a few days in examining and mapping the lake, making the
observations necessary to fix its position, and in the endeavour
to find some Indian trail by which we might travel across to
the Pelly, we began the work of portaging on the I7th.
As we had been unable to discover any route now in use by
the Indians, and no trace remained of the trail employed by
the Hudson Bay Company in former years ; and as no local
Indians could be found to act as guides or to assist in carrying
our stuff, it was evident that the crossing of this portage (which
had been estimated by Mr. Campbell at about 70 miles in
length) would be a difficult matter, and that we might indeed
find it impossible to carry over a sufficient supply of provisions
for work on the Pelly. We therefore constructed a strong log
cache on the shore of Frances Lake, and left there everything we
could possibly dispense with, to be taken to Dease Lake by the
Indians when they returned. Had we been unable to effect the
portage, there was in our cache a sufficient supply of provisions
to enable the whole party to return to the " Lower Post." We
were, however, so fortunate as to reach the bank of the Upper
Pelly on the 2gth of July, with still nearly a month's provisions
for four persons, our instruments and a small camping outfit, a
canvas cover from which a canoe might be constructed, and the
tools and nails for building a wooden boat, should that prove
to be necessary. Our Indians were paid off here, and to their
great delight allowed to turn back.
As a dangerous rapid was reported to exist on the upper part
of the Pelly, it was decided to construct a canvas canoe in
preference to building a boat, which it might prove impossible
to portage past the rapid. Having completed the canoe, we
descended the Pelly, and arrived at the confluence of the Lewes
branch with the Upper Pelly on the nth of August. At the
mouth of the Lewes we had now reached the line of route
which is used by the miners, and expected to find a prearranged
memorandum from Mr. Ogilvie, from whom we had separated
in May. As we did not find any such notice, and as Mr.
Ogilvie had not been seen on the lower river by a party of
miners whom we met here on their way up the Lewes, we were
B 2
248 THE YUKON TERRITORY
forced to conclude that he had not yet reached this point. We
were also told that Harper's trading post, where I had hoped
to be able to get an additional supply of provisions should we
fail to come up with Mr. Ogilvie, had been moved from the
mouth of the Stewart to Forty-mile Creek. From the place
where we now were we still had a journey of nearly 400 miles
to the coast, with the swift waters of the Lewes to contend
against for the greater part of the distance. If therefore it
should have become necessary to go down stream 200 miles to
Forty-mile Creek for provisions, so much would have been
added to our up-stream journey that it would become doubtful
whether we should be able to afford time for geological work on
the Lewes, and yet reach the coast before the smaller lakes
near the mountains were frozen over. I therefore decided to
set about the building of another boat, suitable for the ascent
of the Lewes, and on the second day after we had begun work,
Mr. Ogilvie very opportunely appeared. After having completed
our boat and obtained Mr. Ogilvie's preliminary report and
map-sheets, together with the necessary provisions, we began
the ascent of the Lewes, and from its head-waters we crossed
the mountains by the Chilkoot Pass and reached the coast at
the head of Lynn Canal on the 2Oth September.
In addition to the physical obstacles to be encountered on
the long route above outlined, some anxiety was caused by
reported Indian troubles on the Yukon. On reaching ' the
mouth of the Lewes we ascertained that the story was entirely
false, but it had none the less kept us in a state of watchfulness
during a great part of the summer.
The entire distance travelled by us during the exploration
amounts to 1322 miles. This, taken in connection with the
coast-line between the Stikine and Lynn Canal, circumscribes
an area of about 63,200 square miles, the interior being, even
yet, but for the accounts of a few prospectors and reports of
Indians, terra incognita. The same description, with little
qualification, applies to the whole surrounding region outside
the surveyed circuit, but much general information concerning
the country has been obtained.
The region traversed by the routes just mentioned, including
THE YUKON TERRITORY 249
the extreme northern part of British Columbia and the southern
part of the Yukon district (as previously denned), is drained by
three great river systems, its waters reaching the Pacific by the
Stikine, the Mackenzie, (and eventually the Arctic Ocean,) by
the Liard, and Behring Sea, by the Yukon. The south-eastern
part of the region is divided between the two first-named rivers
whose tributary streams interlock, the Stikine making its way
completely through the Coast Ranges in a south-westerly
direction, while the Liard, on a north-easterly bearing, cuts
across the Rocky Mountains to the Mackenzie valley. The
watershed separating these rivers near Dease Lake has a height
of 2730 feet, and both streams may be generally characterized
as very rapid.
To the north-westward, branches of the Stikine and Liard
again interlock with the head-waters of several tributaries of
the Yukon, which here unwater the entire great area enclosed
on one side by the Coast Ranges, on the other by the Rocky
Mountains. The actual watershed, between the Liard and
Pelly, on our line of route, was found to have an elevation of
3150 feet, but it is, no doubt, much lower in the central portion
of the region between the Rocky Mountains and Coast Ranges.
To the north of the Stikine, at least one other river, the Taku,
also cuts completely across the Coast Ranges, but its basin is
comparatively restricted and little is yet known of it.
It will be noticed, that while the several branches of the Yukon
conform in a general way to the main orographic axes, the Stikine
and Liard appear to be to a large degree independent of these,
and to flow counter to the direction of three mountain ranges.
The region, being a portion of the Cordillera belt of the west
coast, is naturally mountainous, but it comprises as well
important areas of merely hilly or gently rolling country,
besides many wide, flat-bottomed river-valleys. Higher in
its south-eastern part — that drained by the Stikine and
Liard — it subsides gradually, and apparently uniformly,
to the north-westward ; the mountains at the same time
becoming more isolated, and being separated by broader tracts
of low land. The general base-level, or height of the main
valleys, within the Coast Ranges, thus declines from about
2500 feet, to nearly 1500 feet at the confluence of the Lewes
250 THE YUKON TERRITORY
and Pelly rivers, and the average base-level of the entire
region may be stated as being a little over 2000 feet.
The Coast Ranges, with an aggregate average width of
about eighty miles, closely set with high, rounded or rugged
mountains, constitute the most important orographic uplift
in the entire region, and reproduce geographically and
geologically the characteristic features of the more southern
portion of British Columbia. Beyond the vicinity of Lynn
Canal, this mountain axis runs behind the St. Elias Alps,
ceasing to be the continental border, and may be said to be
entirely unknown, as any indications of mountains which
have appeared on this part of the map are purely conjectural.
Notwithstanding the great width of the Coast Ranges, it is
not known that any of their constituent mountains attain
very notable altitudes, but it is probable that a great number
of the peaks exceed a height of 8000 feet. These ranges are
composed of numerous mountain ridges, not always uniform
in direction, and, so far as has been observed, no single
dominant range can be traced for any considerable distance.
The mountain axis next in importance to that of the
Coast Ranges forms the water-parting between the Upper
Liard and Yukon on one side, and the feeder of the main
Mackenzie River on the other. This represents the north-
western continuation of the Rocky Mountains proper. Its
eastern ridges W7ere touched on during the exploration in the
vicinity of Frances Lake and the head- waters of the Pelly River,
and are there designated on the map as the Tootsho Range.
This forms, so far as has been ascertained, the culminating
range of a number of more or less exactly parallel ridges, and
certain summits attain heights of from 7000 to 9000 feet.
A third notable mountain axis, which I have designated on the
map as the Cassiar Range, is cut through by the Dease River
in its upper course, and further to the north-westward appears
to form the line of water-parting between the tributaries of the
Upper Liard and those of the branches of the Yukon. Peaks
near the Dease, in this range, somewhat exceed 7000 feet, but
the range in a general way becomes lower to the north-westward.
In the north-western and less elevated moiety of the region,
the mountain ranges and ridges are in general lower and
THE YUKON TERRITORY 25!
become discontinuous and irregular, or while retaining a general
parallelism, assume an overlapping or echelon-like arrangement.
In each of these mountain chains granitic rocks appear in
greater or less force. In the intervening and subordinate
mountain systems of the south-east, granitic axes are not found
and do not exist as prominent features.
Scarcely anything is known of the character of the country
drained by the Macmillan, Stewart and White rivers, but it is
probable that the basins of the two first-named streams closely
resemble that of the Upper Pelly. Miners who have ascended
the Stewart for a hundred miles or more, report the existence
of a continuous range of mountains of considerable height,
which runs parallel to the river on the north, from a point about
fifty miles from its mouth onward. The absence of tributaries
of any size along the south-west side of the Lewes below the
Tahk-heena, with the general appearance of the country in that
direction, so far as it has been overlooked, shows that the
basin of the upper portion of the White River must be com-
paratively low. Situated as it is within the St. Elias Alps,
this country must possess most remarkable features, both
geographically and from a climatic point of view, and well
deserves exploration.
The estuary of the Yukon appears to have been first explored
by the Russian, Glasunoff, in 1835 to T&3&> an(i the river was
then named by the Russians the Kwikhpak : this name, accord-
ing to Mr. W. H. Dall, is in reality that of one of the channels
by which it issues to the sea. The lower part of the river,
however, continued to be known as the Kwikhpak for a number
of years, and it is so called on the (Russian) map of Lieut.
Zagoskin, made from reconnaissance surveys which, in 1842-43,
he carried up so far as Nowikakat. The mouth of the river is
shown on Arrowsmiths map of 1850, but is there nameless.
The name Yukon was first applied in 1846 by Mr. J. Bell, of
the Hudson Bay Company, who reached the main river by
descending the Porcupine, and called it by what he understood
to be its Indian appellation. The head- waters of one of the
main tributaries of the Yukon had previously been attained by
Mr. R. Campbell (also an officer of the Hudson Bay Company)
in 1840, and in 1850 he descended the river as far as the mouth
252 THE YUKON TERRITORY
of the Porcupine, naming the whole river thus traversed the
Pelly, and naming also the Lewes, White and Stewart rivers, as
well as numerous smaller tributaries.
The name Yukon does not appear at all on Arrowsmith's map
of 1854, that of the Pelly standing for the whole length of the
river explored by Campbell, but since that date the term Yukon
has gradually become applied to the main river. In the United
States Coast Survey map dated 1869 the main river between the
Porcupine and Lewes is definitely named the Yukon ; but in
the map accompanying Raymond's official report (1871) this
name is again confined to the river below the Porcupine, and
the statement is made in the report (p. 21) that from Lake
Labarge to Fort Yukon the river is called the Lewes.
With respect to the substitution of the name Yukon for that
of Pelly on the portion of the river between the Porcupine and
Lewes, it is simply a question of well established priority versus
use. It is possibly a matter of small importance which shall be
employed in future, but no valid excuse can be offered for the
attempt to substitute any new name for that either of the Lewes
or Pelly above the site of old Fort Selkirk.
From the point of view of the physical geographer, and apart
from the question of nomenclature, the position of the furthest
source of the great Yukon River is, however, an interesting
subject of inquiry ; though it may yet be some years before we
are in possession of sufficient information to settle the question
definitely. It may be confidently assumed that this point is to
be found by following up either the Pelly or the Lewes from
their confluence at the site of old Fort Selkirk. The Lewes
there carries the greater volume of water, but, draining as it does
a considerable length of the humid Coast Ranges, which bear
throughout the year great reserves of snow and numerous
glaciers, it does not compare on terms of equality with the
Upper Pelly, which unwaters a region relatively dry. Whether
reckoned by size, or by distance from its mouth, the source of
the Lewes must be placed at the head-waters of the Hotilinqu
River l explored by Byrnes, of the Telegraph Survey, in approxi-
1 The Tes-lin-too occupies the main orographic valley above its confluence
with the Lewes, but is smaller than the Lewes and besides doubles back on
its course, as is shown on the map.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 253
mate latitude 59° 10', longitude 132° 40'. In regard to the
Felly, it is not yet absolutely certain that the Pelly proper rises
further from the common point at Fort Selkirk than its great
branches, the Macmillan and the Ross rivers, but it is highly
probable that it will be found to do so.
I must confess to having been somewhat disappointed in the
size of the Pelly or Yukon where we saw it below the con-
fluence of the Lewes. The river, when undivided by islands,
is about 1700 feet only in width, with a maximum depth
scarcely exceeding ten feet when at a stage which may be
considered as its approximate mean. It appeared to me to be
about equal in size and velocity to the Peace River at Dunvegan :
Mr. Ogilvie, who is also familiar with the Peace, concurred
in this estimate. Below this place the river, of course, receives
a number of important tributaries, but at any fairly comparable
point on the two rivers I believe that the Mackenzie must far
exceed the Yukon in volume. Statements which have been
made that the Yukon discharges a volume comparable with
that of the Mississippi are altogether exaggerated.
The numerous large and important rivers by which the
Yukon district and the adjacent northern portion of British
Columbia are intersected, constitute the principal routes of
travel, and during the summer months render inter-communi-
cation comparatively easy. The Stikine is navigable by stern-
wheel steamers for a distance of 138 miles. This constitutes
the travelled route to the Cassiar mining district. A trail was,
at one time, opened from Fraser Lake overland to Dease Lake
by which cattle were driven through, but of late no travel has
occurred on it. The Dease River can scarcely be considered
as navigable for steamers, though constituting a fairly good
boat route. The Upper Liard and Frances rivers, above the
mouth of the Dease, are also passable for large boats, with
occasional portages, but not for steamers. The difficulties
of the Lower Liard are, however, such as to render it an
undesirable route, even for boats, and scarcely suitable as
an avenue of trade between Cassiar and the Mackenzie.
Numerous tributary streams in this district may also be
ascended by boat or canoe for considerable distances, though
with many interruptions from rapids and bad water.
254
THE YUKON TERRITORY
Communication may easily be established by railway from
the mouth of the Stikine to the centre of the Cassiar district
and beyond, when such shall be called for : and it is probable
also that this district might, without difficulty, be connected by
rail with the more southern portions of British Columbia by
one or more routes. Following the river-valleys, by a route
practicable for a railway, from Roth say Point at the mouth of
the Stikine to the mouth of the Dease, the distance is found to
be 330 miles. Thence to Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie is a
further extension of 390 miles, making the total distance by this
route, from the Pacific to the navigable waters of the Mackenzie,
720 miles only.
Little is yet known of the Taku River, but the Indians
ascend it in canoes to a point about eighty miles from the
head of Taku Inlet, and Indian trails lead south-eastward
from this vicinity to the Tahl-tan, eastward to Tes-lin Lake
and north-eastward to the lakes near the head of the Lewes.
From what has been ascertained of these, it is probable that it
would not be difficult to construct a trail suitable for pack-
animals, if not a waggon road, from the vicinity of the head
of navigation on the Stikine to the lakes which are connected
with the navigable waters of the Lewes.
The rivers that drain the Upper Yukon basin have in general
lower grades, and afford better navigable water than those
above referred to, and are therefore likely to prove of greater
importance in connection with the exploration and develop-
ment of the country. The distance to which they may be
respectively ascended by boat or canoe has been determined in
only a few cases as yet.
It may, however, be stated that the Yukon is continuously
navigable for small steamers from its mouth, on Behring Sea
and following the Lewes branch, to Miles Canon. Thence,
after an interruption of about three miles, to the head of
Bennett Lake and to an additional considerable, though not
precisely determined distance, by the waters extending south-
eastward from Tagish Lake. From the site of old Fort
Selkirk, the Pelly might be navigated by small steamers of good
power to within about fifty miles of the site of old Fort Pelly
Banks, and the Macmillan branch is also navigable for a
THE YUKON TERRITORY 255
considerable, though not ascertained distance. The same may
be said of the Stewart River ; but White River is, so far as
known, very swift and shoal.
The total length of the waters which may be utilized for
navigation by light stern-wheel steamers on the main river and
its branches to the east of the I4ist meridian of Alaskan
boundary, measured in straight lengths of fifty miles, is there-
fore at least 1000 miles, and, if the sinuosities of the various
streams are followed, would be very much greater. This does
not include the Porcupine River, and with the exception of the
single break above referred to on the Lewes, forms a connected
system. If the upper portion of these rivers, above the first
obstacles to such navigation, were included, the total here
given would doubtless be greatly increased.
1 At the present moment [1888] but three routes of access to
the Yukon district are employed. (T) That of the portage by
the Chilkoot Pass from the head of Lynn Canal to the navig-
able waters of the Lewes. (2) That from Peel River, near its
confluence with the Mackenzie by portage to La Pierre's House
on a branch of the Porcupine. (3) That from Behring Sea by
the main river. The first is almost exclusively used by the
miners, the second is employed only by the Hudson Bay
Company, and the last is that of the Alaskan traders.
1 The date of this report must be borne in mind.
CHAPTER II.
Stern-wheel steamers on the lower river— The Chilkoot Pass impassable for pack
animals— White Pass — Indians and their travelled routes — Climatic condition of
the Coast Ranges and the interior — Mean annual temperature — Summer and
winter winds — Natural flora of the Yukon district — Its agricultural possibilities and
timber — The fauna of the region traversed by the Expedition — Supply of fish in
the lakes and rivers — Minerals and deposits of precious metals — Winter climate
in the northern district — Difficulties of " quartz-mining " — Abundance of wood
and water — Total amount of gold afforded by the Yukon district in 1887 —
Platinum found — Value of furs — Material resources of the district — Difference in
climate between its northern extremity and the western and eastern sides —
Geology of the southern part of British Columbia — Width of belt of granitoid
rocks comprising the Coast Ranges and Chilkoot Pass — Paleozoic formation of the
interior region — Comparison of the position of the granitic axis with deposits of
placer gold — Clue to the search for auriferous ground — Lithological character
of the mountainous region east of Frances Lake and River — Fossil molluscs and
plants — Conglomerates and sand-stones of Lake Labarge — Fossil plants on the
Upper Pelly River — Formation of rocks in the valley of the Upper Liard.
THERE are now three small stern-wheel steamers on the
lower river, which ascend each year so far as the trading
post at Forty-mile Creek, bringing the greater part of the goods
used in trade with the Indians and for the supply of miners.
The character of the Chilkoot Pass is such that it would
scarcely be possible to construct a useful trail across it for
pack-animals, but the White Pass appears to offer a better
opportunity for making a trail or road, which, if constructed,
would render the entire region much more easy of access.
Another route, also leading from the head of Lynn Canal to
navigable water connected with the Lewes, is that by the
Chilkat Pass, formerly much employed by the Indians, but it
entails a much longer land carriage, one which is said to
occupy the Indians for twelve days when carrying packs, as
against two days of packing by the Chilkoot Pass.
The Indians who inhabit the region to the south and east of
THE YUKON TERRITORY 257
the site of old Fort Selkirk are poor boatmen, and follow the
various rivers, in the course of their periodic journeys, to a very
limited extent. Most of their travelled routes appear, indeed,
to run nearly at right-angles to the direction of drainage. The
rivers are crossed in summer on rafts : the remains of these
may frequently be observed. In travelling the Indians carry
their small camping outfit on their backs.
The coast and coastward slopes of the Coast Ranges con-
stitute a precipitate belt of excessive humidity, with some-
what equable temperatures, while the interior region to the
eastward of these ranges is relatively dry, with a temperature
of extremes. In the interior, however, the climate is largely
influenced by the altitude of each particular district, and in
consequence of the general lowering of the country beyond the
6oth parallel (constituting the north line of British Columbia),
it is certain that the climatic conditions there are much more
favourable than in the Cassiar district.
The mean annual temperature of the coast region is con-
siderably higher than that of the interior ; yet, in consequence
of the great depth of the snow-fall and the persistently clouded
aspect of the skies, the Coast Ranges are found to support
numerous and massive glaciers, while these are almost or
altogether absent in the Cassiar Mountains, in the mountains
about Frances Lake, and in the other ranges seen by us in
the interior. The depth of snow in winter continues to be
inconsiderable or moderate, at least so far down the Pelly
(Yukon) as the mouth of Stewart River and Forty-mile Creek,
while at Nulato, on the lower river, and in a similar latitude,
but 500 miles further west, the depth of snow from April to
November is said to average eight feet and often to reach twelve
feet.
As in the more southern parts of British Columbia, the
dryest country is found in a belt bordering the eastern or
lee side of the Coast Ranges, and this phenomenon recurs,
though in a less marked degree, in connection with each of the
well-defined mountain ranges of the interior. Thus a region of
greater humidity is found near Dease Lake, on the western
Cassiar Mountains, with a dry belt on the east side of the
range ; while humid conditions, with recurrent showers in
258 THE YUKON TERRITORY
summer, characterize the district in the vicinity of Frances and
Finlayson lakes.
A noteworthy circumstance in connection with the Stikine
valley, the passes leading from the head of Lynn Canal, and
doubtless in all the low gaps in the Coast Ranges, is the
change in direction as between the summer and winter winds.
During the summer, strong winds blowing up these valleys
inland are of very frequent occurrence, and they commonly
freshen in the afternoon and die away toward night. In the
winter months the conditions are precisely reversed, the
strongest winds blowing seaward.
The temperature of Wrangell, just off the mouth of the
Stikine, may probably be taken as fairly representative of that
of the coast in these latitudes. For the interior region, here
our special subject, we are unfortunately without a series
of thermometer readings extending even over a single year, but
some idea of its climate may be formed from that of Fort
Yukon, which is, however, situated far to the north, almost
exactly on the Arctic circle. The mean seasonal tempera-
tures for these two stations may be compared as below : —
Wrangell. Fort Yukon.
Spring ... ... ... 40.4 14.6
Summer 57.1 56.7
Autumn 43.0 17.4
Winter 28.3 —23.8
Year 42.2 16.8
At Telegraph Creek, and in its vicinity on the Stikine, to
the east of the Coast Ranges (lat. 58°), wheat, barley, and
potatoes are successfully grown with the aid of irrigation.
Their cultivation has so far been attempted on a limited scale
only, on account of the want of a market, and wheat has
been grown only experimentally, as it cannot, like barley, be
employed for feeding pack-animals. None of these crops can
be successfully grown or ripened on the coastward side of the
mountains.
Taking into consideration the facts which I have been able
to ascertain, and also those to be derived from an examina-
tion of the natural flora of the country, and the observed
advance of vegetation, which (in the absence of actual experi-
THE YUKON TERRITORY 259
ments) are capable of affording valuable data, I feel no
hesitation in stating my belief that such hardy crops as barley,
rye, turnips and flax can be successfully cultivated in the
Yukon district so far north as the former position of Fort
Selkirk, near the 63rd parallel, or in other words about 1000
miles north of Victoria. Taken in conjunction with the
physical features of the region, this means, that chiefly within
the drainage area of the Yukon, and for the most part to the
north of the 6oth parallel, there exists an area of about 60,000
square miles, of which a large proportion may be utilized for
the cultivation of such crops, and where cattle and horses
might be maintained in sufficient number for local purposes,
without undue labour, as excellent summer grazing is generally
to be found along the river-valleys and natural hay-meadows
are frequent. I do not maintain that the region is suitable
for immediate occupation by a large, self-supporting agricul-
tural community, but I hold that agriculture may before many
years be successfully prosecuted, in conjunction with the
natural development of the other resources of this great
country.
The district is generally wooded, and in all portions of it, in
valleys and on low lands, there is abundance of white spruce,
of fair to good quality, well suited for building purposes.
The other species of trees are of inferior economic impor-
tance.
The fauna of the region traversed by us does not differ
notably from that of other parts of the northern country which
are already moderately well known. The smaller black-tailed
deer (Cariacus Columbianus) occurs on the islands of the
southern portion of Alaska and the adjacent mainland coast,
but is nowhere found on the inland side of the Coast Ranges.
The mountain goat is moderately abundant in the Coast Ranges,
and is also found in the mountainous inland regions, probably
throughout. The big-horn or mountain sheep occurs, together
with the mountain goat, on the mountains about the head
of the Lewes and other parts of the inland spurs of the
Coast Ranges, but does not inhabit the seaward portions of
these ranges. It is also found generally in the mountains of
the interior, including the Rocky Mountains.
c
260 THE YUKON TERRITORY
The moose is more or less abundant throughout the entire
inland region, and together with the caribou, which is similarly
ubiquitous, constitutes a great part of the food of the Indians.
We found the moose particularly plentiful along the Upper
Liard River, and it is stated that the country drained by the
White River is noted among the Indians as a moose and beaver
region. The caribou is everywhere common, but is scarcely
seen in the valleys or lower country during the summer, when
it ranges over the high, alpine moors and open slopes of the
mountains.
The black and grizzly bears roam over the entire region and
are often seen along the banks of the rivers in the latter part of
the summer, when dead or dying salmon are to be obtained
with ease. Wolves are not particularly abundant, but the
cross, black and silver-fox, are more than usually common.
The smaller fur-bearing animals, being similar to those found
generally in the northern parts of the continent, do not require
separate enumeration. The entire Upper Yukon basin, how-
ever, yields furs of exceptionally high grade.
Among a few skins brought back by us, is that of a mouse
which Dr. C. H. Merriam has found to be a new species, and
has described under the name of Evotomys Dawsoni.1
The salmon ascend the Lewes River so far as the lower end
of Lake Marsh, where they were seen in considerable numbers
early in September. They also, according to the Indians, run
almost to the head-waters of the streams tributary to the Lewes
on the east side. Salmon also run up the Pelly for a consider-
able distance above the mouth of the Lewes, but their precise
limit on this river was not ascertained. The lakes and rivers
.generally throughout the country are well supplied with fish,
and a small party on any of the larger lakes would run little
risk of starvation during the winter, if provided with a couple
of good gill-nets and able to devote themselves to laying in a
stock of fish in the late autumn.
The salmon is confined to the Yukon tributaries. The
principal fishes noticed are white-fish (Corcgonus Nelsoni), lake
trout (Salvelinus Namaycush), grayling (Thymallus signifer],
pike (Esox lucius), and sucker (Catostomus catostomus).
1 American Naturalist, July, 1888.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 26 1
The Yukon district with the northern part of British
Columbia, measured from the vicinity of Dease Lake to the
intersection of the Pelly (Yukon) with the i4ist meridian,
comprises a length of over 500 miles of the Cordillera belt of
the west, which, wherever it has been examined, has been found
rich in minerals, and particularly in the deposits of the precious
metals. The width of this particular part of the Cordillera belt
is also great, as it appears, so far as our explorations have
gone, to extend from the coast to the eastern ranges of the
Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of the Mackenzie River. This
portion of the Cordillera region, together with that of the more
southern part of British Columbia, gives an aggregate length of
between 1200 and 1300 miles, almost exactly equal to the
length of the same metalliferous belt contained by the United
States, and in all probability susceptible of an eventual mining
development equally great.
In the northern districts the winter climate is a severe one,
rendering the working season for ordinary placer-mines short,
and likely also to present some special difficulties in the way of
" quartz mining." There is, however, on the other hand an
abundance of wood and water, matters of great importance in
connection with mining, and means of communication once
provided, mining operations should be carried on here at a
reasonable cost.
It is difficult to arrive at even an approximate statement of
the total amount of gold which has been so far afforded by the
Yukon district, but from such inquiry as I was able to make in
1887, I estimated the value of gold obtained in that year at a
minimum of $60,000 ; the number of men engaged in mining
at 250.
Platinum is found in small quantities along all or nearly all
the tributaries of the Yukon, in association with the gold. It
has also been observed in the Cassiar district.
Gold and furs are at present the only articles of value derived
from the great region here referred to as the Yukon district. It
is impossible to secure accurate information as to the value of
furs annually obtained, but sufficient is known to show that it
must be very considerable. Petroff, in his report, states that
the total annual value of the furs shipped by the Yukon
c 2
262 THE YUKON TERRITORY
probably does not exceed $75,000,' and it is known that a great
if not the greater portion of this total is derived from the region
lying east of the I4ist meridian.
In addition, however, to the furs taken from the Yukon dis-
trict by this route, the Hudson Bay Company obtains a large
quantity of skins from their posts on the Porcupine ; these reach
the market by the Mackenzie River route. A certain number of
skins derived from the country north of British Columbia is,
further, annually traded at the little post at the mouth of Dease
River, and taken out by the Stikine. A considerable quantity
of furs also finds its way each year by the Chilkoot and Chilkat
passes to the head of Lynn Canal, and some are brought down
by the Taku River to the coast, though the greater part of these
last is probably derived from the north-western corner of the
province of British Columbia. Information obtained on the
spot indicates that the value of the furs reaching Lynn Canal
from the interior is from $12,000 to $15,000 annually.
Without including the northern part of British Columbia, but
restricting ourselves to the great area of 192,000 square miles
to the north of the Goth parallel and west of the Rocky
Mountains, which I have referred to as the Yukon district, the
information now obtained is sufficient to warrant belief in its
great value. It is known to be rich in furs, well supplied with
timber, and it is traversed by a great length of navigable rivers.
It is already yielding a considerable yearly product in gold, and
presents every indication of wealth in other metals, and in
deposits of coal. In its southern portion, situated between the
6oth and 65th degrees of latitude, is comprised an area of
probably not less than 30,000 square miles, suitable for eventual
agricultural occupation, and presenting none of the characters
of a sub-Arctic region, which have been attributed to it by some
writers. In each of these particulars and in climate it is greatly
superior to the corresponding inland portion of the territory of
Alaska. It may, in fact, be affirmed that the region here spoken
of as the Yukon district surpasses in material resources the
whole remaining northern interior portion of the continent
between the same parallels of latitude.
1 Report on the Population, Industries and Resources of Alaska, p. 5, U.S.
loth Census, vol. viii.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 263
The winter climate of the whole of this great region is a severe
one, and its northern extremity lies within the Arctic circle,
but the climatic conditions on the western and eastern sides of
the continent are by no means comparable, and the isothermal
lines, representing the mean annual temperature, trend not
westward but north-westward from the Manitoba region. It is
needless to recapitulate the causes which produce this difference
in climate, but the lines as already approximately drawn upon
the maps, represent the aggregate of influences which produce
at the site of old Fort Selkirk on the 63rd parallel of latitude in
the Upper Yukon basin, an attractive landscape, with well-
grown forests and intervening slopes of meadow, while in the
same latitude in Hudson Strait we find, even at midsummer, a
barren waste of rocks and ice.
While the Yukon district and the northern portion of British
Columbia are at present far beyond the limits of ordinary settle-
ment, we may be prepared at any time to hear of the discovery
of important mineral deposits, which will afford the necessary
impetus, and may result, in the course of a few years, in the
introduction of a considerable population into even its most
distant fastnesses. It appears meanwhile eminently desirable
that we should encourage and facilitate, in so far as may be
possible, the efforts of the miners and others who constitute our
true pioneers in the region, and to whom, in conjunction with
the fur companies and traders, the peaceful conquest of the
whole of our Great West has been due. In the future there is
every reason to look forward to the time when this country will
support a large and hardy population, attached to the soil and
making the utmost of its resources.
The geology of the corresponding portion of the Cordillera
belt in the southern part of British Columbia is as yet very
imperfectly understood.
Speaking broadly, however, and with reference to the general
features of the region, the rock-series represented are evidently
similar to those found in the southern portion of British
Columbia between the rocky mountains and the coast.
The Coast Ranges, where traversed by the valley of the
Stikine, and again where crossed still further north by the
Chilkoot Pass, consist, for the most part, of granite and granitoid
264 THE YUKON TERRITORY
rocks, almost invariably of gray colour and frequently rich in
hornblende. With these are occasionally included stratified or
stratiform masses of mica and hornblende-schists, and both
these and the granites are frequently traversed by pegmatite
veins, diabase dykes and intrusive masses of coarse diorite.
The schistose portions of these ranges may possibly represent
the still recognizable remnants of rocks of Archaean age, or may
be merely portions of much newer series which have suffered
extreme alteration.
No demonstration of the date of the origin of the granitic
rocks of the Coast Ranges was obtained in this region, but there
is every reason to believe that it is comparatively recent, and
due to a time lying between the Triassic and the Cretaceous ;
this is the case with their continuation to the south, near the
northern part of Vancouver Island.1
The argillites of Wrangell, together with those met with near
Juneau, and at Sitka, on the Alaskan coast, and also in various
places along the east side of Lynn Canal, together with the
altered volcanic rocks found in association with these on Lynn
Canal and elsewhere (examined by me particularly in the
vicinity of Seduction Point), closely resemble rocks of the same
class composing the Vancouver group of the Queen Charlotte
and Vancouver Islands.
The width of the belt of granitoid rocks composing the Coast
Ranges is, on the Stikine, about sixty-five miles, measured from
their sea border inland at right angles to the main direction of
the mountains. It is somewhat less in the latitude of the
Chilkoot Pass, but may be assumed to occupy a border of the
mainland about fifty miles in width along the whole of this part
of the coast. Broadly viewed, however, the coast archipelago
in reality represents a partly submerged margin of the Coast
Ranges, and granitic rocks are largely represented in it also.
The examination of these two northern cross-sections of the
Coast Ranges, serves, with observations previously made, to
demonstrate the practical identity in geological character of
this great orographic axis, from the vicinity of the Fraser River
to the 6oth parallel of north latitude— a length, in all, of about
900 miles.
1 See Annual Report Geol. Surv. Can., 1896.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 265
East and north-east of the Coast Ranges, the interior region
traversed is, for the most part, floored by Palaeozoic rocks of
very varied appearance, and probably referable to several of the
main sub-divisions of the geological scale. In so far as the
information obtained in the region here in question enables
conclusions on the subject to be formed, the lowest part of the
rocks (i) consists of greenish and grey schists, generally
felspathic or hornblendic, but often quartzose and including
distinctly micaceous and talcose schists, with some bands of
limestone ; the lithological character of this sub-division being
exceedingly varied. Apparently overlying these are (2) grey
and blackish, often lustrous and sometimes more or less
micaceous calc-schists and quartzites, including beds of lime-
stone of moderate thickness, which are often more or less
dolomitic. These are associated with, or pass up into (3) black
argillites or argillite-schists, also containing thin beds of lime-
stone, which, at one locality on the Dease, have afforded a
small number of graptolites of Cambro-Silurian age. Next
above these is a series (4) consisting chiefly of massive lime-
stones, generally of grey or blue-grey colour where unaltered,
but often locally changed into white or variegated crystalline
marbles.
The preponderantly Palaeozoic floor of the region east of the
granites of the Coast Ranges, is broken through on two main
lines by granitic axes. The first of these is cut across by the
Dease River, a short distance below Dease Lake, and was
again met with — over 300 miles north-westward — on the Pelly
near the mouth of the Macmillan. Though referred to as a
single granitic axis, this uplift probably consists rather of a
series of alternating and more or less irregularly shaped
granitic masses, which, however, preserve a general alignment.
There are on the Upper Pelly in fact three separate granitic
ridges in place of the single one met with on the Dease. In
close association with these granites are some gneissic rocks
and holocrystalline mica and hornblende-schists, which have not
been referred to in previous paragraphs as they are regarded as
probably Archaean, rather than as representing highly altered
Palaeozoic rocks. A small tongue of granite occurs on the
Lewes a few miles above the mouth of the Little Salmon,
266 THE YUKON TERRITORY
which may be connected with the south-western side of this
granitic axis, but with this exception, its continuity between
the Dease and the Pelly is indicated merely by the statement
of Mr. J. McCormick that granites and mica-schists occur on
the south-west side of Quiet Lake and near the Big Salmon
River, below that lake. Its further extension in a north-
westerly bearing is, however, proved by the occurrence of a
great preponderance of rocks of the same character in the
collection made by Mr. Ogilvie 1 on the lower Pelly or Yukon,
between the mouth of the Lewes and Forty-mile Creek.
On comparing the position of this irregular granitic axis and
its surrounding altered rocks with that of the richer deposits of
placer gold so far discovered and worked, it will be found that
they are closely associated. The chief placers and river-bars
are, in fact, scattered along this line or belt, and extend, like it,
all the way from Dease Lake and McDame Creek to Forty-
mile Creek. Evidence was moreover found on the Pelly to
show that the development of quartz veins in the Palaeozoic
rocks had occurred contemporaneously with the upheaval of
the granites, and probably by some action superinduced by the
granite masses themselves while still in a formative condition.
While cutting the stratified rocks, the quartz veins seldom or
never cut the granite masses in this district. These observa-
tions should afford an important clue to the further search for
auriferous ground, as well as for the lodes from which the
placer gold has itself been derived.
Of the second granitic axis of the interior region little is yet
known, but it is probable that it is still less regular in character
than the last. It occurs in the mountainous region to the
east of Frances Lake and River, and probably also in the
vicinity of the Pelly Lakes. Its lithological characters and
those of the rocks in its neighbourhood are similar to those of
the last described, and here again in its vicinity, on Frances
Lake and on the Liard, paying gold placers have been
found.
The granitoid rocks of the interior region are different in
general appearance from those of the Coast Ranges, and
1 Sent out by him in charge of the latest party of miners in the autumn of
1887.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 267
resemble more closely the probably Archaean granites of the
Gold Ranges in southern British Columbia.
Lithologically the granites and granitoid rocks of the Coast
Ranges are generally fresh and unaltered in appearance, grey
in colour and not often distinctly foliated, while those of the
ranges of the interior show evidence of considerable alteration
subsequent to their formation, are more highly quartzose and
often reddish in tint.
The Mesozoic period is represented by strata of Cretaceous
and Laramie age. These rocks are more recent in appearance
than all the older formations, and rest quite uncomfortably on
the latter, though they have since been to some extent
involved in their flexures. On the lower part of the Lewes,
below the mouth of the Little Salmon, these rocks are cut
across by the river for a distance of at least thirty-five miles.
Some fossil molluscs and plants have been obtained from this
area, from which it would appear to include beds referable to
the Middle or Lower Cretaceous and to the Laramie period : it
is not improbable that the series is a consecutive one between
these limits, as the total thickness represented must be very
great. The strike of these beds varies much in direction, and the
angles of dip are so irregular that no even proximate estimate of
thickness could be formed, and it is impossible to arrive at any
definite conclusion with respect to the trend of the basin in
which they lie. The rocks comprise, in their lower portion,
coarse conglomerates, grauwacke-sandstones, yellowish and
grey quartzose sandstones, and dark calcareous slates. The
upper portion, in which Laramie plants are found, consists
chiefly of rather soft sandstones, shales and clays, generally of
pale colours. Evidence of contemporaneous volcanic action is
observable in both parts of the series, and the higher beds
include lignite coal of good quality.
Some miles further up the Lewes, midway between the
Little and Big Salmon rivers, peculiar green, grauwacke-sand-
stones and green, calcareous conglomerates occur, which are
also 'provisionally referred, though with some doubt, to the
Cretaceous. They are at least newer than the Palaeozoic
rocks, being composed of fragments of these and of the
granites.
268 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Conglomerates and sandstones similar to the last are again
found near the lower end of Lake Labarge, on the east side, and
are associated with black calcareous slates, which recur in several
places along the same side of the lake, further up ; and from
these a few fossils have been obtained. These seem to show
that the beds are on or near the horizon of Series C. of the
Queen Charlotte Islands, which is of Middle Cretaceous age,
approximately equivalent to the Gault.
On the Upper Pelly River, forty-three miles below Hoole
Cafion, a single low outcrop of hard, dark shales, containing
fossil plants of Cretaceous or Laramie age, was found, but in
the absence of further exposures along the river in that vicinity,
nothing can be said of the extent of this area, except that it
must be quite limited in width. Again, on the Stikine River,
between Glenora and Telegraph Creek, there are local
occurrences of conglomerates and soft sandstones which may be
regarded as probably Cretaceous, though no palseontological
evidence is forthcoming.
The position of these last-noted areas, as well as that of those
along the Lewes River, occurring as they do in a zone of country
immediately within the line of the Coast Ranges, is analogous
to that held by Cretaceous rocks on the Skeena, and in other
localities still further southward in British Columbia. Further
investigation will probably show that rocks of that age occur in
many additional places, and occupy somewhat extensive areas
in this belt of country. In the vicinity of the Lewes, par-
ticularly, it is noted that the plane of the original base of the
Cretaceous, now thrown into a number of folds, is about that of
the present surface of the country, and these rocks may there-
fore be expected to recur frequently in the form of troughs or
basins, more or less strictly limited, and only to be discovered
in detail by thorough examination. The loose material brought
down by the Big Salmon River, appears to indicate the existence
of a considerable development of these rocks not far up the
valley of that stream.
No wide-spread Tertiary areas like those of the southern
interior portion of British Columbia occur in the region here
described. The most important occurrence of beds of this age
is that which occupies the wide valley of the Upper Liard, but
THE YUKON TERRITORY 269
its extent to the north-west and south-east was not ascertained.
The rocks are soft shales, sandstones and clays, generally of
pale colour, and holding beds of lignite in some places.
Flows of basalt either cap these rocks or are included in
their upper portion, and from the considerable angles of dip
observed, the formation would appear to have suffered some
flexure subsequent to its deposition.
CHAPTER III.
Basalt-flows in the Stikine valley — Discovery of jade along the route— Glaciation and
superficial deposits — Boulder clay of the Upper Pelly and Lewes valleys-
Mastodon or mammoth remains — Phenomena of the glacial period and its
connection with the distribution of placer gold deposits — Where the richest of
these deposits occur — Wide-spread auriferous character of the Upper Yukon
basin — Later superficial deposits — Their character and importance — Volcanic
ash deposit spread over the Upper Yukon basin — Mount Wrangell the probable
source of the material — Period of the eruption — Its extent and duration — The
placer gold mines of Cassiar — The Stikine River — Its importance as an
avenue of communication — Size and general character — Pack trail from Telegraph
Creek to the centre of the Cassiar mining district — Micrometer survey of the
Stikine River — Mr. McConnell's notes and map — General trend of the Stikine
valley — Width, depth, and velocity of the Stikine River — Most suitable vessels
for its navigation — Fall of the river— The Stikine Indians — Little Canon —
Kloochman Canon — The " Grand Rapid " — Aspect of the landscape.
IN the Stikine valley, east of the Coast Ranges, important
local basalt-flows are met with, overlying old river and
valley gravels, and the lignite reported to exist some miles up
the Tahl-tan is, doubtless, also of Tertiary age and inferior
in position to the basalts. Basalt effusions of a sporadic
character may be frequent in other places in the region, as such
were actually noted in three other widely separated localities,
viz. above Hoole Canon on the Pelly, at Miles Canon on the
Lewes, and again at the confluence of this river with the
Pelly.
The basalts are at least pre-glacial in age, and though no
characteristic fossils were observed in the associated bedded
deposits, both may be provisionally classed from their analogy
with similar deposits in the more southern portion of British
Columbia, as Miocene.
Having become interested in the question of the origin of
nephrite or jade, on account of its former extensive employment
by the natives of the west coast for the manufacture of imple-
THE YUKON TERRITORY 271
ments, I kept a close watch for this mineral along our route,
and ultimately succeeded in rinding several rolled pieces in
gravel-bars along the Lewes. Of the pebbles collected by us
at least five had the specific gravity and other physical
characters of jade, though they have not yet been subjected to
chemical or microscopical analysis. Several of these are
evidently, however, pure and typical jade. One specimen is a
pale-green translucent to sub-transparent variety weighing a
pound and three-quarters, after a piece, probably equal to about
one-fourth of the original mass, had been broken off and un-
fortunately lost. Some of the specimens collected indicate
the passage, by admixture of other materials, of the pure jades
into various altered rocks of volcanic origin. So far as I have
been able to ascertain, this discovery of jade is, with one excep-
tion, the first actually direct one made in the region of the
Pacific slope. The exception above alluded to is that of jade
found at the Kwichpak mouth of the Yukon during Captain
Jacobson's stay in that vicinity, which was obtained by him
and taken to Berlin.1
Such details as appear to be of interest respecting glaciation,
and the superficial deposits, are given in the subsequent de-
scriptive portion of this report. The general bearings of these
are here merely summarized in the briefest possible manner.2
Previous observations in British Columbia 3 have shown that
at one stage in the glacial period — that of the maximum glacia-
tion— a great confluent ice-mass has occupied the region which
may be named the Interior Plateau, between the Coast Ranges
and the Gold and Rocky Mountain ranges. From the 55th to
the 49th parallel this great glacier has left traces of its general
southward or south-eastward movement, which are distinct from
those of subsequent local glaciers. The southern extensions or
terminations of this confluent glacier, in Washington and Idaho
Territories, have quite recently been examined by Mr. Bailley
Willis and Prof. T. C. Chamberlin of the U.S. Geological
1 See paper by Prof. A. B. Meyer, Jahresbericht des Vereins fur Erdkunde
zu Dresden, 1884.
2 The substance of this summary has been published in advance in the
Geological Magazine. Decade III. vol. v. p. 347 (Aug. 1888).
3 Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xxxi. p. 89. Ibid. vol. xxxiv. p. 272. Canadian
Naturalist, vol. viii.
272 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Survey,1 and their observations tend to confirm the views
above outlined, which had previously been stated by the
writer. There is evidence to show that this inland-ice flowed
also, by transverse valleys and gaps, across the Coast Ranges,
and that the fiords of the coast were thus deeply filled with
glacier-ice, which, supplemented by that originating on the
Coast Ranges themselves, buried the entire great valley which
separates Vancouver Island from the mainland, and discharged
seaward round both ends of the island. Further north, the
glacier extending from the mainland coast touched the northern
shores of the Queen Charlotte Islands.
The littoral of the south-eastern part or " coast strip " of
Alaska, presents features identical with those of the previously
examined coast of British Columbia, at least so far north as
lat. 59°, beyond which I have not seen it. The coast archipelago
has evidently been involved in the border of a confluent glacier
which spread from the mainland, and was subject to minor
variations in direction of flow dependent on surface irregu-
larities.
It is, however, in the interior region, explored and examined
by us in 1887, between the Coast Ranges and the Rocky Moun-
tains proper, and extending northward to lat. 63°, that the most
interesting facts have come to light respecting the direction of
movement of the Cordilleran glacier. Here, in the valleys of
.the Upper Pelly and Lewes, traces were found of the movement
of heavy glacier-ice in a northerly direction. Rock- surfaces
thus glaciated were observed down the Pelly to the point at
which it crosses the i36th meridian and on the Lewes as far
north as lat. 61° 40', the main direction in the first-named
valley being north-west, in the second north-north-west.
On Lake Labarge, in the Lewes valley, both the sides and
summits of rocky hills 300 feet above the water were found to
be heavily glaciated, the direction on the summit being that of
the main (north-north-west) orographic valleys, while that at
lower levels in the same vicinity followed more nearly the
immediate valley of the river, which here turns locally to the
east of north.
Glaciation was also noted in several places in the more
1 Bulletin U.S. Geol. Survey, No. 40, 1887.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 273
mountainous country to the south of the Yukon basin, in the
Dease and Liard valleys, but the direction of movement of the
ice could not be determined satisfactorily, and the influence of
local action is there less certainly eliminated.
While the greater part of the area traversed is more or less
completely mantled with glacial deposits, it will be observed, in
referring to subsequent pages, that true boulder-clay was found
in certain parts only of the southern and more mountainous
portion of the region, while it spreads over almost the entire
length of the upper Pelly and Lewes valleys, though not found
quite exposed to their confluence. It may be stated also that
the country is generally terraced to a height of 4000 feet or more,
while on an isolated mountain-top near the height of land
between the Liard and the Pelly rivers (Pacific-Arctic water-
shed) rolled gravel of varied origin was found at a height of 4300
feet, a height exceeding that of the actual watershed by over
1000 feet.
No remains of mastodon or mammoth were observed in the
country traversed by us, but according to Campbell such
remains occur not far from the site of Fort Selkirk, and they
are known to be moderately abundant at points further down
the river. Sir J. Richardson speaks of a tibia of Eiephas primi-
genius sent to England by Roderick (Robert) Campbell from
this region.1
Reverting to the statements made as to the direction of the
general glaciation, the examination of this northern region may
now be considered to have established that the main gathering-
ground or neve of what I have called the great Cordilleran
glacier or confluent glacier mass of the west coast, was included
between the 55th and 5gth parallels of latitude, a region which,
so far as explored, has proved to be of an exceptionally
mountainous character. It would further appear that this
great glacier extended, between the Coast Ranges and the
Rocky Mountains, south-eastward nearly to lat. 48°, and north-
westward to lat. 63°, or beyond, while sending also smaller
streams to the Pacific Coast.
In connection with the northerly direction of ice-flow here
ascertained, it is interesting to recall the observations which I
1 Am. Journ. Sci. and Arts, vol. xix., 1855, p. 132.
274 THE YUKON TERRITORY
have collected in a recently published report of the Geological
Survey, relating to the northern portion of the continent east of
the Mackenzie River.1 It is there stated that for the Arctic
coast of the Continent, and the Islands of the Archipelago off
it, there is a considerable volume of evidence to show that the
main direction of movement of erratics was northward. The
most striking facts are those derived from Prof. S. Haughton's
Appendix to M'Clintock's Voyage, where the occurrence of
boulders and pebbles from North Somerset, at localities 100
and 135 miles north-eastward and north-westward from their
supposed points of origin, is described. Prof. Haughton also
states that the east side of King William's Land is strewn with
boulders of gneiss like that of Montreal Island, to the south-
ward, and points out the general northward ice-movement thus
indicated, referring the carriage of the boulders to floating ice
of the glacial period.
The copper said to be picked up in large masses by the
Eskimo, near Princess Royal Island, in Prince of Wales Strait,
as well as on Prince of Wales Island,2 has likewise in all
probability been derived from the copper-bearing rocks of the
Coppermine River region to the south, as this metal can
scarcely be supposed to occur in place in the region of
horizontal limestone where it is found.
Dr. A. Armstrong, Surgeon and Naturalist to the Investigator,
notes the occurrence of granite and other crystalline rocks not
only on the south shore of Baring Land, but also on the hills
at some distance from the shore. These, from what is known
of the region, must be supposed to have come from the
continental land to the southward.
Dr. R. Bell has found evidence of a northward or north-
eastward movement of glacier ice in the northern part of
Hudson Bay, with distinct indications of eastward glaciation in
Hudson Strait.3 For the northern part of the great Mackenzie
valley we are as yet without any definite published information,
1 Notes to accompany a Geological Map of the Northern Portion of the
Dominion of Canada East of the Rocky Mountains, p. 57 R., Annual Report
Geol. Surv. Can., 1886.
2 De Ranee, in Nature, vol. xi., p. 492.
3 Annual Report Geol. Surv. Canada, 1883, p. 14 D.D., and Report of
Progress, 1882-84, p. 36 D.D.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 275
but Sir J. Richardson notes that Laurentian boulders are
scattered westward over the nearly horizontal limestones of
the district.
Taken in conjunction with the facts for the more northern
portion of the continent, already pretty well known, the
observations here outlined indicate a general movement of
ice outward, in all directions, from the great Laurentian
axis or plateau which extends from Labrador round the
southern extremity of Hudson Bay to the Arctic Sea ; while
a second, smaller, though still very important region of dis-
persion— the Cordilleran glacier mass — occupied the Rocky
Mountain region on the west, with the northern and southern
limits above approximately given, and a length, in a north-west
and south-east direction, of at least 1200 miles.
While the study of the phenomena of the glacial period
is one not without its bearings on economic problems even
in the eastern part of the continent, it has, in British
Columbia and the Yukon district, a direct value in its con-
nection with the distribution of the placer gold deposits, and
on the existence and position of the buried channels of rivers
and streams, in which some of the richest of those deposits
often occur. Thus the greater part of the " fine " gold found
along the river-bars and banks of the larger streams in the
Yukon district is doubtless proximately derived from the
gravels and other superficial deposits in which these streams
have re-excavated their beds since the period of glaciation. By
the general dispersion and intermixture of these materials,
composed of the debris of the older rock formations, it is even
possible that the existence of a few comparatively limited
original areas of great richness might account for the latter day
wide-spread auriferous character of the alluviums of the Upper
Yukon basin.
A circumstance of some interest in connection with the later
superficial deposits of that part of the Upper Yukon basin
drained by the Lewes and Pelly rivers, is the occurrence of a
wide-spread layer of volcanic ash or pumiceous sand. The
existence of a peculiar white line or band in the upper parts of
scarped banks along the river, was first remarked not many
miles below the point at which we embarked on the Pelly. As
D 2
276 THE YUKON TERRITORY
its character was not at first understood, I omitted to note the
precise point at which it was first seen, but am of opinion that
it probably extends to the east of the place where we reached
the river. After its character and importance had been recog-
nized, however, it was looked for and noticed almost continu-
ously along the whole course of the Pelly, as far down as the
mouth of the Macmillan, it was not distinctly recognized, but
according to Mr. McConnell (1888) it extends down the river
for about ten miles below Fort Selkirk. It is likewise seen
along nearly the whole course of the Lewes, being last noted at
the narrows between Lake Nares and Bennett Lake, known as
Caribou Crossing.
This ash deposit appears to be entirely due to a single period
of eruption. It is homogeneous in character wherever seen,
forming a single layer not divided by intercalations of other
material, and has been spread everywhere over the entire area
characterized by it. It is much more recent in date than the
white silt deposits, the last properly referable to the glacial
series, these having been deposited after the river-valleys were
excavated in the glacial materials, and at a time when the rivers
had cut down nearly or quite to their present levels. This
is made evident by the circumstance that it overlies the deposits
of river and valley-gravels and sands in all cases, except in those
of some low river-flats, where these deposits sometimes cover it
to a depth of several feet. In most places it is overlain merely
by the surface soil with a depth of six inches to two feet, and in
a few instances it was noted as constituting the actual surface of
terraces of moderate height, the present forest being rooted in it.
The ash appears to have fallen tranquilly, much in the manner
of snow deposited from a calm atmosphere. The examination
of scarped banks along the two rivers showed it to occur near
the surface of terraces about 200 feet in height, as well as on
lower terraces and river-flats down to within about ten feet of
the actual river-level in August and September. It was also
detected in some places on the sloping fronts of terraces. The
thickness of the layer wras no doubt originally pretty uniform,
and it still retains this uniformity where it rests upon wide flat
terraces. Its average normal thickness for the Pelly, as a whole,
was estimated at about five inches, but this is somewhat
THE YUKON TERRITORY 277
exceeded along the part of the river immediately above the
Macmillan. On the Lewes, below Rink Rapid, its normal
thickness is about a foot, but above this point it becomes much
less, and where last seen, at Caribou Crossing, is not over
half an inch thick, and only to be recognized when carefully
looked for.
Where the ash deposit rests undisturbed upon the original
surface, this appears very generally to be a yellowish or reddish
quartzose sand. There are, in some cases, remains of burnt
trees at the base of the layer, and traces of similar forest fires
are found as well in the sand or soil overlying it.
The volcanic ash is thicker on the lower part of the Lewes
than elsewhere, and the thickest part of the deposit on the
Pelly lies nearly due east of the portion of the Lewes just
referred to. The greater mass of the deposit in that direction
shows that it was derived from the westward, and a line drawn
across the portions of the Pelly and Lewes above defined, lies
between the 62nd and 63rd parallels of latitude, with a nearly
east-and-west bearing, so that if produced to the westward it
would pass, at a distance of about 200 miles, through the
mountain region near the Copper Region, of Alaska, which
includes Mount Wrangell. Mount Wrangell is the nearest
known volcano,1 and this or one of the neighbouring mountains
in the same group, may not improbably have been the source of
the material which has been so widely spread over the Upper
Yukon basin.
Respecting the date of the eruption to which the ash-bed is
due, very little can be said with certainty. As already noted,
the rivers have not certainly cut their beds perceptibly deeper
since the deposit occurred on their flood-flats, so that the period
to which it belongs cannot be an exceedingly remote one. It
was further observed in one place, on the Lewes, to rest upon
stratified sands a few feet thick, which in turn overlie a mass
of drift logs still quite sound and undecayed. This fact, with
the general appearance and mode of occurrence of the deposit,
leads me to believe, that while the eruption must have happened
at least several hundreds of years ago, it can scarcely be sup-
1 See Lieut. H. T. Allen's Reconnaissance in Alaska, Washington, Govern-
ment, 1887.
278 THE YUKON TERRITORY
posed to have taken place more than a thousand years before
the present time.
That the eruption of which the occurrence is marked by the
ash-bed of the Lewes and Pelly, was on a great scale, is suffi-
ciently evident from the extent of the deposit ; which must
necessarily be very much greater than the area to which the
present observations refer. By drawing a line to include
the outer limits of the observed extent of the ash, a roughly
triangular area of about 25,000 square miles is outlined, and if
we assume the average depth of the layer over this area alone
to be three inches, the mass represented would be equivalent
to a prism one mile square, with a height of 6240 feet, or
(making allowance for interspaces in the comminuted material)
equal to nearly a cubic mile of rock.
Since the year 1873, when the placer gold mines of Cassiar
were first developed, the Stikine River has become a somewhat
important avenue of communication from the coast to the
interior of the northern part of British Columbia. Like the
Eraser, the Skeena, the Nass and several other smaller streams,
it rises to the east of the broad belt of mountains which consti-
tutes the Coast Ranges, and cuts completely through this belt
with a nearly uniform gradient. In size and general character
the Stikine closely resembles the Skeena, which reaches the
coast 200 miles further south. It is navigable for stern-wheel
steamers of light draught and good power, to Glenora, 126 miles
from Rothsay Point, at its mouth, and under favourable circum-
stances to Telegraph Creek, twelve miles farther. Above
Telegraph Creek is the " Great Canon," which extends for
many miles and is quite impassable either for steamers or boats,
though traversed by miners in winter on the ice. The head-
waters of the Stikine are unknown, but lie for the most part to
the south of the 58th parallel of north latitude, in a country
said to be very mountainous. From Telegraph Creek, the head
of navigation, a pack-trail sixty-two miles and a half in length,
constructed by the British Columbian Government, follows the
valley of the Stikine, generally at no great distance from the
river, and eventually crosses from the Tanzilla or Third North
Fork to the head of Dease Lake, which may be regarded as the
centre of the Cassiar mining district.
THE YUKON TERRITORY
My personal acquaintance with the Stikine, so far as
Telegraph Creek, was supplemented by the observations of
Mr. McConnell, who remained behind for the purpose of making
a micrometer survey of the river from the furthest point
reached by Mr. Hunter's survey of 1877 to Telegraph Creek.
Mr. McConnell's notes and map with specimens collected by
him have been consulted in the following sketch of the river,
and are drawn upon particularly in respect of its geological
features.
The general trend of the Stikine valley for twenty miles from
the sea, is east and west, corresponding in direction to
Bradfield Canal, which penetrates the coast thirty miles to the
south, and also to part of the northern portion of Behm Canal
and Burroughs' Bay, still further south. At this distance
from the coast the river bends through a quadrant of arc, and
assumes a nearly due north direction ; this it maintains for
about sixty- six miles, beyond which the valley is continued in
a nearly direct north-eastward course to the vicinity of Dease
Lake, but in its upper portion is occupied, not by the main
river, but by the Tanzilla or Third North Fork, the main river
entering this continuous valley from the southward.
The current of the navigable portion of the Stikine is swift
throughout, but there are no rapids properly so called, though
the Little Canon (fifty-three miles above the great bend) forms
a serious impediment to navigation when the river is at its
highest stage in June or July, in consequence of the great
velocity of the current in this narrow and rocky though deep
gorge. The width of the Stikine immediately opposite
Telegraph Creek was found on May 2Qth to be 480 feet only,
but here it is deep, and had a velocity of 6'o8 miles per hour,
as determined from several observations. A few days later
it was rising fast, and the velocity was considerably greater.
Stern-wheel steamers for the navigation of the river should
have good engine power, and should draw not more than four
feet of water when loaded.
The height of the river above sea-level at Telegraph Creek,
as deduced from simultaneous barometric observations at the
mouth and at this place, is 540 feet, giving an average fall of
over four feet to the mile by the course of the stream. The
280 THE YUKON TERRITORY
actual fall on the upper part of this length of the river must,
however, considerably exceed this figure, while that of the lower
portion is inconsiderable. Under ordinary circumstances the
ascent of the river to Telegraph Creek, with a suitable steamer,
occupies about three days, and it is generally necessary to carry
a line ashore at a few places. The extensive flats near the
mouth of the river render it necessary to enter it about high
tide. Mr. Hunter ascertained that the channel across these
flats has from one to two feet only of water at low tide. A
considerable proportion of the traffic is carried on by Indians
with canoes, and the Stikine Indians are very expert in all
the necessary operations of tracking and poling in swift
water.
The entrance to the Stikine from the sea is not distinguish-
able in its main orographic features from that of many of the
salt-water inlets by which this part of the West Coast is
dissected.
The valley bottom maintains an average width of from two
to three miles so far up as the Little Canon ; this place may be
regarded as nearly marking the head of the old salt-water inlet
which had been silted up by the river. The canon is about
three-fifths of a mile long, and in places not more than fifty
yards wide. It is bordered by massive granite cliffs, 200 to 300
feet in height, above which, on the west side, rugged mountain
slopes rise. On the east are low rocky hills representing part
of a former spur of the mountain, through which the canon has
been cut. A tract of low land separates these hills from the
eastern side of the main valley, and it is difficult to conjecture
under what circumstances the river has taken its present course.
Eight miles further up is the " Kloochman Canon," but it is
nearly 300 feet in width and offers no impediment to navigation.
At four miles above the " Kloochman Canon " is the so-called
" Grand Rapid," which, in consequence of recent changes in
the river, is now by no means formidable, though the water is
still particularly swift and the river wide and shallow. Here
the valley begins very markedly to open out, the mountains
retiring further from the river and decreasing in altitude, while
irregular, basaltic hills, of no great height, appear between the
river and the bases of the mountains. This, taken in conjunc-
THE YUKON TERRITORY 28 1
tion with the dry climate which characterizes the country to
the east of the mountains, and the fact that most of the slopes
have been bared of timber by fire, gives an entirely different
aspect to the landscape.
The Stikine is joined by some important tributaries in the
part of its course above described, though none of these have
yet been examined in detail.
CHAPTER IV.
Valley of the Scud River — Clearwater River — First South Fork — Telegraph Creek —
Origin of its name — The glaciers of the Stikine valley — First or Little Glacier —
Great Glacier — Dirt Glacier — Flood Glacier — General composition of the central
ranges— Basaltic rocks and the occurrence of placer deposits of gold — Com-
position of rocks in the vicinity of Telegraph Creek — Terrace deposits at the
mouth of the Stikine — Difference between the coast and inland climates —
Vegetation of the Coast Ranges and Telegraph Creek in May— Local variations
of climate — Cultivation at Telegraph Creek and Glenora — Date when Stikine
usually opens for navigation — When closed — When first discovered — The first
discovery of placer gold on the bars of the Stikine — Its exploration by Major
Pope — Discovery of gold in the Cassiar region — Trail from Telegraph Creek to
head of Dease.Lake — Country traversed by the trail — The Tahl-tan River — Gold-
mining in the Tahl-tan valley — Tooya, or Second North Fork— Caribou Camp —
The Tooya valley — Valley of the Tanzilla, or Third North Fork.
ABOUT seven miles below the Little Canon, the valley of
the Scud River opens to the east, but the exact position of
the mouth of the stream has not been fixed on the map. Some
gold has been found by prospectors on this stream, but no work-
able placer deposits. It is said to head in a low country behind
the Coast Mountains, and if this be correct, must nearly
inosculate with branches of the Iskoot and First South Fork of
the Stikine.
Six miles above " Kloochman Canon," the ClearwTater River
enters the Stikine on the west side, by several mouths. The
latter is a stream of considerable size, and is navigable for
canoes for some distance. It is said to head near the sources
of one branch of the Taku River, and is noted by the Indians
for the great number of salmon which ascend it.
The First South Fork joins the Stikine about a mile and
a half below Telegraph Creek. It is a large turbid stream, and
for a number of miles from the main river, flows in a rough
narrow gorge, between high hills and mountains. Further up,
according to the Telegraph Exploration sketch, it is bordered
THE YUKON TERRITORY 283
by level, partly timbered terraces or " benches." The summit
between its head- waters and those of the Iskoot, on the route
followed by Mr. Leech, is given on his authority at 5000 feet.
vSalmon do not ascend this stream.
Telegraph Creek is an inconsiderable stream, which falls
rapidly to the river through a narrow rocky cleft in the border-
ing hills of the right or north-west bank of the Stikine. Its
name is due to the fact that here the Western Union Telegraph
line was intended to cross the Stikine. The little town of
Telegraph Creek occupies the narrow delta and the lower
terraces bordering it on both sides, its site being identical
with that of " Ford Mumford " of the older maps. Glenora,
twelve miles below Telegraph Creek and on the same side of
the Stikine, consists of a single row of houses built along
the edge of the river at the foot of a steep bank. Both places
were at one time busy little towns, but are at present very much
reduced in importance, though I believe it will probably not be
long before further mining developments in the Cassiar district
will lead to the renewal of their activity.
The glaciers constitute one of the most remarkable features
of this part of the Stikine valley. There are a number of these
on both sides of the river, in its lower part ; but four only of
special importance, all situated to the west of the river, and
all but the first on the eastern slopes of the most massive
central ranges of the mountainous region.
Mr. John Muir, who spent some time on the Stikine in 1879,
gives an interesting popular description of its glaciers in a letter
dated from Sitka in December of that year, and published in
the San Francisco Bulletin. Mr. Muir informs me that no
more systematic account of his observations in this region has
yet been made public.
The glacier known by the miners as the First or Little
Glacier (named the Popoff Glacier by Blake) fills a high valley
on the north side of the river, about ten miles from its mouth.
As seen from a distance it offers no features of particular
interest, but resembles many other minor glaciers of the Coast
Mountains.
The next and most important glacier is that universally
known on the river as the Great Glacier. Before entering the
284 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Stikine valley, this glacier has a width estimated at from one-
half to three-quarters of a mile, but upon freeing itself from the
bordering mountains immediately expands in a fan-like manner,
its actual front upon the river being from three to three and a
half miles in width. Large streams issue from beneath the ice,
the position of outflow frequently changing from year to year.
Next to its size, the most remarkable feature about this
glacier is the regularity of the fan-like form in which it
terminates. It resembles in this respect the Davidson Glacier
on Lynn Canal.
The miners state that during the few years of their know-
ledge of the Stikine, the Great Glacier has steadily and notably
receded, though the total amount of such recession can
evidently not have been more than the distance from the
wooded bordering-moraine to the present ice-front. The
Indians relate as a tradition, that at a former period the glacier
stretched completely across the valley, the Stikine passing
beneath the ice through a tunnel-like opening. It is, however,
impossible to determine whether this is a remembered fact or
only an inference. Curiously enough, a copious hot spring is
situated immediately opposite the glacier on the east side of the
Stikine valley.
Ten miles above the Great Glacier, and also on the west side
of the valley, is the Dirt Glacier, so named by the miners
because of the great quantity of rocky debris with which its
surface is covered.1 This is much smaller than the last, having
a width estimated at a quarter of a mile, but possibly greater.
Like the Great Glacier, it comes quite down on the river-flats.
The last important glacier, sixteen miles still further up the
river, is the Flood Glacier. This also comes down to the level
of the river-flats, but does not closely approach the river.
From the valley of this glacier a great rush of water occurs
almost every year towards the end of the summer. This, no
doubt, arises from the blocking by the glacier of the mouth of
some lateral valley in which a lake is formed, and from time to
time breaks through the glacier dam. The quantity of water
thus liberated is so great as to raise the river from a low stage
1 Also so named on sketch map in Report on Customs District, Public
Service and Resources of Alaska Territory, by W. G. Morris, 1879.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 285
to half-flood level for a short time. There is a large quantity
of debris also on this glacier, though less than on the last.
The Great Glacier, rising many miles back in the higher
ranges of the mountains, in the material which it has brought
down and deposited in its moraine, affords a mode of ascer-
taining the general composition of the central ranges. This
material was found by Mr. McConnell to consist almost
entirely of grey granite of medium grain, composed of felspar,
quartz and hornblende in nearly equal proportions, but holding
also a little mica and occasional crystals of sphene. Diorites
and mica-schists occur in smaller quantity, together with coarse
pegmatite, which is evidently derived from veins intersecting
the granite.
A short distance below the " Grand Rapid," distinctly strati-
fied rocks of dark colour cap some of the mountains and rest
upon the granites. These beds have a dip of N. 70° E. < 30°,
which brings them down to the level of the river near the rapid.
They consist of hard argillites and grauwacke-quartzites, inter-
bedded with grey and brownish impure limestones, the whole
being considerably disturbed and cut near the granites by coarse
grey porphyritic dykes of that rock. The argillites were not
observed to hold staurolite, mica, or other crystalline minerals
like those of Wrangell, and otherwise differ somewhat in appear-
ance from these, though their relation to the granitic rocks
appears to be similar. They are followed in ascending order
by a massive grey-blue sub-crystalline limestone of considerable
though undetermined thickness, which can be traced in the
mountains for some distance on both sides of the valley. These
limestones are believed to represent those afterwards noted on
the Dease and there referred to the Carboniferous period.
Altered volcanic rocks only, were seen along the river for
about twelve miles above the Clearwater, but there is reason to
believe that outliers of Tertiary basalt also occur in this part of
the valley. At the distance just mentioned above the Clear-
water, and about six miles and a half below Glenora, exposures
are found of slaty argillites and dark shaly rocks, containing
some impure limestone, all very much broken and disturbed,
and associated with altered volcanic materials. Some beds of
these shaly limestones prove on microscopical examination to
286 THE YUKON TERRITORY
consist chiefly of organic fragments which are not, however,
sufficiently distinctive for the reference of the beds.
From this point to Telegraph Creek, basaltic and other com-
paratively modern volcanic rocks become prominent features,
the basalts appearing as remnants of horizontal flows, the
broken edges of which form scarped cliffs. These rocks are
due to a period antecedent to that of the glacial deposits, and
are of Tertiary age. Analogy with neighbouring parts of
British Columbia indicates that they may be assigned with
probability to the Miocene. The basalts have evidently flowed
along and partially filled the old river- valley, and unconformably
overlie the old altered volcanic rocks previously alluded to, as
well as all the other rock series.
About two miles below Glenora, the basaltic rocks were
noticed in one place to have filled the old river-bed, conforming
in their lower layers to the slopes of its sides, and to have been
subsequently cut across obliquely by the present river. Other
examples of this character are of special interest in connection
with the occurrence of placer deposits of gold.
Between Glenora and Telegraph Creek, the rocks seen below
the basalts include at least two distinct series. The first and
oldest of these is represented by a number of occurrences of
altered volcanic rocks, like those previously referred to, as well
as by considerable exposures (beginning about a mile above
Glenora) of grey and blackish, rather cherty quartzites, often
nearly on edge. The second consists of slightly indurated
conglomerates, sandstones and shales, the conglomerates being
often very coarse and containing pebbles both of the older
volcanic series and of the granites and granitoid rocks. These
lie at comparatively moderate angles of inclination. No fossils
were observed in them, but in their lithological character as
well as in their position relatively to the Coast Ranges, they
resemble rocks of Cretaceous age met with in other parts of
British Columbia, both to the south and north of the Stikine,
and may be provisionally referred to that period.
In the immediate vicinity of Telegraph Creek, the prevalent
rock is a grey-green, speckled, altered volcanic material, which
proves to be a fine-grained diabase-tuff. The high hill immedi-
ately opposite Telegraph Creek, on the other side of the river,
THE YUKON TERRITORY 287
is composed of similar old volcanic rocks, comprising compact
diabase and a massive diabase-agglomerate.
About two miles below Telegraph Creek, on the right bank
of the river, a portion of the basaltic filling of the old valley
forms a range of columnar cliffs about 200 feet above the
present water-level. A second similar remnant occurs just
above Telegraph Creek, on the same side, and a portion of it
extends up Telegraph Creek itself for a mile or more. Basaltic
dykes, which may have served as sources of supply of molten
material at the time of eruption, cut the older rocks. Though
in some cases simulating the appearance of terraces, the basaltic
shelves along the sides of the valley are quite distinct from
and of earlier date than these.
The portion of the Alaskan coast which I have seen, viz.
that to the south of the 59th parallel, shows the same general
absence of terrace deposits which has already been noted and
commented on in the case of the British Columbian coast. In
the vicinity of the mouth of the Stikine, terraces fifteen to
twenty feet in height are found, resembling the wooded flats
met with further up the river, but as they are here upon tide-
water, they indicate doubtless an elevation of the coast-line to
that amount. Further up the river, the first appearance of
high-level terraces is at about two miles below the Great
Glacier. Those here seen are quite narrow, and were estimated
to be 500 and 700 feet respectively above the river. The
river, for the first time, shows bordering-terraces of from thirty
to fifty feet in height, about six miles below the Little Canon,
and similar terraces are frequently seen above this point. On
the mountain above Glenora a distinct but small terrace was
seen from a distance at an estimated height of 1500 feet above
the river. At Telegraph Creek the two principal terraces are
go and 200 feet respectively above the river-level.
The traverse of the Coast Ranges by the Stikine River, from
its mouth to Telegraph Creek, affords an excellent illustration
of the difference between the coast and inland climates,
repeating to a great extent the phenomena met with in making
a similar traverse of the same ranges in the southern part of
British Columbia. The annual precipitation at Wrangell, at
the mouth of the Stikine, is over sixty inches, while in the
288 THE YUKON TERRITORY
vicinity of Telegraph Creek, distant only 140 miles, but on the
inland side of the mountains, the precipitation is so small that
irrigation is necessary to cultivated land.
Nor does this comparison of rain-fall sufficiently mark the
great difference between the two climates. The prevalence of
clouded skies in the coast region is accompanied by a saturated
state of the atmosphere, precisely opposite conditions being
found on the eastern side of the mountain belt, at not more
than eighty miles inland from the general line of the coast. The
coast climate is, of course, much more temperate than that of
the interior, which, even no further off than Telegraph Creek,
becomes one of extremes. Miners state that the snow accumu-
lates on the river-flats of the lower part of the Stikine, within
the mountains, to a depth of from eight to ten feet, while at
Telegraph Creek on the eastern slope of the range and on
the Tahl-tan River it seldom exceeds eighteen inches. At the
latter places horses and mules have been wintering out for a
number of years. The great depth of snow retards the advance
of spring all along the portion of the river where it occurs.
Vegetation is much farther advanced in spring on the inland
side of the Coast Ranges than elsewhere. In the middle of May
the cotton-woods and other deciduous trees at the mouth of the
Stikine and along its lower part showed merely a general faint
greenish tint as the buds opened. Four days later, in the vicinity
of Telegraph Creek, the appearance was almost that of early
summer. A great number of plants were in flower, and butterflies
and humming-birds were abundant. As the river is ascended
the change from a very moist to a dry climate is indicated by
the variation of the species of plants.
The local differences of climate are important. Thus Glenora,
though about twelve miles only from Telegraph Creek, is said
to experience much greater cold in winter, and the snow-fall is
also greater, being estimated at three feet and a half. Less
snow falls on the Tahl-tan than elsewhere, the amount increas-
ing both to the east and west of that place. Strong winds blow-
ing up stream or inland are prevalent in the Stikine valley in
summer, but occur in the reverse direction, as a rule, in
winter.
During the few days we spent at Telegraph Creek, in the latte
THE YUKON TERRITORY 289
part of May, the wind generally blew up the river and was often
strong. The high distant ranges of the Coast Mountains to the
west were usually enveloped in clouds, and heavy showers were
evidently of common occurrence. The sky at Telegraph Creek
was also as a rule largely obscured, but after passing over
the Coast Mountains the clouds were more broken, and pro-
duced merely a few drops of rain now and then ; the conditions
being similar to those met with in the dry country to the east of
the same range in the Eraser valley, much further south.
Cultivation in the vicinity of Telegraph Creek and Glenora is
practically confined to the raising of small quantities of vege-
tables and of barley and fodder for animals. There is, however,
in this vicinity, in the aggregate, a considerable area of land
which might be tilled if there were sufficient local demand to
warrant it. Excellent potatoes are produced, and though the
leaves are occasionally touched by frost, the crop is seldom
affected. It has further been ascertained by trial on a sufficient
scale that not only barley, but wheat and oats will ripen, and
that all ordinary garden vegetables can be produced. The
record is a remarkable one for the 58th degree of north lati-
tude.
According to Mr. J. C. Callbreath, of Telegraph Creek, the
Stikine generally opens for navigation between April 2oth and
May i st. The river usually freezes over before the end of
November. The highest water occurs in the early summer,
generally in June. Horses and mules find grazing on the Tahl-
tan from April 2Oth or May ist to about December 1st, after
which date they require some hay.
Though the position of the Stikine is indicated on Van-
couver's charts by the open channels of the river, and the
shoals about its estuary are mapped, the existence of a large
river was not recognized by that navigator, who visited this part
of the coast in 1793. According to Mr. W. H. Dall, the river
was first found by fur traders in 1799. In 1834 the Hudson Bay
Company fitted out a vessel named the Dryad for the purpose
of establishing a post and colony at the mouth of the Stikine,
but the Russians, being apprised of this circumstance, sent two
small armed vessels to the spot, and constructed a defensive
work, which they named Fort Dionysius, on the site of the
E
2QO THE YUKON TERRITORY
present town of Wrangell. Finding themselves thus fore-
stalled, the Company retired. This dispute was compromised
in 1837, when an arrangement was made by which the Com-
pany leased for a term of years all that part of the Russian
territory which now constitutes the " coast strip " of Alaska,
and the "fort " was handed over to the Company, the British
flag being hoisted under a salute of seven guns, in June, 1840.
The first discovery of placer gold on its bars was made in 1861,
by two miners named Choquette ("Buck") and Carpenter. In
the following spring several prospecting parties were fitted out in
Victoria, and a number of men passed the summer in mining
on the river. In 1863, the Russian authorities, hearing of the dis-
covery of gold, despatched the corvette Rynda to ascertain
whether the mining was being carried on in Russian territory. A
boat party from this vessel, under Lieutenant Pereleshin, ascended
the river to a point a few miles above the Little Canon, occupying
May 23rd to June ist on the expedition. Mr. W. P. Blake
accompanied this party, and in addition to the sketch-map
published by the Russians, his report on the Stikine, previously
alluded to, is based on it.1
A Hudson Bay post was established on the east side of the
river in 1862 or 1863 and maintained till about 1874, when it
was moved to the vicinity of Glenora, where it remained till
1878, when it was abandoned.
In 1866, explorations for the line of the Western Union or
Collins' Telegraph Company were extended to the Stikine under
Major Pope. These were continued in 1867 and embraced most
of the principal tributaries of the river. The results were not
separately published, and the whole enterprise of which they
were a part was abandoned. The sketch-maps then made were,
however, partly embodied in the small map accompanying Mr.
W. H. Ball's work on Alaska (1870), and with greater complete-
ness in other subsequent maps of the region.
In 1873, Messrs. Thibert and McCullough, travelling west-
ward from the Mackenzie, discovered gold in the Cassiar region,
and fell in with the miners already engaged in placer work
on the Stikine in the autumn of that year. The subsequent
1 Geographical Notes upon Russian American and the Stickeen River ;
Washington, 1868. Also, Am. Journ. Sci. and Arts, vol. xliv-, 1867, p. 96.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 29 1
history of the river is included in that of the Cassiar mining
district.
The trail from Telegraph Creek to the head of Dease Lake
was opened by the Government of British Columbia in 1874.
It has since been kept in a fair state of repair, and is a good
route for pack animals. It follows the north side of the Stikine
and Tanzilla valleys, and is sixty-two miles and a half in total
length.
On leaving Telegraph Creek, the trail makes a steep ascent
to the level of a broad terrace, and runs along at a considerable
height above the river, till it again descends, at eleven miles, to
the valley of the Tahl-tan or First North Fork, near its mouth.
The main valley of the Stikine is here about four miles in width,
and is bordered by high hills and mountains of rounded forms ;
those to the north often nearly bare, while those on the opposite
side are generally either wooded or strewn with burnt logs
where fires have passed. The river occupies a canon, with
precipitous banks often 300 feet in height, which has been cut
in the bottom of this great valley. It is very rough and rapid,
but there are no true falls. Terraces are well developed at
several levels on both sides of the river, which is frequently
bordered by vertical basaltic cliffs.
The country traversed by the trail between Telegraph Creek
and the Tahl-tan is wooded only in patches, the trees being
chiefly black pine (Pinus Murrayand] and aspen (Populus
tremuloides) , with occasional specimens of white birch, and
alder and willow in the hollows. The soil is reddish and rather
sandy, and appears very dry, being but scantily clothed with
thin, tufty grass and bear-berry.
The Tahl-tan River, crossed near its mouth by a good bridge,
is a large and rapid stream, which rises about thirty miles to the
north-westward. Its valley is narrow and almost canon-like
where it reaches the Stikine, and has cut through basalt-flows
and heavy underlying gravel deposits to a depth of about one
hundred and fifty feet, though its right bank, just above the
crossing, is composed of the older rocks. It is resorted to by
the Indians for salmon fishing during a part of the summer, and
there are several temporary houses and a number of graves.
The angle between this river and the Stikine, on the right bank,
E 2
THE YUKON TERRITORY
shows three clearly defined, superposed, columnar basalt-flows.
The opposite angle, up which the trail zig-zags, is in the form
of a long, narrow point, composed of large pieces of basalt lying
in great confusion, with deep interspaces and crevices. This is
generally known as the " lava-bed." Gold mining was at one
time carried on successfully for some miles up the Tahl-tan
valley.
The Tahl-tan occupies a portion of an important valley which
carries, to the north-westward, the upper branches of the Taku
and the furthest sources of the Lewes River. The Indians travel
along this valley, and it appears worthy of attention as a route
from the navigable waters of the Stikine to the Yukon basin.
The distance from the Tahl-tan to the Tooya, or Second
North Fork, is about six miles. For half this distance, to
Ward's house (now abandoned, like other places of call along
this route) the trail runs near the Stikine River, whose imme-
diate valley still continues to be occupied by basaltic-flows.
Above these, however, the sides of the valley are generally
formed of regular and high terraces of horizontally stratified
sands, gravels and earthy deposits, which are rather silts than
true clays. The gravels frequently include large boulders. At
Ward's, the trail turns away from the river and cuts across a
high point to the Tooya, the highest terrace-level crossed being
about 1000 feet above the river. On these high terraces the
vegetation was perceptibly less advanced than in the lower parts
of the valley. Swampy spots are frequent, and the country, as
we recede from the vicinity of the Coast Mountains, has
evidently a more humid climate and is more subject to summer
frosts. Potatoes and other crops are successfully grown at
Ward's, situated on one of the lower terraces, but irrigation is
there necessary.
The Tooya valley, where it is crossed by the trail, is a great
gorge, about 600 feet in depth, cut out through the terrace
deposits. The river, which is spanned by a small bridge, is a
wild torrent — almost a series of cascades.
From "Wilson's house" to Caribou Camp, about twelve
miles, the trail crosses an extensive high terrace or plateau,
with a nearly level or slightly undulating surface, which is
generally wooded with aspen, black pine and white spruce of
C/3 S
o 8
K E
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5 '§
1 8-
si
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THE YUKON TERRITORY 293
fair growth. The Tooya valley is here said to run nearly
parallel with the main valley of the Stikine and at no great
distance from it, but is invisible from the trail. No mountains
were seen to the north-eastward, but high, rounded moun-
tains, with broad, bare summits, continue to border the south-
east side of the Stikine valley. About midway between Wilson's
and Caribou Camp, the Stikine, or Too-dessa of the Tahl-tan
Indians, coming from the southward, enters the main valley,
cutting through the bordering mountains in a narrow canon,
which the Indians report impassable. Their route to the upper
waters of the river crosses the mountains to the west of this
canon. They state that after again reaching the Stikine, above
the canon, they can ascend it in canoes without difficulty for a
long distance.
No rock exposures were seen along this part of the trail, and
only occasional groups of boulders. The vegetation and
appearance of the country afford evidence that the climate is
still a dry one.
The trail reaches the edge of the valley of the Tanzilla, or
Third North Fork, about a mile south-westward from Caribou
Camp. This valley is cut out to a depth of 450 feet below the
level of the plateau, and is about a mile in width from rim to
rim. The sides show evidence of extensive landslips, both old
and recent. The river is a comparatively small though swift
and muddy stream, with an estimated width of 180 feet and
depth of about three feet. No rocks are exposed in the valley,
the entire depth of which appears to be excavated in bedded
clays and silts, which weather to grey, earthy slopes.
CHAPTER V.
The trail from Caribou Camp to Dease Lake — The terraces at the sides of the Tanzilla
— The mountains — The Tanzilla valley part of a river-course of very ancient
date — Volcanic origin of the rocks near Telegraph Creek — Pre-glacial age of the
basaltic rocks— The old river-bed below Glenora — Basaltic formation of the
Stikine — Its importance in respect to the distribution of gold — "Heavy ''gold
found along that portion of the stream characterized by the basalt — The old
channel — Remuneration bars worked up the Tahl-tan valley — Characteristic
formation of the country between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake — Dease
Lake the central point of the Cassiar district — Placer mines of value awaiting
discovery in this district — This district more accessible than that of Caribou —
Construction of a waggon-road — Suitable materials easily obtainable — No
serious impediment presented to the construction of a railway —The survey of
the Stikine — The route a direct one to Dease Lake — Also a direct line from the
Pacific Coast to the Mackenzie River— Arrival of the expedition at the head of
Dease Lake— Dates of the opening and closing of the lake — Its elevation and
length — The richest gold deposits discovered at Dease Creek — The head-quarters
of the Gold Commission — Country surrounding the lake — Vegetation — Agricul-
ture not practicable in this region — Resemblance of rocks to the gold-bearing
series of the Caribou district — The ancient pre-glacial valley — The present
valley — Estimated value of gold produced by Cassiar district — Summary and
particulars as to the condition of the workings in the various localities — Difficulties
of mining on account of frozen ground — Prospecting for metalliferous veins in
the Cassiar district — Its accessibility to the coast — Facilities afforded for the con-
struction of a good road — The district very imperfectly prospected — Probable
existence of rich creeks — " Quartz-mining " compared with alluvial-mining.
FROM Caribou Camp to the vicinity of Dease Lake, or for
about twenty-six miles, the trail runs along the north-west
side of the Tanzilla. The valley of the stream gradually loses
its depth, owing to the fact that, while the grade of the stream
is considerable, the terraces at its sides continue at about the
same level. These consist, so far as can be seen, of similar
silty and clayey materials, but the edges of the terraces are less
marked, and they show a tendency to merge into slopes, which
rest upon the bases of the mountains bordering the valley.
The mountains which extend to the south-east of the river
become higher here, and take the form of a well-marked range,
which is known to the Indians as Ho-tai'-luh. Swampy spots
become frequent and the vegetation more alpine in character,
THE YUKON TERRITORY 295
with evidence of a considerably greater rainfall. A great part
of the forest all along this portion of the valley has been
destroyed by fire. Rock is seen in place only on approaching
the bases of the mountains.
The part of the valley which connects the Tanzilla with
Dease Lake is floored by terrace deposits, and is without doubt
very deeply filled with such material, as no solid rock is seen in
it. It has evidently been part of a through river-course of very
ancient date, but in what direction the stream that origin-
ated the valley flowed, it is now difficult to surmise. It has,
however, been again occupied by a river in comparatively
recent post-glacial times, subsequently to the formation of the
terrace deposits, as it is traversed by a well-marked river-bed,
filled with rolled stones and gravels. This old channel appears
to rise slightly towards Dease Lake, and there can be little doubt
that the stream by which it was formed flowed out of the lake.
Respecting the older rocks which characterize the greater
part of the country between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake,
few details were noted, and no approach to a general section
was obtained, as they are not usually exposed except along the
bases of the mountains, which are, as a rule, at some distance
from the route of travel. These may be described as consisting
of grey and greenish-grey quartzites and grauwackes, with a
large proportion of altered volcanic materials, generally
felspathic, but passing into diabases and becoming in some
cases more or less schistose. Rocks originally of volcanic
origin notably preponderate in the vicinity of Telegraph Creek,
while near Dease Lake they are less abundant, and at about
two miles from the lake, on the trail, massive grey fine-grained
limestone occurs, in exposures which are nearly continuous for
about a mile. None of the mountains in sight on either side of
the valley are distinctly granitic, and rocks of this character
were observed only in one locality, where they occupy a
relatively small area.
The pre-glacial age of the basaltic rocks is shown by their
relation to the terraces of the valley, and also by the occurrence
upon them of large granitic boulders.
A few miles below Glenora, where the basalt filling of the
old valley has been cut across, it seems the old river-bed is
296 THE YUKON TERRITORY
below the present water-level, indicating, in connection with
previous observations, that the grade of the original river was
greater than that of the present.
Though the basalts of Tertiary age actually seen by me are
confined to the Stikine valley, it is highly probable that further
explorations will prove their occurrence in other valleys, and
possibly also the existence of similar rocks, in the form of
plateaux of some size, in the region east of the Coast Ranges.
The basaltic formation of the Stikine is important in respect
of the distribution of gold. The gold along the Stikine was
said by the miners to be " spotted," or irregular, in its occur-
rence, but the greater part of the " heavy " gold was found just
along that portion of the stream now characterized by the
basalts, and it appears even possible to trace a connection
between the richer bars which have been worked and those
places in which the present river has cut through or followed
the old basalt-protected channel. Such being the case, it seems
very desirable that the old channel should be fully prospected,
but this I cannot learn has ever been attempted. If gold should
be found in it in paying quantity, it might easily be worked,
and would give rise to a considerable renewal of activity in
mining. It is not known to what extent similar conditions
may occur up the Tahl-tan valley, where also remunerative bars
were worked some years ago.
The most characteristic later formation of the country
between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake is the silty deposit
which has already been referred to in several places. The
whole of the great valley has evidently in later-glacial times
been filled with this deposit, which must have been laid down
in a comparatively tranquil lake-like body of water, into which
coarser material was in some places washed by entering torrents,
as in the case of the Tooya. It appears to me possible that
this body of water was held in by means of glacier-ice accumu-
lated on the Coast Ranges on one side and those of the Cassiar
Mountains on the other. The increased height of the ter-
races in the vicinity of Dease Lake, as compared with those
near Telegraph Creek, may show that the terrace-deposits have
been laid down near the front of a retreating glacier-mass, the
water-level of the lake being reduced pari passu, with its reces-
THE YUKON TERRITORY 297
sion. The highest terrace-level observed near the Tahl-tan, is
at an approximate elevation of 1700 feet above the sea, while
half way between the Tooya and Dease Lake the terraces run
up to a height of about 2800 feet. At the head of the lake a
well-marked terrace-edge was observed at 520 feet above the
lake, or 3180 feet above the sea. The irregular surface of the
same terrace sloped upward to a further height of about 100
feet, and granite boulders were found on the summit of a lime-
stone hill 1000 feet above the lake, or 3660 feet above the sea.
If the supposition of the considerable inland extension of the
glaciers of the Coast Mountains at one epoch of the glacial
period be correct (and it is strictly paralleled by similar circum-
stances in the more southern part of British Columbia), the
greater part of the gigantic erratics met with may probably
have been derived from the Coast Ranges, through the Cassiar
Mountains : possibly other ranges in the region are charac-
terized by similar rocks.
Dease Lake is the central point of the Cassiar district, and
though, as shown by statistics subsequently quoted, the yield
of gold has greatly fallen off since the palmy days of its first
discovery, it is very probable that further placer mines of value
may yet be found in this region (of which a great part still
remains to be carefully prospected), and there is every reason to
telieve that quartz mining and other industries will before long
be developed on a considerable scale. Even at the present
moment this district is more easily accessible than that of
Caribou, and when a waggon-road shall have been built from
the head of navigation on the Stikine to Dease Lake, it should
be easy to lay down goods at the latter point at very reasonable
rates.
The construction of a waggon-road, with moderately favour-
able grades, between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake, would
not be very difficult or expensive. The first ascent from
Telegraph Creek is steep, but might easily be overcome.
Between eight and ten miles from Telegraph Creek, or for a
distance of about two miles, the road would have to follow a
rough hill-side above the canon, where some blasting and
grading would be required. The descent to the Tahl-tan would
entail some heavy side-hill cutting in rock and earth and a
298 THE YUKON TERRITORY
bridge would be necessary. The ascent and crossing of the
"lava bed " would entail about a mile of rough work on the
opposite side of the Tahl-tan, and should the line of the present
trail be followed, a long and steep ascent, with grading in
gravel and clay, would be required at Ward's, and again in
descending to and ascending from the Tooya valley, but no
rock work would be necessary. It seems quite probable, how-
ever, that a better route might be found for a road, at a lower
level, from Ward's to the mouth of the Tooya, in following
the side of the main valley. In either case a good bridge
would be required at the Tooya. Beyond this, all the way
to Dease Lake, no further serious obstacle presents itself.
Portions of the route are clayey and swampy, and to render
these easily passable, from eight to ten miles of corduroy in all
would be required, and for this suitable material could be
obtained near by in all cases.
Should the construction of a railway be contemplated, the
difficulties to be surmounted would be greater in proportion,
particularly between Telegraph Creek and the Tahl-tan, where
the line would have to follow the side of the canon, which is
very rough and rocky. Beyond this point, so far as the valley
can be seen from the trail, it presents no very serious impedi-
ments. Below Telegraph Creek, to Glenora, or a little further,
a railway would involve some moderately heavy side-hill work ;
but further down the Stikine, to the sea, it might follow the
river-flats at a nearly uniform level. The greatest difficulty to
be apprehended on this part of the line would be that likely to
arise in winter from the very heavy snow-fall on the river below
the Little Canon.
It may be pointed out in this connection that the survey of
the Stikine and of the valley leading by the Tanzilla to Dease
Lake shows the route to be an exceedingly direct one to Dease
Lake, and that, taken in conjunction with the valleys of the
Dease and Liard Rivers, it affords almost an air-line from the
Pacific coast to the great Mackenzie River.
We reached the head of Dease Lake on June 5th, and even-
tually left the lake on the morning of June igth, spending thus
thirteen days in all upon the lake. At the date of our arrival
the lake, with the exception of a small area at its head was
THE YUKON TERRITORY 299
still covered with the decayed but unbroken ice of the previous
winter, and this did not finally break up and disappear till the
i6th. Meanwhile, almost all our time and attention were
devoted to sawing out boards and building three boats.
The following dates, obtained from Mr. Robert Reid, of
Laketon, are those of the opening and closing of the lake for
the past few years :—
Year. Lake opened. Lake closed.
1882 June 9th December 5th or 6th
1883 May 3oth December 5th
(Clear from end to end)
1884 June 2nd December 2nd
1885 June 3rd December ist
(Frozen completely across)
1886 ... ... June 5th December i6th
(Crossing on I7th)
1887 June i6th
Dease Lake has an elevation of 2660 feet above the sea, and
lies nearly due north-and-south on the i3Oth meridian. It has
a total length of twenty-four miles, with an average width of
less than one mile, being somewhat narrower at the northern
than at the southern end. Dease Creek, on the delta of which
is situated Laketon, the chief place of the Cassiar district,
enters on the west side at sixteen miles and three quarters from
the head of the lake, and is the largest tributary stream. It is
also the most important, being that on which the richest of
the gold deposits were discovered, and on which gold is still
worked to a limited extent. A certain amount of business is still
carried on here, and it is the headquarters of the Gold Com-
missioner. The old Hudson Bay Post was situated about two
miles from the lower end of the lake, on the east side. A small
steamer was put upon the lake when the mines were in a
flourishing condition, and is still employed in making occasional
trips up or down the lake with supplies.
The country about the lake is everywhere wooded, though
"timber" trees are found only in sheltered valleys or on low
land. It is not roughly mountainous, though several prominent
summits exist. Near the northern end of the lake do the
mountains begin to crowd down closely to the water's edge.
3OO THE YUKON TERRITORY
The lake is shallow and marshy at both ends, but elsewhere is
evidently very deep, though no soundings have been made
in it.
The vegetation gives evidence of a greater rainfall, and
conditions more alpine and less favourable than those met
with on the trail to the south-eastward, and sharply contrasting
with that of Telegraph Creek and the Tahl-tan. The effect of
the ice upon the lake in spring in retarding the vegetation in
its immediate vicinity, was very apparent. Agriculture can
scarcely be regarded as practicable in this region, and the
results of gardening, however carefully conducted, are small.
Potatoes can be grown, but in some years they are much
injured by frost ; carrots, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflowers and
turnips may be made to afford a fair return.
Such rock-exposures as could be reached near the shores of
the lake were inspected, and the material brought down from
the hills by several streams was examined. The rocks as a
whole closely resemble those of parts of the gold-bearing series
of Caribou district.
Dease Creek is said to be about twelve miles in length and
to rise in a lake about five miles long. The ancient pre-glacial
valley has, at the same later-glacial period, been filled with
clayey and gravelly deposits, among which large and often
glaciated boulders are common. These deposits frequently
resemble boulder-clay, and are possibly entitled to be so called.
The present valley has been cut down through them, and
often to a considerable depth into the rock beneath them.
The mining has occurred chiefly in the bed of the stream, along
the surface of the solid rock, in the sides of the valley, and in
various places in the gravel deposits which still remain ; also at
the head of the flat on which Laketon stands, where the stream
issues from the narrow recent valley. Much quartz occurs in
the wash of the stream, and the gold, being " coarse," is
evidently of local origin and has been liberated by the disinte-
gration of the rocks in the immediate vicinity of, if not entirely
within, the actual drainage-area of the stream.
The following table, based on the reports of the Minister of
Mines of British Columbia, clearly illustrates the sudden rise
and gradual decadence of the gold yield of Cassiar district : —
THE YUKON TERRITORY 3OI
Estimated value of Gold produced by Cassiar District, from 1874 to 1887.
1873 Not known.
1874 $1,000,000
1875 ... 830,000
1876 ... ... 556,474
1877 499^3°
1878 5*9,720
1879 ... ... 405,200
1880 ... 297,850
1881 ... 198,900
1882 • ... 182,800
1883 119,000
1884 101,600
1885 50,600
1886 ... 63,610
1887 ... 60,485
Total $4,886,069
No estimate has been formed for the yield of the mines in the
first year of their operation (1873), but as that for the following
year appears probably to be overstated, it may, for the purpose
of arriving at a general estimate of the whole, be assumed that
the sum of one million includes both years. The value of the
gold may be stated as from $16 to $17 per ounce, though that of
Dease Creek is usually priced at about $i5'5o only.
In the Report of Progress of the Geological Survey for 1886-
87, I was enabled to give a general note on the various creeks
worked for gold in Cassiar and on the Stikine. The informa-
tion there given was chiefly furnished by Mr. G. B. Wright. I
am now able to add to this, particulars as to the actual con-
dition of the workings in 1887. These were largely obtained
through the kindness of Mr. J. S. Crimp, the present Gold
Commissioner for Cassiar district, though facts were also
gathered from several old miners who were among the first to
enter the country. As explained on a previous page, my oppor-
tunities of personally investigating the Cassiar district were
restricted by the necessity of pushing on to our main field of
exploration. Chiefly from the sources above-mentioned the
following summary account of the different localities is derived.
Stikine River. — Gold discovered, 1861. Very fine gold can
be found on almost all parts of the river, but very little profit-
able work was ever done below the mouth of the Clearwater.
The rich ground may be said to have begun about nine miles
below Glenora, and to have extended thence to the Grand
3<D2 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Canon, above Telegraph Creek. Here Sheck's or Shake's Bar,
and Carpenter's, Fiddler's and Buck's Bars were situated, the
richest being between Glenora and Telegraph Creek, though
gold was also worked in a few places in the Grand Canon.
With the exception of a few spots in the lower part of the canon,
below the Tahl-tan, and one nearly opposite Wilson's, all the
gold was very fine. Coarse gold was also found on the lower
part of Tahl-tan, which proved quite profitable, and bars were
worked for a distance of ten or fifteen miles up the river.
Pellets supposed to be of silver, but probably of arquerite or
silver-amalgam, were also found on the Tahl-tan. The bars
on the Stickine at first averaged $3 to $10 a day to the
hand, and as much as two to three ounces were sometimes
obtained, but not more than $i to $3 can now be got, and
work has practically ceased. It is stated that none of the
higher benches so far prospected will pay for hydraulic work,
but it is doubtful whether these have been examined with
sufficient care, as the area of such benches is very considerable.
Dease Creek. — The bed of this creek has been gone over several
times, and is now nearly worked out. It formerly yielded $8 to
$50 a day to the hand, and paid well from the head of the
flat, at its mouth, for six miles up. Above this a few isolated
good claims were found, particularly the Caribou Company's
claim, eight miles up, from which much heavy gold was
obtained. This claim has been worked over four times. The
best remaining claims are bench claims on the south side of the
creek, some of these being upon an old high channel which
yields well in places. Some hydraulic work on a small scale is
being carried on. In 1886 there were sixteen whites and
thirty-five Chinese at work, and the total amount produced
was about $15,000. The gold is generally well water-worn and
somewhat mixed in character, varying in value from $15 "50 to
$16 per ounce.
Thibert Creek. — The bed of this stream is also worked out.
It paid for about six miles up from the mouth, yielding at about
the same rate as the last. Bench claims are now being worked,
two by the hydraulic method, the rest by tunnelling. An old
high channel had also been found on the south side of this
creek, upon which two claims are being worked, one paying very
THE YUKON TERRITORY 303
well. Yield in 1866, nearly the same with Dease Creek, about
twenty-two whites and twenty-five Chinese being employed.
Gold valued at $16 per ounce. On a tributary named Mosquito
Creek very good prospects have lately been obtained — as much
as $40 to a six-foot set of timbers. Work is now going on
here.
Defot Creek. — A tributary of Canon Creek, on the same (west)
side of Dease River with the last. It rises on a plateau high
above the river, where great numbers of quartz reefs occur,
and the gold found is quite rough and full of quartz. Large
nuggets have been obtained, including one of fourteen ounces in
weight. Some work is still in progress, though the creek-bed
is worked out. Gold worth $17 per ounce.
Canon Creek. — No paying deposits found.
Cottonwood Creek. — This large stream heads in the same
mountains with the last, but no paying deposits have been found
upon it.
Beady Creek. — A little mining was done here in 1874 and
1875, but nothing of importance ever found.
Eagle River. — No mining ever developed.
McDame Creek. — Discovered 1874. The highest average
daily yield varied from $6 to $100 to the hand when mining
was at its best. Most of the gold was obtained in what appeared
to be an old high-level channel, which crossed points of terraces
or benches on both sides of the present stream. A very small
proportion of the yield was from the stream-bed. Four or five
whites and forty Chinese are now at work here, the greater
number of the Chinese being employed on wide flats, which
occur about nine miles up the creek. Bench claims run for
about seven miles up the creek or to Holloway's Bar. Gold
worth from $17*75 to $18 per ounce.
Snow Creek, a tributary of the last. — The richest claim found
in Cassiar was near the mouth of this creek, yielding for a
week 300 ounces for six to eight men. Only two men now at
work.
Quartz Creek, a branch of Trout Creek, which is also a
tributary of McDame Creek. — Good claims were worked here,
yielding rough gold full of quartz. Much quartz in the vicinity.
Two miners now at work.
F 2
304 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Rosella Patterson and Dennis Creeks. — Yielded moderate
amounts of gold, paying •" wages," say, at $6 a day. Now
abandoned.
The remaining creeks mentioned in the report cited, viz.
Gold Creek, Slate Creek, Somers Creek or First North Fork
of Me Dame, Third North Fork of McDame, Spring Creek and
Fall Creek, are now abandoned, though several of them yielded
a considerable amount of gold at one time.
Sayyea Creek. — Near the head-waters of the Upper Liard,
yielded excellent prospects, but has never been properly
examined, The gold obtained was found in the benches, and
some of it was very coarse. The creek yielded at the rate of
$10*90 a day to the hand for a short time, to three miners who
discovered it.
Walker Creek. — Said to be distant about seventy miles in an
easterly direction from the mouth of McDame Creek. Some
work has been done here, but no great quantity of gold
obtained.
Black, Turnagain or u Muddy " River. — Reached by trail
running easterly from a point opposite the mouth of McDame
Creek, and said to be ninety miles distant. Fine gold stated
to have been obtained to the value of $20 per day to the hand,
and it is generally believed that coarse gold may occur on its
head- waters. In 1874 prospectors found streams about seventy
miles south-east of Dease Lake, which are supposed to be
tributaries of this river, and yielded $6 a day in coarse gold,
but at the time this was considered too poor to work.
Considerable difficulties were experienced in mining opera-
tions in some parts of the Cassiar district on account of frozen
ground, often met with below the wooded and mossy surface.
It is on record that on Dease Creek the ground continued to
be frozen to the end of a tunnel driven in one hundred and
fifty feet from the slope of the hill, and at a depth of forty feet
from the surface ; but after the woods and moss had been
burnt off, little further complaint was heard of frozen ground.
Very little has yet been done in the way of prospecting for
metalliferous veins in this district, but from what I have been
able to learn it would well repay a thorough examination, and
the comparative ease with which it may be reached from the
THE YUKON TERRITORY 305
coast, together with the facility it affords for the construction
of a good road to the very centre of the district, should not be
forgotten. A specimen of galena, holding a little copper and
iron pyrites, from the " Acadia Claim," South Fork of
McDame Creek, was given to me some years ago by Mr. J. W.
McKay. This has since been assayed by Mr. C. Hoffmann,
and proves to contain seventy-five ounces of silver to the ton
of 2000 Ibs. A piece of native copper, fifteen pounds in weight,
was at one time found in Boulder Gulch, Thibert Creek.
Taking into consideration the great extent of generally
auriferous country included in the Cassiar district, it must be
conceded, that apart from the immediate vicinity of the well-
known productive camps, it has been very imperfectly
prospected. A great part of the district has in fact merely
been run over in search of rich diggings, the simplest and
cheapest methods of prospecting only having been employed in
the quest. It is not improbable that additional rich creeks
like those of the vicinity of Dease Lake may yet be discovered
elsewhere, and it may be considered certain that these are great
areas of poorer deposits which will pay to work with improved
methods, and will eventually be utilized. It is also to be
anticipated that "quartz mining" will ere long be inaugurated,
and will afford a more permanent basis of prosperity than
alluvial mining, however rich.
CHAPTER VI.
Discovery of the Cassiar district by the Hudson Bay Company — Dease Lake found
and named by Mr. J. McLeod, chief trader— The Indian Bridge — Geographical
information obtained by Mr. McLeod — Tooya River the furthest point reached
by him — Attempt by Mr. McLeod's successor to establish a trading post —
Hostile Indians — Success of Mr. R. Campbell — A winter of constant dangers —
Sufferings from starvation — The post abandoned in 1839— The country practically
forgotten from this date until 1872 — Discovery of gold near the abandoned site
of Fort Hallett on the Liard River in 1871 — Population in 1874 — Town of
Laketon — Total yield of gold from the district, including the Stikine — Active
prospecting in the outlying regions — A great influx of miners in 1876 — Fall in the
yield of gold — Decline in the production of the district and the number of miners
since 1876 — The Peak or Blue Mountains — The Cassiar Range — Length of the
Dease River — Height of Dease Lake and the confluence of the Dease and Liard
— Descent of the Dease River— Its ascent — Boating done principally by crews
of Coast Indians — Principal features of Dease River — Cottonwood Creek — Eagle
River— Skree Range — Cottonwood Rapid — McDame Creek — Sylvester's Landing
the point of supply for miners on McDame Creek — The Dease nine miles below
Sylvester's — Sylvester's trail to Turnagain or Black River — Valley of the Rapid
River — The last main reach of the Dease — The " Lower Post " the furthest out-
work of ' ' civilization " — Dates of opening and closing of the Liard River — Main
geological features of the Dease— General aspect and association of the rocks to
the east of the Cassiar Range — Their resemblance to that of the Rocky Mountains
— Dease River fossils — Tertiary shaly clays and coarse soft sandstone extremely
developed above the mouth of the Dease.
THE Cassiar district of the northern interior of British
Columbia may be said to have been twice discovered,
first by officers and employees of the Hudson Bay Company,
and again, after a considerable interval, by the gold miners.
The Hudson Bay Company made an unsuccessful attempt, in
1834, to reach the trade of the interior country west of the
Rocky Mountains from the mouth of the Stikine. In the
summer of 1834, Mr. J. McLeod, chief trader, was exploring the
Liard River above Fort Halkett, and endeavouring to discover
some stream flowing to the westward. He found and named
Dease Lake,1 crossed to the head-waters of the Stikine, which
he proposed to name the " Pelly River," and travelled westward
1 Dease Lake and River were so named by McLeod after Peter Warren,
the Arctic explorer.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 307
in the valley apparently as far as the Tooya or Second North
Fork. The Indian bridge (afterwards named Terror Bridge by
Mr. R. Campbell), by which this river was crossed at the foot
of "Thomas' Fall," was so fragile a construction that neither
McLeod nor any of his eight men ventured to attempt it, and
from this point he and his party retraced their steps.
The geographical information obtained by McLeod is incor-
porated in Arrowsmith's map of 1850. McLeod's route from
the head of Dease Lake, as shown on these maps, crossed the
Tanzilla within a few miles of the lake, and followed its left
bank, recrossing before the main Stikine enters the valley,
probably by an Indian suspension bridge, which is reported still
to exist, within a mile or two of this point. On careful con-
sideration of the facts there can scarcely be any doubt that the
Tooya River was McLeod's furthest point.
In 1836, McLeod's successor at Fort Halkett was instructed
to establish a post across the mountains and to extend the trade
down the Stikine or " Pelly," as it was then called from
McLeod's naming. He left Fort Halkett early in June, with a
party of men and two large canoes, but the expedition entirely
miscarried. The appearance, or reported appearance, of a
large force of hostile Indians at Portage Brule, ten miles above
Fort Halkett, so alarmed the party that they turned back,
abandoning their goods, and ran down stream to Fort Simpson.
In 1838, Mr. R. Campbell volunteered his services to establish
a trading post at Dease Lake, and in the spring of that year he
succeeded in doing so. He was accompanied by a half-breed
and two Indian lads. After ascertaining that the " Pelly "
of McLeod was identical with the Stikine, he returned to
Dease Lake, where, to employ his own words, " we passed a
winter of constant danger from the savage Russian (Coast)
Indians, and of much suffering from starvation. We were
dependent for subsistence on what animals we could catch, and,
failing that, on ' tripe de roche? We were at one time reduced
to such dire straits that we were obliged to eat our parchment
windows, and our last meal before abandoning Dease Lake, on
8th May, 1839, consisted of the lacing of our snow shoes."
1 The discovery and exploration of the Yukon (Pelly) River. Winnipeg,
1885.
308 THE YUKON TERRITORY
The post, thus abandoned, was not again re-occupied. It
had become unnecessary, owing to the leasing of the " coast
strip " of Russian America by Sir George Simpson for the
Company, in consequence of which the trade of the interior
was entirely controlled on both sides by the Company.
From that time the country appears to have been practically
forgotten until 1872, when the discovery of gold by Messrs.
Thibert and McCulloch brought about an entire change in its
conditions. Henry Thibert, a French-Canadian, left the Red
River country in 1869 on a hunting and prospecting expedition
to the west. In 1871 he met McCulloch, a Scotchman, and
together they passed the winter near the abandoned site of
Fort Halkett, on the Liard River, suffering in their turn severe
hardships from scarcity of food. Near this place, probably on
what was known afterwards as McCulloch's Bar, gold was first
found. In 1872 they reached Dease Lake, having been
informed that it was a good locality for fish, with the intention
of securing a sufficient supply for the ensuing winter. Being
told, however, by the Indians, that white men were engaged in
mining on the Stikine not far off, they crossed by the trail from
the head of the lake and reached the mining camp at Buck's
Bar. Early in 1873 they set out on their return to the original
discovery of gold, but meeting with success on Thibert's Creek,
at the lower end of the lake, they were deterred from going
further, and remained working there during the summer, being
joined afterwards by thirteen other miners from the Stikine.
Dease Creek was discovered during the same season, and
Captain W. Moore was among the first to begin work there.
Thibert is still mining in Cassiar, but McCulloch lost his life
some years since on a winter journey on the Stikine.
In 1874 the population, exclusive of Indians, was estimated
to have reached 1500. The placers of McDame Creek were
discovered. Miners descended the Liard for a long distance, and
worked McCulloch's Bar and other river bars. The little town
of Laketon was built at the mouth of Dease Creek, and beef
cattle were for the first time brought across country from the
Upper Fraser. The total yield of gold from the district (which,
from a mining point of view, includes the Stikine) is roughly
estimated to have been equal to $1,000,000,
THE YUKON TERRITORY 309
In 1875 the population is estimated to have been 1081, and
the yield of gold equalled about $830,000, Three hundred head
of cattle were brought from the Fraser overland. This and the
preceding season were the best years of the district. Prospect-
ing was actively carried on in outlying regions, Sayyea Creek
being discovered near the Liard head-waters, and the Frances
River also apparently examined.
Owing to the flattering accounts sent out, a great influx of
miners occurred in 1876, the population being at one time
estimated at 2000. Profitable work could not, however, be
found for so many men, and the yield of gold fell to $499,830.
Walker Creek, said to be from seventy to eighty miles east of
McDame Creek, was discovered, but that stream never proved
very remunerative. Defot Creek was also found, and in 1878
proved rich for a limited area.
Since that time the production of the district and the number
of miners employed have gradually declined, and no important
new creeks have been discovered, though reports of their exist-
ence have from time to time been circulated. The Black or
Turnagain (Muddy) River is the most recent of these, some
attention being drawn to it in 1886.
Though the region about Dease Lake is as a whole rather
low, with isolated mountains and ridges here and there pro-
minent, that to the east and north-east is different, being
studded with rugged mountains, and constituting an important
mountain range with north-west and south-east trend, and a
transverse width of nearly fifty miles. This range appears to
represent a continuation of that named in various maps the
Peak Mountains or Blue Mountains, but as its connection to
the south-eastward is as yet uncertain, and as neither of these
names possesses either a distinctive character or any special
fitness, I believe it will be most appropriate and convenient to
call the range the Cassiar Range, and shall accordingly so
designate it.
The entire length of the Dease River is one hundred and ten
miles, but following all the sinuosities of the stream, one
hundred and eighty miles.
The height of Dease Lake, as previously stated, is 2660 feet.
That of the confluence of the Dease and Liard is about 2100
3IO THE YUKON TERRITORY
feet. The velocity of the current was estimated at three miles
an hour, as a general average, but there are several little rapids,
as well as some rather long tranquil reaches.
The river, from Dease Lake to the Liard, may easily be
descended in two days, but the ascent is a comparatively slowr
process, depending much on the height of the water, and, when
the bars and beaches are not bare for tracking, is a tedious
affair. It is possible that the river might be navigated by small
stern-wheel steamers of good power, as there are no insuperable
obstacles, but doubtful whether such an enterprise would be a
remunerative one, even if the traffic were to assume propor-
tions much greater than at present. Such goods as are now
required at McDame Creek (fifty-five and a half miles below
Dease Lake by the course of the stream) and at the little
trading post at the mouth of the river, are easily taken down
stream in large flat-bottomed boats, which go back light, by
poling and tracking, without great difficulty. The boating on
the river has been done principally by crews of Coast Indians,
who are engaged and brought into the interior for the
purpose.
On leaving Dease Lake, the river is a small stream, averaging
from 100 to 150 feet only in width, extremely tortuous and
rather swift, meandering in a wide, flat valley. At about eight
miles from the lake it enters the mountains, the valley at the
same time gradually narrowing and becoming bordered by
mountains from 4500 to 5000 feet in height. At thirteen
miles from Dease Lake, it expands into a little lake about
a mile and three quarters in length, and between this and
the mouth of Cottonwood Creek it flows through three more
similar lake-like expansions. These are probably formed in all
cases by the partial blocking of the valley by debris brought
in by tributary streams, of which Cottonwood Creek itself is
the last and most important. These lakes constitute impedi-
ments to navigation, as they freeze over in the autumn long
before the ice takes on the river, and remain frozen till late in
the spring.
Dease River rapidly increases in size, and soon doubles its
volume, owing to the number of affluent streams, of which
Cottonwood Creek is the first which may be called a river.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 311
This stream occupies an important valley, bordered by high
ranges. No paying deposits of gold have ever been found
either on this or on Eagle River, which enters the Dease from
the south about four miles further down. Eagle River also
flows between high mountains, and its valley appears to be
parallel to, and analogous with, that occupied by Dease Lake.
It is evidently the "Christie River" of McLeod,1 but this
name has entirely passed out of use, and it appears hopeless to
endeavour to reinstate it. Cottonwood Creek is shown on
Arrowsmith's maps, according to McLeod and Campbell, but
is not named.
There is a considerable development of terraces at high levels
on the sides of some of the mountains, particularly in the part
of the valley which runs along the base of the Skree Range.
Well-marked terraces were here seen on the west side of the
valley, at an estimated height of 2000 feet above the river, or
about 4600 feet above the sea.
Immediately below the mouth of Cottonwood Creek is the
Cottonwood Rapid, in which the course of the river is impeded
by a number of boulders. The rapid is not a formidable one,
or at all dangerous to run, with ordinary care. The river
below Cottonwood Creek runs nearly due east for about ten
miles, with a rather strong current. It then turns more to the
northward, and after making several large flexures, reaches
Sylvester's Landing, at the mouth of McDame Creek, in about
eight miles. Immediately opposite the mouth of McDame
Creek is a remarkably prominent and abrupt rocky mountain,
which it is proposed to name Sylvester Peak. Its height was
estimated at 7000 feet, but the circumstances did not admit of
its measurement.
Sylvester's Landing is the point of supply for the miners on
McDame Creek, also a post for Indian trade. McDame Creek
was discovered to be auriferous in 1874. It has since been
constantly worked, and, with its tributaries, has yielded much
gold, but is now believed to be nearly exhausted. Its valley
1 I have endeavoured in all cases to identify the original names given by
the first explorers in this country, and also to ascertain the native names
of places, but where these have passed entirely out of use by the miners and
traders now in the country, it becomes necessary to drop them, though in
so doing the strict law of priority is, no doubt, transgressed.
^12 THE YUKON TERRITORY
v-J
is wide and important, running north-westward for about seven
miles, and then turning nearly due west.
The mountains bordering McDame Creek, viewed from
Sylvester's Landing, are singularly different from any before
met with. They are evidently composed for the most' part of
limestone, and characterized by the occurrence of long, bare
slopes of shattered rock-fragments. They are scarcely at all
wooded, and in this respect resemble the bare limestone crests
of parts of the Rocky Mountains in more southern latitudes.
Potatoes and turnips of large size are grown every season
without difficulty on McDame Creek.
Nine miles below Sylvester's, the Dease makes its great bend
toward the north, the intervening portion of the river some-
what changing its character from that above described, rock
exposures being comparatively frequent in its banks and bed,
where they produce several little rapids. Forty-mile Creek
enters from the south at somewhat less than the specified
distance below Sylvester's. It appears to be the " Stuart
River " of McLeod, shown on Arrowsmith's map of 1850, but
neither on this nor on that of 1854 is McDame Creek indicated.
Sylvester's trail to Turnagain or Black River (Muddy River of
miners) runs up this valley, and follows a tributary — Sheep
Creek — to the south-eastward, passing near the base of Sheep
Mountain, a high rugged peak estimated at 8000 feet, situated
about five miles and a half south of the Dease. The distance
to the trading outpost on Turnagain River is estimated at
ninety miles, but is probably less. Horses are employed in
packing over the trail.
The valley of the Rapid River joins that of the Dease at
its great bend, just alluded to, but the stream, running parallel
with the Dease for some distance, enters it several miles lower
down.
The northerly course of the river carries it very obliquely
through the eastern portion of the Cassiar Range. The
quantity of snow resting upon the mountains was observed
to be very small, and Sylvester successfully winters his horses
here, without cutting hay or otherwise providing for them,
the depth of snow in winter being so small that it does not
seriously interfere with grazing. This favoured district is, in
THE YUKON TERRITORY 313
fact, homologous with that in the vicinity of Telegraph Creek,
being in the dry lee of the Cassiar Range, just as that is in a
similar situation with respect to the Coast Mountains. Much
of the valley, with the slopes of the hills, is open or partially
wooded with groves of black pine (P. Murray ana] and aspen
poplar. The grass has the tussocky bunch-grass character
usually found in dry regions, and it is intermixed with the
small sage ( A rtemisia frigida] . The bear- berry (A rctostaphlyos
uva-ursi) is not uncommon, and the strawberry and lupin
(Lupinus Nootkatensis) were in flower. Anemone patens was
here also observed for the first time, but long past flowering.
Making allowance for the time occupied in reaching this place
from Telegraph Creek, the progress of vegetation here was
palpably less advanced, but the showing was still a remarkable
one for the latitude, elevation and distance from the sea of the
region.
Below the Rapid River the Dease becomes relatively wide,
with numerous gravel-bars, and in some places many islands,
with frequent " drift piles " or accumulations of timber.
Terraces are well shown on the sides of the mountains, and
reach a height of about 2000 feet above the river.
A few miles before reaching the second great bend, a stream
joins from the west, which has become known to the miners as
French Creek, and is probably the " Detour River " of old maps.
It rises on the north-east slope of the Cassiar Mountains, and is
not large.
The last main reach of the Dease extends from the second
great bend to its mouth, a distance of thirty-one miles in a
direction of N. 55° E. Though the course of the river is far
from being direct, the general bearing leaves the base of the
Cassiar Range nearly at a right-angle. In descending this
part of the river, the mountains soon become invisible from
the river-valley, which is bordered by undulating lowlands, or
low diffuse hills which rise to a plateau at some miles distant,
from 400 to 500 feet above the stream. Banks of frozen soil
were seen in one or two places beneath a peaty or mossy cover-
ing. The climate is evidently more humid than before, and less
favourable to vegetation. The current of the river is swift, and
there are two or three inconsiderable rapids, but none of impor-
314 THE YUKON TERRITORY
tance till within about four miles of the mouth, where there
are several strong rapids ; these at certain stages of the water
are reported to be dangerous, and in all our boats shipped
more or less water. Terraces, as much as 300 feet in height,
approach the river in some places in this part of its course, and
when cut into generally show stratified gravels which sometimes
rest directly on low exposures of rock.
The larch {Larix Americana] was first seen five miles below
the second great bend, and below this place becomes quite
abundant in cold, swampy spots, where it grows with the black
spruce (Picea nigra].
Blue River (the " Caribou River " of Campbell) joins the
Dease twelve miles below the second great bend. It is a stream
fifty feet wide at the mouth, with clear water, and derives its
supply from the north-eastern slopes of the Cassiar Range, to
the north of French Creek.
The " Lower Post," which is the furthest outwork of " civili-
zation " or trade in this direction, is situated at the edge of a
terrace forty feet in height on the left bank of the Liard, about
half a mile above the mouth of the Dease. It is of a very
unpretentious character, consisting of a few low log buildings.
In the vicinity the woods have been entirely destroyed by fire.
The Liard River is said to open, as a rule, from the 1st
to the 5th of May, though in 1887 this did not occur till the i8th
of that month. In the autumn of 1886 it was frozen over on
November 2ist.
It would be impossible, without the expenditure of much time,
to make anything like a complete geological section on the line
of the Dease, the main geological features are, however, suffi-
ciently apparent.
At the first little lake, a granitic area is entered, which
may be regarded as constituting the axis of the Cassiar Range,
and which extends on the river to the mouth of the Cottonwood,
constituting the entire Skree Range, and apparently also Anvil
Mountain and the surrounding high mountain region, with a
transverse width of about thirteen miles. The granite here
differs somewhat from that found on the Stikine in being more
highly quartzose and occasionally garnetiferous. Mica is present
in great abundance, and is in some specimens black, in others of
THE YUKON TERRITORY 315
characteristic pale, silvery colours. The existence of distinctly
gneissic rocks was not ascertained, but the lithological character
of the series resembles that of the lowest rocks of Shuswap
Lake and other districts in the interior of British Columbia to
the south, which have been provisionally referred to the Archsean.
The valley of Cottonwood Creek appears to coincide with the
north-eastern edge of the granites for a number of miles. The
mountains to the north of it, and extending eastward along the
north side of the Dease, are evidently composed of stratified
rocks, including important beds of limestone, the average dip
being about N. 45° E.< 30°. The northern spur of the moun-
tain which terminates the Skree Range, opposite the mouth of
Cottonwood Creek, shows the overlap of the stratified rocks
upon the granites at a considerable height above the river. The
mountains which run southward on both sides of Eagle River
valley seem to be also granitic for the most part, though a
greenish-grey felsite was collected on the river from the northern
spur of the mountain to the east of the valley.
Little was ascertained respecting the rocks composing the
mountains between Eagle River and Sylvester's Landing, but
granite does not reappear in them.
Eleven miles south of the second great bend, on the right
bank of the river, is a low, rocky cliff, about fifteen feet above
the water, capped by about ten feet of bedded white silts. The
rocks are blackish, sandy shales, rather hard in some places,
carbonaceous, and holding a little impure lignite. They are
extremely irregular in dip, and are broken and jumbled up with
a hard, grey quartzite, which is seen in places as the underlying
rock, but is even then singularly shattered. The aspect of the
shales is that of those of the Tertiary rocks, and it is possible
that this locality represents an old shore-line, but more probable
that the rocks form part of an ancient slide, or are upon the
line of disturbance of a fault.
From the second great bend to the mouth of the Dease, the
underlying rocks consist of grey and black schists, the former
generally calc-schists, and the latter more or less highly car-
bonaceous. They are interbedded with thin limestones, which
often weather brown. The calc-schists are frequently glossy,
and in some places form very thin, paper-like layers. Some of
G
316 THE YUKON TERRITORY
these rocks closely resemble those met with at the " Grand
Rapid" on the Stikine. The general strike is north-west by
south-east, but the direction and angle of dip is very varied, and
the beds are frequently much disturbed and twisted, and
traversed by veins of quartz and calcite. There are probably
frequent repetitions of the same horizon, but the general arrange-
ment may be synclinal, the dark shales and schists occupying
the higher position, and being most abundant about the middle
of this length of the river-section. Graptolites were found in
the dark shales, particularly at a locality in a north bend of the
river, eleven miles westward in a direct line from the mouth,
and in appearance the whole series is much like that of the
Cambrian calc-schists and Cambro-Silurian graptolite-shales of
the Kicking Horse (Wapta) valley, west of the summit, on the
line of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
The general aspect and association of the rocks to the east of
the granite axis of the Cassiar Range closely resembles that of
the Rocky Mountains about the 5ist parallel, but differs in the
large proportion of metamorphic materials of volcanic origin,
which, from the debris brought down by streams, must be even
more abundant than the exposures along the river would indicate.
This difference is paralleled by the similar change which is met
with on the 5ist degree of latitude, in passing from the Rocky
Mountains proper to the interior plateau of British Columbia.
A small collection of graptolites, made at the point above
indicated, has been submitted by Mr. J. F. Whiteaves to Prof.
Charles Lapworth, of Mason College, Birmingham, who has
kindly examined them, and furnishes the following note : —
" The graptolites collected by Dr. Dawson from the Dease
River are identical with those examined by me from the rocks
of the Kicking Horse Pass, some time last year. The species I
notice in the Dease River collection are: —
Diplograptus euglyphus (Lapworth).
Climacograptus, comp. antiquus (Lapworth).
Cryptograptus tricornis (Carruthers).
Glossograptus ciliatus (Emmons).
Didymograptus, comp. Sagittarius (Hall).
New form allied to Ccenograptus.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 317
" The graptolite-bearing rocks are clearly of about middle
Ordovician age. They contain forms which I would refer to
the second or Black River Trenton period, i.e. they are never
newer than the Point Levis series and older than the Hudson
and Utica groups. The association of forms is such as we find
in Britain and Western Europe, in the passage-beds between
the Llandeilo and Caradoc limestones. The rocks in Canada
and New York with which these Dease River beds may best
be compared are the Marsouin beds of the St. Lawrence valley
and the Norman's Kill beds of New York. The Dease River
beds may, perhaps, be a little older than these.
" Mr. C. White describes some graptolites from beds in the
mountain region of the west, several years ago, which may
belong to the same horizon as the Dease River zones, though
they have a somewhat more recent aspect.
" The specific identification of the Dease River fossils I
regard as provisional. While the species correspond broadly
with those found in their eastern equivalents, they have certain
peculiarities, which may, after further study or on the discovery
of better or more perfect specimens, lead to their separation as
distinct species or varieties.
" It is exceedingly interesting to find graptolites in a region
so far removed from the Atlantic basin, and also to note that
the typical association of Llandeilo-Bara genera and species is
still retained practically unmodified."
Overlying these old rocks, in several places at about eight
miles from the mouth of the Dease, are shaly clays and coarse,
soft sandstones, associated with which a thin bed of lignite was
observed. These are evidently Tertiary, and referable to the
series afterwards found more extensively developed on the
Liard, above the mouth of the Dease. Some very obscure
remains of leaves were noticed, but none were collected. The
beds dip at various angles, sometimes as high as 15°, and thus
appear to have been, to some extent, affected by flexure sub-
sequent to their deposition. It is not improbable that a con-
siderable part of the higher plateau by which the river is here
bordered on both sides, is composed of these newer rocks resting
upon the upturned edges of the schists.
G 2
CHAPTER VII.
Name of the Liard River defined -The Liard and Frances ascended as far as
Simpson Lake about 1834 — The same route to Frances and Finlayson Lakes
explored in 1840— Geographical information obtained— Width and velocity of the
Upper Liard — General bearing of the Liard and Frances Rivers — The Lower
Canon — Formation of the rocks — Islands at the confluence of the Liard with the
Frances River — The Liard subject to freshets — Trend of the valley above the
confluence— Sayyea Creek — Good gold " prospects " found in this creek — Other
tributaries of the Liard — Composition of gravel bars and shores of the
Liard — Favourable indications in respect of mineral development — Gold found
in layers of gravel deposit — Average width and rate of current of the Frances —
The Middle Canon — General course of the river above the Middle Canon —
Simpson Lake — Indian map of the tributary system — An attractive field for
further exploration — False Canon — Simpson Mountains — Formation of the
mountains in the vicinity of the Frances — Upper Canon, the last serious impedi-
ment to navigation — Rocks of the Upper Canon — The river from the Upper
Canon to Frances Lake— Moose Island — Difference of level between Frances
Lake and the mouth of the Dease — Elevation of Frances Lake — Simpson's
Tower — Campbell Mountains — Resemblance of Frances Lake to a large number
of lakes in British Columbia — Natural beauty of Frances Lake — Thomas River
— Abundance of fish — Character of the country and mountains surrounding the
lake — Composition of the central parts of the Toot-sho Range — Promising aspect
of surface gravel at the mouth of the Finlayson River.
THE name of the Liard River, or Riviere aux Liards, refers
to the abundance of the cottonwood or poplar, and was no
doubt originally given to its lower portion. This name has
been corrupted to " Deloire/' in which form it is generally in
use by the miners of the Cassiar country. It is often spoken of
as the West Branch by traders on the Mackenzie, and has also
been named the Mountain River, and sometimes the Great
Current River or Courant-fort. It is called Too-ti' by the
Indians of the country along its upper part, while according to
Petitot, the Indians nearer the Mackenzie name it Erettchichie
and Thettadesse.1
This river and the Frances appear to have been ascended by
McLeod, about 1834, as far as Simpson Lake, but in 1840 Mr.
R. Campbell explored the same route to Frances and Finlayson
1 Bulletin de la Societe" de Geographic, vol. x., p. 152.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 319
Lakes (as subsequently mentioned in greater detail), and
obtained the most accurate geographical information available
to the present time. Sir J. Richardson, however, in his Arctic
Searching Expedition (1851) gave such particulars of the
Liard as he was able to gather from hearsay (Vol. i., p. 167 ;
ii., p. 203), and mentions having received in 1848, while on the
Mackenzie, Honolulu papers of late date by this route from the
Pacific. On the older maps, the Black or Turnagain River is
designated as the main continuation of the Liard, but it is
much smaller than the " North-west Branch " of these maps,
to which the name is now applied.
The Upper Liard, just above the mouth of the Dease and
opposite the post previously referred to, is 840 feet in width,
and on the 24th of June, 1887, was found to have a maximum
velocity of 4*54 miles per hour. It is a turbid yellowish stream,
and contrasts in this respect with the clearer water of the Dease,
which river, at the confluence with the Liard, probably carries
about half the volume of water above assigned to the latter.
From the mouth of the Dease River to the confluence of the
Frances River, the general bearing of the Liard is nearly due
north-west, the distance, in a straight line, being thirty-three
miles, or following the course of the river, forty-five miles.
The Frances River, which was followed from the last-named
point, disregarding its minor flexures, has a nearly direct north-
and-south course. A straight line drawn from the mouth of
the Dease to the Lower end of Frances Lake is ninety-four
miles in length, but the distance between these points, following
the flexures of the river, is one hundred and thirty-five miles.
Six miles above the mouth of the Dease, by the course of the
river, the entrance of the Lower Canon is reached. The canon
is three miles in length, and at high water it is said to be
necessary to portage the whole of this distance. We were
obliged to lighten the boats and make four small portages over
rocky points, where the current was dangerously swift. The
latitude, observed at noon near the middle of the canon, was
60° 01' 09". Finding that we were so near the northern
boundary of British Columbia (lat. 60°), we made a small cairn
of stones on a prominent rocky point ; a post was erected
in the centre, and on this the latitude was marked. The 6oth
32O THE YUKON TERRITORY
parallel may be said to coincide almost exactly with the lower
end of the canon.
The rocks in the Lower Canon resemble those described as
characterizing the lower part of the Dease River. Quartzites
are also present, and all the rocks are occasionally locally silici-
fied. The whole series is much disturbed and contorted, and is
broken by innumerable small, irregular seams and veins of
quartz and calcite with some dolomite, though no well-marked
or important lodes were seen. Galena is reported to have been
found in some of the veins, and to have yielded a small return
in silver on assay.
The Liard is full of islands at its confluence with the Frances,
rendering it difficult to estimate the relative importance of the
two streams, but they appeared to carry about an equal quantity
of water. The Liard is, however, evidently more subject to
freshets ; Frances Lake doubtless serving to regulate the flow
of the Frances River, which is of a clear, pale, amber colour,
and does not thoroughly mingle with the yellowish, turbid
water of the Liard for some miles. Above the confluence,
the Liard valley is seen to trend off in a south-westerly
direction for ten miles or more, after which it again turns to the
north-westward, and, from the scanty information available
concerning it, seems to flow along the eastern side of the
northern continuation of the Cassiar Range, from which it
receives most of its water.
Sayyea Creek, which is an inconsiderable stream, flows in
from the west about fifty-five miles above the mouth of the
Frances. Good gold " prospects " were found on this creek in
1875, a number of pieces worth ten dollars having been
obtained, but little work has ever been done. Of a party of
miners who spent the winter of 1874-5 in its vicinity, four died
of scurvy. Of the other tributaries of the Liard, which must be
numerous, I have been unable to ascertain anything authentic.
The gravel-bars and the shores of this part of the Liard are
almost half composed of rolled quartz pebbles, which have
evidently been derived from veins traversing relatively soft
schistose rocks like those of the canon. The great quantity of
such vein material present in this district may be regarded as a
favourable indication in respect of mineral development. Some
THE YUKON TERRITORY 321
small bars have paid to work along this part of the river, and
gold is also found in some layers of the gravel deposit which
overlies the older rocks along the canon and above it, where
"wages" at $4 a day can be made. The amount of cover
which it soon becomes necessary to remove in following the
paying layers, has prevented extensive mining, but probably
these gravels might be advantageously worked as a whole, by
sluicing or by the hydraulic method.
For the first few miles above its mouth the Frances is
extremely tortuous, so much so that the distance following the
actual course of the river to the foot of the canon is twenty-two
miles. This river, like the Liard, was at a medium stage near
the end of June, 1887. Marks along the banks showed that it
had been about six feet higher in the spring, and that it had
since been falling. Its average width in this part is about 600
feet, and the rate of the current, at the medium stage above
referred to, about four miles and a half an hour.
The highest land immediately bordering on this part of the
river is a terrace at a height of about 150 feet above it, the
surface of which is in some places composed of almost pure
sand, upon which open woods of Pinus Murrayana grow.
Larch was observed to be moderately abundant in damp, shady
localities, and the banks were in some places diversified with
flowers, of which Potentilla fruticosa and Primula mistassinica
were specially noted.
Quartz is not so abundant a constituent of the gravel of the
river-bars on this part of the Frances as it is on the Liard
below, and no basalt blocks or boulders were observed here.
The Middle Canon, as it may be called for the purpose of
distinguishing it, is about three miles in length, the river being
hemmed in by broken, rocky cliffs of 200 to 300 feet in height
for the greater part of this distance. We took our boats up
along the south-east bank, making four short portages of part
of the stuff, and two of both boats and load, across narrow,
rocky points. One portage of greater length, on the opposite
bank, would overcome all the really bad water, but the banks
on that side are rougher, and the whole force of the current
sets against the cliff in one place in a dangerous manner. The
total fall in the canon is estimated at about thirty feet.
322 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Above the Middle Canon, the general course of the river is
again north-north-westward for about twelve miles. It is
usually bordered by quite low land on both sides, and the valley
between the southern end of the Simpson Mountains and
northern part of the Tses-T-uh Range is about three miles in
width. The wide, uniform plateau country is now, however,
left behind, and we enter a generally mountainous region, though
the highest summits in this immediate vicinity scarcely exceed
3000 feet above the river. Their forms are rather rounded and
flowing, and the slopes of those on the east bank are nearly bare
of trees, while the opposite range is generally wooded, but
evidently with trees of small growth. The river itself is wide
and deep, with a rather slack current.
Near the end of this reach of the river, two considerable
streams enter on the west side, and on one or other of these,
at no great distance from the river, Simpson Lake of McLeod
and Campbell is situated. As the Indians who had accom-
panied us from the mouth of the Dease had deserted before we
reached this place, I was unable to ascertain any definite
particulars respecting the lake, though it is reported to be a good
one for fish. The position of Simpson Lake, as indicated by
broken lines on the map, must therefore be regarded as quite
uncertain. The same doubt applies to the Indian names of
several rivers tributary to the Frances above this point, for
although one of the local Indians had made an elaborate char-
coal drawing of the whole system for us, upon a sheet of canvas
used as a boat cover, it proved to be extremely difficult to
recognize the features represented. The Indian map, such as
it is, serves to show that the streams tributary to the Frances
River rise in a number of lakes ; some of these are reported to
be of considerable size, and offer a most attractive field for
further exploration. We were told, however, that none of the
lakes in this region are equal in size to Frances Lake, for
which we were heading, a statement borne out by the circum-
stance that both this and Dease Lake are known in their
respective districts as Too-tsho, or " big lake," while the Frances
and Dease Rivers are, as already mentioned, both similarly
named Too-tsho-tooa', or " big lake river."
From the point just noted, the direction of the river changes
THE YUKON TERRITORY 323
to north-east, cutting across the direction of the Tses-i-uh
Range, which terminates at the edge of the river in low, wooded
hills. The current is moderately swift throughout, and in one
place the river is bordered on both sides by low, rocky banks,
but no rapids are met with. This we named the False Canon.
One or possibly two streams enter from a valley which runs to
the east of the range just mentioned, but they are not of large
size. Greyish-green, quartzose mica-schist and greenish silvery
schists were seen in one or two places, and in the low rocky
banks above alluded to, blackish argillites and grey quartzites,
of a less altered appearance than usual, but from which no fossils
were obtained, occur.
From the end of this reach the general course of the stream
again becomes north-north-west for about thirteen miles, running
for the greater part of this distance parallel to, and a mile or
two miles from the base of a mountain range, which comes in
to the east of the Tses-i-uh Range. The country to the west of
the river is here either flat or characterized merely by low,
rounded and wooded hills for many miles back, the eye ranging
across this country to the continuation of the Simpson Moun-
tains, which, with generally rounded forms and no striking
summits, reach elevations of 6000 to 6500 feet. These
mountains do not form a strictly connected range, but appear
rather as a series of mountainous areas, separated by wide, low
passes. The Indian map above referred to shows three or four
lakes in this region, supplying a stream named Too-tshi-too-a,
which flows into the Frances, reaching it probably just above
the Upper Canon. None of these lakes were visible from any
point reached by us. On the opposite side, one stream of con-
siderable size joins the Frances. This is supposed to be the
Aga-zi-za of the Indians, and, if so, is represented as rising
in a chain of small lakes, some of which drain in an easterly
direction to the Macpherson (Eg-is-e-too'-a) River. The valley
occupied by these lakes is a travelled route employed by the
Indians.
The current is swifter in the upper than in the lower portion
of this part of the Frances, and there are numerous islands in
the river, but no rock-exposures occur. The mountains to the
east of the river are high, but have blunt, rounded forms.
324
THE YUKON TERRITORY
Much bare rock shows in their sides, but there is no appearance
of stratification, and this, with their form and colour, and the
great abundance of that material found in the streams in this
vicinity, renders it nearly certain that they are composed of
granite.
The mountains so far met with in the vicinity of the Frances
form rather isolated ranges or masses, which rise somewhat
abruptly from generally low country, or are separated by wide
valleys, the appearance being that of a mountain system partly
buried in later deposits ; though no Tertiary rocks, either in
place or as loose fragments, are met with above the Middle
Canon. The granitic mountains last referred to form an out-
lying spur or buttress of the most important range of the
district, the axis of which is here about twelve miles east of the
river. This it is proposed to designate the Too-tsho Range?
The southernmost high summit observed was named, from its
form, Tent Peak. It is situated in latitude 60° 52' 45", and has
an altitude of 7860 feet above the sea.
The river next makes an abrupt turn to the west for four
miles, a mile and a quarter of this distance being occupied by a
series of rapids, which are rocky and rather strong, and have a
total fall of about thirty feet. The banks rise steeply from the
river to heights of 100 to 200 feet, though the rocky cliffs along the
water are of inconsiderable height, scarcely anywhere exceeding
fifty feet. This place may be named the Upper Canon, and is
the last serious impediment to the navigation of the river. We
found it necessary to make several short portages, but with a
large boat and at a good stage of the river, it is probable that
one portage of about a thousand feet in length, on the south
bank, would overcome all the dangerous water, while the boat
might be tracked up light. A stream, with moderate current at
the mouth and about fifty feet wide, enters a short distance
below the canon, coming from the mountains to the north of
Tent Peak. The rocks of the Upper Canon comprise black,
glossy calc-schists, black quartzite or chert, bluish limestone,
and some green-grey silvery schist. Similar rocks are seen
again a couple of miles up the river, above the canon, where a
1 From the native name of Frances Lake. I was unable to ascertain the
Indian name of this range, if indeed it has any such,
THE YUKON TERRITORY 325
rapid occurs. The dips are all low, and, so far as observed,
uniformly in a northerly direction. Some of the schists are
highly silicified by action subsequent to their deposition, and
parts of all the rocks, including the limestone, are reticulated
with narrow quartz seams. Near the upper part of the canon
some hard conglomerates occur, holding schistose fragments, as
well as limestone pebbles, in which crinoidal joints are observ-
able. It is not improbable that two unconformable series of rock
occur here, but I was unable to find means of distinguishing
them in the sections.1
From the Upper Canon to Frances Lake, a distance of
twenty-one miles and a half in a straight line, the river main-
tains a northerly direction with considerable uniformity. It is
deep, with a moderate current, for about eight miles, or to
Moose Island, above which for ten miles the current is again
swift, averaging from four and a half miles to five miles an hour.
It again becomes slack for a short distance below the lake.
Some portions of this part of the river are much broken up by
islands and gravel-bars.
Our actual working time on Frances River, from its mouth
to the lake, was sixty-seven hours and a half. The difference
of level between Frances Lake and the mouth of the Dease is
477 feet. By assigning ninety feet to the fall in the three
canons, and dividing the remainder by the total length of
the river (less the aggregate length of the canons), we obtain
an average rate of descent very slightly exceeding three feet to
the mile, which is about what might be anticipated from the
current met with in the river, as compared with that of other
streams in the district.
The elevation of Frances Lake above the sea, as determined
by a series of barometer observations extending from the 8th to
the i6th of July, is 2577 feet. Three miles from its lower end
the lake bifurcates, forming two approximately equal and nearly
parallel arms, with lengths of about thirty miles. The two
arms are about eight miles apart, and are separated by a
group of low, rounded mountains ; the culminating point,
with an elevation of 5230 feet, was named Simpson's Tower by
1 If so, the rocks here noted may represent the Cretaceous to which they are
lithologically similar,
326 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Campbell, the lake itself receiving its name at the same time
in honour of Lady Simpson. The eastern' side of its east arm
is bordered by the Too-tsho Range or hills attached to it, while
the country to the west of the west arm rises more gradually to
the bases of the Campbell Mountains, some miles distant.
Though so far referred to as a single lake-, this body of water is
in reality entitled to be considered as a group of lakes. It
appears best, however, to retain Campbell's original name for
the whole body of water, rather than to multiply names for
which there is no immediate call.
Frances Lake closely resembles a large number of lakes in
the mountainous regions of British Columbia, and has the long
narrow parallel-sided outline characteristic of lakes occupying
old valley- excavations, the drainage of which has become
interrupted in various ways. In this case, as in a number of
others, there can be little doubt that the lake is held in by
morainic accumulations.
Except along the upper part of the eastern side of the east
arm, the mountains do not slope down abruptly to the shores
of the lake. Elsewhere, the lake is almost continuously
bordered by a terrace-like plateau, which is widest to the west,
and has an average elevation of about 300 feet. This resem-
bles the low country about Dease Lake, though even more
uniform and less sloping in character, and is not far from the
same actual elevation above the sea in both cases. The
streams entering the lake generally cut down through the edges
of this plateau-like margin, in deep narrow gorges ; the sections
show that it is composed largely of rock, though levelled
up to some extent by the addition of superficial gravelly
deposits. There is, in addition to this, a second lower terrace,
not so well marked, and not often of great width, at an eleva-
tion of ninety feet above the lake. This is seen on both arms,
and is composed of gravel and other detrital deposits.
Few lakes which I have seen surpass Frances Lake in
natural beauty, and the scenery of the east arm, bordered on
the east by the rugged masses of the Toot-sho Range, is
singularly striking. The mountains of this range are very
varied in form, and a number of points surpass 7000 feet in
height, while one was found to attain an elevation of about
THE YUKON TERRITORY 327
9000 feet. This is named Mount Logan, for the late Sir W. E.
Logan. Heavy masses of snow rest in some of the valleys, but
no true glaciers are produced, a fact indicating a comparatively
small snowfall.
The west arm terminates in a nearly circular basin about a
quarter of a mile in diameter ; at one side of this a fair-sized
river, easily navigable for boats, flows in. The east arm
was not followed to its head, though its termination in low
land was seen. Here also, according to Campbell's sketch, a
considerable river, which he has named Thomas River, enters.
The two valleys, the lower parts occupied by the east
and west arms of the lake, run on far beyond the heads
of these arms. Each of the rivers flowing in these valleys
eventually bifurcates, and all four streams thus formed rise in
lakes. The river flowing into the head of the west arm is named
Yus-sez'-uh, and the lake on its western branch is known as
Us-tas'-a-ts/w. No name was obtained for the lake on its
eastern branch, which is evidently, however, Macpherson Lake
of Campbell.
The mountains to the north in which these rivers rise, were
too distant to enable us to fix them with any great accuracy
from points occupied by us on Frances Lake, but the whole
country in that direction, from such views as were obtained of
it, appeared to be rugged and high.
The water of Frances Lake is clear and of a pale, brownish
tint, and the lake is evidently very deep in its upper portions,
though rather shallow where encumbered by the morainic
accumulations already alluded to, and it does not appear to be
subject to very great fluctuations. Driftwood is very abundant
along some parts of the shores, particularly in the west arm,
and it is probable that much of this is brought down by the
river entering at the head of this arm. Lake-trout, white-fish,
pike, and suckers were found in the lake in considerable
abundance.
The site of the old Hudson Bay post is just above the narrow
entrance to the east arm, on the edge of the bank, facing
westward. Though Mr. Campbell had given me an accurate
description of its position, it was so completely overgrown with
bushes and small trees, that it was discovered with difficulty.
328 THE YUKON TERRITORY
The outline of the old stockade, with bastions at the corners, is
still visible, though all traces of the structure itself has dis-
appeared. This post has been abandoned since 1851.
All the lower country about Frances Lake is well wooded,
and the mountains are also covered with forest, save where
exceptionally steep and rocky, to a height of at least 1500 feet
above the lake, while trees of smaller growth extend in the
valleys considerably higher. The most abundant tree, here
as elsewhere in the region, is the white spruce (Picea alba}.
It frequently attains a diameter of two feet, growing tall and
straight on low ground and in sheltered places. The black
spruce (Picea nigrd) is also abundant. The larch (Larix
Americana) is characteristic of damp, cool, northern slopes, and
birch (Betula papyrifera) is moderately abundant, though not
large. The shores, and particularly the delta-flats at the
mouths of streams, are characterized by groves of cottonwood
(probably all referable here to Populus balsamifera] and black
pine (Pinus Murray ana).
Large tracts of country have been burnt over, many years
ago, and extensive recent fires have swept the western side of
the upper part of the east arm. Where a second growth has
had time to spring up, it generally consists of mixed spruce,
aspen and birch. Alders are common, but scarcely arboreal,
along the borders of the lake. In the middle of July thickets
of wild roses in full bloom were seen in many places.
Taken as a whole, the growth of the forest and appearance
of the country is remarkably pleasing, considering the high
and northern position of the lake. The only characteristic
difference of the woods here, as compared with those of the
interior of British Columbia about the 54th parallel, is the
great abundance and depth of the soft, mossy and lichenous
floor which is everywhere found in them. The trees are also
often well bearded with moss, affording evidence of a
continuously moist atmosphere, to be accounted for by the
almost daily occurrence of light showers and the great
prevalence of clouded skies, which was found throughout this
part of the country. As before noted, however, the snowfall
cannot be great, nor is there any indication that the total annual
precipitation is very considerable.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 329
The high rugged central parts of the Too-tsho Range are
composed largely or entirely of grey granite; its pebbles
and boulders everywhere abundant, and particularly so
along the beaches of the east arm. There is, too, a notable
abundance of quartz along all the beaches of the lake, this
material being derived from innumerable veins which traverse
the schists in all directions, though most often found parallel
to the bedding-planes, and generally assuming forms more or
less lenticular. The largest of these are often several feet in
width, and those seen in the canon of the Finlayson, near its
mouth, are of workable dimensions, if only moderately rich in
gold. Specimens of quartz veins, containing some iron and
copper pyrites, from the east side of the east arm about midway
up it, were found to contain traces of gold on assay by Mr.
Hoffmann.
In general appearance the rocks of Frances Lake very
closely resemble those from which the rich placer gold deposits
of Dease Lake are derived, and they are probably of about the
same age. Several "colours" to the pan were obtained from
surface gravel at the mouth of Finlayson River, which struck
me as specially promising in aspect, and there seems to be no
reason why some of the streams flowing across the schistose
rocks into the lake or in its vicinity should not prove to be
richly auriferous. This entire district well deserves careful
prospecting. After my return to the coast, in the autumn, I
ascertained from Charles Monroe that he and some other miners
had actually done some prospecting in the vicinity of the lake
at the time when the Cassiar mines were yielding largely, and
the more enterprising men were scouring the country in search
of new fields. He reached the lake from Cassiar by the same
route we had followed. On comparing notes, we found that he
had worked for a short time at the mouth of the Finlayson,
where he found the gravel to pay at the rate of from $8 to $9 a
day.
CHAPTER VIII.
Arrival at Frances Lake — Difficulties of overland journey towards the Felly — Search
for the trail used by the Hudson Bay Company — No sign of a trail discovered —
Indian assistance unobtainable — The expedition compelled to make the best of
its own resources — Continuation of journey — Slow rate of progress — Finlayson
Lake eventually reached — Observations taken — Arrival at the Pelly River — The
region between Frances Lake and the Pelly — General character of the country
and climate — The lower part of the Finlayson — McEvoy Lake — Length and
elevation of Finlayson Lake — Fish plentiful — Low and swampy character of the
shores — Distance from the head of the lake to the nearest point on the Pelly —
Vegetation in the vicinity of the Pelly — Soil of the river terraces — Quartz vein-
stuff everywhere abundant — First camp on the Pelly—Hoole Canon — Pelly
Range — Identification of Hoole River — Banks and beaches of the Pelly above
Hoole River — The river at Hoole Canon — Ross River — The Pelly between the
canon and Ross River — Rocks of Hoole Canon and its vicinity — General course
of the Pelly from Ross River to Glenlyon River — Lapie River — Formation of the
mountains north and south of the Pelly — Densely wooded character of the
northern slopes — Forest growth — Rapids in the vicinity of the Glenlyon — Com-
position of rocks between the Ross and Glenlyon — Occurrence of rocks of
Laramie or Cretaceous age — Tributary streams — The Pelly below Glenlyon
River — Glenlyon Mountains — The Detour — Macmillan River — Coalescence of
the Macmillan and Pelly valleys — Upper part of the Macmillan unexplored —
First human beings met with since leaving Dease River — Confluence of the
Upper Pelly and Lewes Rivers- — The Pelly below the Macmillan— Granite
Canon— Character of the country — The current from Granite Canon to the
confluence.
WE reached Frances Lake on the morning of the 8th of
July, and had we been able to find any local Indians to
serve as guides and assist in carrying over our stuff, we should
have proceeded at once to the best point for that purpose, and
continued our journey overland toward the Pelly. As it was,
it became our first object to endeavour to find the trail used
many years previously by the Hudson Bay Compay, of which
a general description had been furnished by Mr. Campbell.
This necessitated a careful examination of the west shore of the
west arm to its head, which enabled us to identify, with
tolerable certainty, the stream which Campbell had named the
Finlayson. It was supposed that the Indians might have
THE YUKON TERRITORY 331
employed the same route in the periodical journeys which they
were known to make from the Pelly down the Frances to the
little trading post at the mouth of the Dease ; but though the
remains of an old log cache of the Hudson Bay Company were
eventually found, together with the nails and ironwork of a
large boat which had evidently been burnt on the beach near
it, no sign of a trail could be discovered. It thus appeared
very doubtful whether we should be able to make our way across
to the Pelly, with sufficient provisions and the necessary instru-
ments for the continuation of our survey in the Yukon basin.
In order to exhaust the . possibility of obtaining further
assistance before making the attempt, I made a light trip in
one of our boats round into the east arm ; this was known to
exist from Campbell's report, but its narrow entrance had
not even been observed on our way up the lake. Thus I was
enabled to sketch the east arm, but no Indians were found.
In fact, we discovered traces of only a single camp which had
been made during the same summer, most of the Indian signs
being two or more years old.
All that could now be done was to make the best of
our own resources. We went carefully over all our stuff,
discarding everything which was not absolutely essential,
and making up the remainder in packs, together with as
much food as could be carried. This done, we stowed a great
part of our camp equipage, together with some provisions, in a
strong log cache, which was constructed for the purpose in
the bay immediately south of the mouth of the Finlayson,
and moved on the north side of the delta to what we
believed to be the best starting-point of that stream. We
then hauled out our two boats, and on the i7th and i8th of
July carried our remaining stuff to a point some miles up the
Finlayson and above the canon and cascades, which render its
lower part utterly impassable. Here we set up the Osgood
canvas boat, which we had also carried over. Into this a portion
of our stuff was put, and two of our Coast Indians were in-
structed to endeavour to track it up the shallow and winding
stream, while the rest of the party found their way as best they
could along the valley, with heavy packs. The walking was
extremely fatiguing on account of the deep moss, alternating
H
332 THE YUKON TERRITORY
with brush and swamps, and as the weather was very warm
and the mosquitoes innumerable, our rate of progress was slow.
On arriving at the forks of the stream we unfortunately took
the wrong branch for several miles, thus losing time, but we
eventually reached a lake which we recognized as Finlayson
Lake, on July 24th. The canvas boat did not arrive till the
evening of the next day ; for we had great difficulty in getting
it up the shallow stream, which was badly blocked with fallen
trees. In the meantime, observations for latitude and time
were taken, and a raft was constructed on which the stuff
might be floated to the head of the lake ; the latter lay in the
general direction of our route.
The lake proved to be nine miles and a half in length, and
near its head we again found the ruins of a Hudson Bay cache,
but no appearance of a trail. Having selected the most
promising looking place from which to continue our journey,
we took out the raft-sticks, in order that they might remain dry
and serviceable for our Indians on their return, and made a
second small cache of provisions. The Osgood boat being
almost worn out by its hard usage on the Finlayson, and being
besides quite too heavy to carry overland in addition to our
other stuff, was also drawn up and abandoned.
Soon after leaving the lake we came upon small streams which
evidently drained towards the west, and about noon on the
29th of July we had the satisfaction of reaching the bank of the
Pelly River. From this place our five Coast Indians were sent
back with instructions to take the articles left in the cache on
Frances Lake to Mr. Reed, at Dease Lake. This duty, we
subsequently learned, they faithfully performed.
Having constructed a canoe from the canvas brought over for
that purpose, we began the descent of the Pelly on the ist of
August.
Though the region between Frances Lake and the Pelly may
be described as a mountainous one, no very high summits were
seen ; the elevations are, as a rule, rounded and regular in
outline, and form broad, plateau-like areas above the timber-
line in some places. The Too-tsho Mountains, which run
along the east arm of Frances Lake nearly due north, turn more
to the westward beyond the head of the lake.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 333
It is probable that the general character of the country
fairly represents that of a wide belt to the west of the Frances
River and north of the Liard, including the Campbell and
Simpson Mountains and their vicinity. The mountains are
about equal in altitude to those last mentioned, averaging
from 5000 to 6000 feet. The country is traversed by wide,
wooded valleys ; that occupied by the Finlayson is the princi-
pal one. The climate evidently becomes less moist as Frances
Lake and the vicinity of the Too-tsho Mountains are left.
The lower part of the Finlayson for about four miles, near its
mouth, forms a series of rapids and small cascades in a narrow,
rocky gorge, making in this distance a total descent of 300 feet
to the lake. Above this canon it is rapid for several miles, with
gravelly bars, and quite shallow, but further up it becomes a
narrow and often deep stream, flowing between muddy or
sandy banks. At twenty-two miles from its mouth it divides
into two equal branches ; the northern comes from McEvoy
Lake, the southern from Finlayson Lake. Each of these
streams, at their confluence, is from twenty-five to thirty feet in
average width and about two feet deep. The northern branch,
however, soon becomes shallow, rapid and stony, while that
coming from Finlayson Lake is extremely crooked, winding in
all directions in a flat valley about a mile in width, and is
besides, as already mentioned, very badly blocked by fallen
trees.
Finlayson Lake (Tle-tlan'-a-tsoots of the Indians) is nine
miles and a half in length and irregular in form. Its elevation
above sea-level is 3105 feet, and it may be regarded as occupy-
ing the summit of the watershed between the Mackenzie and
the Yukon, as no stream of any importance enters it. The
country about it is all low, but diversified, to some extent, by
wooded ridges and hills, which rise highest near its upper end.
The water is apparently shallow throughout, and has, in con-
sequence, a much higher temperature than that of Frances
Lake. It is well stocked with white-fish and lake trout, and
also, no doubt, with the other species found in Frances Lake.
The immediate shores of the lake are generally low and often
swampy, and the country is covered with small, poor timber ;
much of this has been killed by fire.
H 2
334 THE TOKON TERRITORY
The distance from the head of the lake to the nearest point
on the Pelly, in a straight line, is about fifteen miles, but the
low tract of country already referred to runs some miles to the
south of such a line for the greater part of the way. The actual
watershed in this low country is probably not fifty feet above
the lake, but there is no evidence that the lake ever discharges
toward the Pelly. Its height above sea-level is about 3150
feet. Small streams, rising to the west of the lake, flow
together to form a respectable brook about half way across.
This occupies a wide, terraced valley, the bordering ridges
gradually diverge as the Pelly is approached, and the river
itself is bordered by undulating terrace-flats several miles in
width.
On ridges west of the head of Finlayson Lake Abies
subalpina becomes moderately abundant, but the white and
black spruce are still the characteristic trees, and the former is
well grown in sheltered valleys. The vegetation in the vicinity
of the Pelly was much further advanced than any we had yet
seen, and the climate of the valley is evidently more favourable
than that of the watershed region. The soil of the river-terraces
is a fine, silty material, which, judging from the luxuriance
of plant growth, must be very fertile.
In consequence of the width of the valleys and the mantle
of drift deposits, few rock-exposures were met with along the
whole route from Frances Lake to the Pelly. But quartz
vein-stuff is everywhere very abundant, and on the terrace
overlooking the Finlayson, on the north side, three miles below
the lake, a large mass of quartz occurs in places. The extent
of this mass of quartz could not be ascertained, as it protruded
from the soil only in isolated spots over an area several hundred
feet in length and breadth.
Our first camp on the Pelly was situated in lat. 61° 48' 52",
long. 131° 01' 06", the height of the river being at this place,
as approximately determined from the mean of a number of
barometer observations, 2965 feet. The river is here 326 feet
wide, with a current slightly exceeding two miles and a half an
hour, and a middle depth of seven feet. From explorations
made at the time of the existence of the Hudson Bay post, as
well as from Indian report, the river is known to be navigable
THE YUKON TERRITORY 335
by boats for a considerable distance above this point, and to
rise in two lakes, the position of which is approximately indi-
cated on the map, according to Mr. Campbell's sketch. Our
camp was about two miles above the mouth of the stream which
has already been mentioned as rising on the portage near
Finlayson Lake, at the angle of the Pelly, the old post named
" Pelly Banks." We saw no trace of the buildings which
formerly existed.
From the site of our first camp to Hoole Canon, is a dis-
tance of thirty-one miles in a straight line ; its direction is
a few degrees north of west. The river, however, forms a wide
curve to the south of this line, and is tortuous in detail, the
actual distance, following its course, being fifty miles. The
main orographic river-valley is here not confined between
parallel ranges of mountains. There is a wide tract of irregu-
larly hilly country, bounded to the south by a well-defined
mountain range at a distance of from ten to twelve miles. This
range is crowned by a series of square-outlined pyramidal peaks,
which are probably composed of stratified rocks. It is proposed
to distinguish it as the Pelly Range. To the northward, no
definite boundary to the low hilly region can be seen. The
actual trough in which the river meanders is scarcely more than
a mile in average width, and is generally bordered by terraces a
hundred feet or more in height.
Thirty-three miles, by the course of the river, below our
starting-point, a tributary comes in from the mountains to the
southward, about fifty feet wide by one deep, and very rapid.
This is identified as Hoole River. Its water is blueish in tint,
and clearer than that of the Upper Pelly, which by this time
has become slightly turbid from material derived from its soft,
silty banks. The river, between our first camp and Hoole River,
has a moderate current, scarcely exceeding four miles and a
half an hour, though with several little " riffles " or small rapids.
Just below the mouth of Hoole River is a rapid about 600
feet long, with a total fall estimated at about ten feet. There
is an easy portage on the right or north' bank, but a fair-sized
boat might run through without danger at most stages of the
water. From this rapid to Hoole Canon the water is swift, and
there are several little rapids.
336 THE YUKON TERRITORY
The banks and beaches of the Pelly above Hoole River are
generally silty or muddy, though the strength of the current is
sufficient to produce well-washed gravel-bars in mid-stream.
Below that point the banks and beaches are also as a rule
gravelly, in conformity with the swifter flow of the stream.
The banks along the south side of this part of the river are
for the most part densely wooded, and where shady and damp
the growth of timber is small and scrubby, with much black
spruce. The banks on the opposite side above Hoole River
show numerous open, grassy patches, and below that place
grassy slopes preponderate over the wooded area, the grass
having the characteristic growth and dry, tufted appearance of
"bunch-grass." The trees are similar to those found along the
rivers previously described, except that Pimis Murrayana and
larch do not occur, and but a single white birch was noted,
near the mouth of Hoole River.
At Hoole Canon, the river makes a knee-like bend to the
north-eastward, and is restricted between rocky banks and
cliffs about a hundred feet in height. These render it impractic-
able to use the line, and the water is very rough and dangerous.
The distance by the river is about three-quarters of a mile, by
the portage half a mile, the highest point being one hundred
feet above the river. The portage is on the south side of the
river, and we found traces on it of skids which had been laid
by the Hudson Bay Company many years ago, but no sign
that it had been employed by the Indians, who in all this
district generally travel by land, making rafts when they are
obliged to cross any of the larger rivers.
Sixteen miles and a half below the canon in a straight line,
or twenty-three miles by the course of the Pelly, is the mouth
of a river which is identified as the Ross River of Campbell.1
This stream, which comes from the north-eastward, is to all
appearance equal in volume to the Pelly, having a width of 290
feet, with a current of four miles and a half an hour. Its water
is turbid and milky, and colder than that of the Pelly, leading
to the belief that it is not derived from lakes, like that stream,
or that if lakes do occur on its upper waters, they are much less
1 So named after Chief Factor Donald Ross,
THE YUKON TERRITORY 337
in area than those of the Pelly. Like other streams from that
direction, it carries clear, blue, mountain water, and brings
down quartzites, argillites and schists of the usual character,
together with a great abundance of quartz-gravel.
The Pelly, between the canon and Ross River, is swift
throughout, with numerous little rapids. To the south of the
river there is still a wide extent of low, wooded country between
it and the continuous range before referred to as the Pelly
Mountains. To the north the view is more limited, particularly
near the mouth of the Ross River, owing to the existence of a
long, steep ridge, parallel to the course of the Pelly, and from
600 to 800 feet in height above it. The southern face of this
ridge, which is cut through by the Ross River, is more than
half, open grass land, and would afford excellent pasturage.
The rocks of Hoole Canon and its vicinity are chiefly white
marble, associated and interbedded with grey and blaak cherty-
looking quartzites, which are often thin-bedded and sometimes
rather schistose, and precisely resemble the Cache Creek
quartzites of southern British Columbia,
From the mouth of Ross River to the Glenlyon River, the
general course of the Pelly is almost direct, on a bearing of
N. 50° W., the distance being sixty-four miles. Inconsequence
of the number of minor flexures in the stream, this is increased
by the river to eighty-two miles. Ten miles below the Ross,
following the river, Lapie River? sixty feet wide by one foot
deep, and resembling in its general character and colour of
water Hoole and Ketza Rivers, comes in from the south.
Twenty-three miles from the same point a smaller tributary
joins from the north, which is supposed to be the Orchay of
Campbell.
All the way from the Ross to the Glenlyon the Pelly is
closely bordered on the north by ridges and hills of considerable
height, which become mountains of 4000 to over 5000 feet before
the last-mentioned stream is reached. These entirely preclude
any outlook over the country on that side. To the south, the
important and well-marked Pelly Range is continued to a point
1 This stream was not named by Campbell. I call it Lapie River, after
one of his Indians, he having given the name of the other (Ketza) to a
neighbouring tributary.
338 THE YUKON TERRITORY
opposite the Orchay River, where it appears to terminate in a
group of mountains lower than those of its eastern part, but
still from 5000 to 6000 feet in height. The forms of the moun-
tains are bold, consisting of steep crests and ridges, with inter-
vening narrow gorges, and they appear to be covered with low
herbaceous growth, giving them a greenish tint. There are few
bare, rocky summits, and the whole appearance is that of a
range shaped by normal processes of denudation from schistose
or other crumbling rocks of a stratified character and nearly
uniform hardness. They still carried a few patches of old snow
on the 4th of August. The greater humidity of this part of the
valley is particularly marked by the densely wooded character
of the slopes on the north side of the river.
The Pelly, for more than half the distance between the Ross
and Glenlyon, continues to be pretty swift, and is much divided
among islands and gravel-bars ; the remaining part is compara-
tively tranquil, with the exception of the rapids in the immediate
vicinity of the Glenlyon. The forest growth throughout is much
like that previously described, save that the birch is now moder-
ately abundant, and the black pine (P. Murrayana) appears,
coming in first on dry northern slopes thirteen miles eastward from
the Glenlyon. Cottonwood, aspen, alder, spruce, and willows are
the prevailing trees on the river-flats, which are usually about
ten feet above low water level. Frozen soil was again seen in
several places along the shady side of this part of the river,
extending from about eighteen inches below a mossy and peaty
sod to the water level, with a depth of ten feet or more. Some
of these banks were being rapidly undercut by the water, which
thaws the soil wherever it comes in contact with it, and causes
large masses, with the superincumbent sod and trees, to fall
into the stream.
The rapids above alluded to as near the Glenlyon are two in
number. The first occurs in an S-snaPed bend about two
miles east of the Glenlyon ; the second just below the mouth
of that stream. The upper rapid is wide and rather shallow,
with some rocky impediments. It is easily run with a canoe,
but at low stages of the river doubtfully passable for a steamer
not of light draught. The current in the second rapid strikes
full on the face of a rocky bank on the right of the river, and
THE YUKON TERRITORY 339
forms a heavy confused wash in consequence, but is otherwise
unimpeded and deep.
The rocks seen along the Felly, between the Ross and
Glenlyon, while resembling in a general way those previously
described, differ in their greater alteration and in the evident
importance in their composition of products originally of volcanic
origin. The most abundant are blackish-grey and greenish
quartzites and schists, often more or less micaceous, and in
places passing into true mica-schists.
The most interesting fact developed on this part of the
Pelly is, however, the occurrence of rocks of Laramie or
Cretaceous age. These were noted in a single low exposure
on the south side of the river, twenty-seven miles and a half
west of the mouth of Ross River. They consist of black car-
bonaceous or possibly plumbaginous shales, rather hard, and
interbedded with grey-brown sandstones, the whole dipping
nearly due south at an angle of forty-five degrees. But this
single occurrence of rocks of this character was found, and no
rocks are seen for several miles up or down the stream, so that
the area characterized by the formation to which they belong
is uncertain.
The total distance, following the course of the river, from the
Glenlyon to the Macmillan, is ninety-one miles. The tributary
streams in this distance, again measuring by the course of the
Pelly, down stream, are as follows : — Glenlyon River, the
Earn River of Campbell, and the Tummel River of Campbell.
From this point to the Macmillan no tributary streams were
observed, the country to the northward evidently draining
toward the last-named stream, and that to the south, at no
great distance, being in all probability within the drainage-
basin of the Lewes.
For about twenty miles below the Glenlyon River the Pelly
is more than usually free from abrupt bends, and few islands
are met with. It is bordered to the south by Glenlyon
Mountains, whose highest points exceed five thousand feet.
Lower irregular hills border the north bank, and these, as
usual, show extensive grassy slopes on the southern exposures.
At the distance from the Glenlyon just mentioned, the river
turns abruptly to the northward, making a sharp bend, and
34O THE YUKON TERRITORY
cutting completely through the ridge which has previously
bounded it on that side. After a sinuous course of about
fifteen miles (about midway in which it receives the Earn
River), to the north of the ridge, it turns again with equal
abruptness to the southward, rounding the west point of the
ridge, which here dies away. This peculiar flexure is distin-
guished on the map as The Detour. To the south of the ridge
is a wide valley, which lies in the general direction of the river,
and which doubtless represents a pre-glacial valley of the
Pelly, though now apparently floored by drift deposits. The
distance from bend to bend of the river, through this disused
valley, is eight miles and a half, and the height of its floor
above the water-level was estimated at about two hundred feet.
As far as the lower end of The Detour the current is swift, and
there are a number of little riffles ; some of these might be
called rapids, though none are of a character to impede
navigation.
The Macmillan and the Pelly valleys coalesce at an acute
angle at the western point of the range of hills which alone has
separated them for some distance, and the two streams must
run nearly parallel for many miles above their junction. The
Macmillan is bordered to the north by a well-defined range of
low mountains, which continues to the westward for about ten
miles as the bordering range of the united streams. At the
confluence, the Pelly appeared to be somewhat the larger
river at the time of our visit, and it is probably so at all
properly comparable stages of water. The Macmillan water is
much more turbid than that of the Pelly, and of a yellowish
colour. The temperature of both rivers was identical on the
gth of August, being 54° F. It may probably be assumed
from this circumstance that the origin of the rivers is similar,
and that the Macmillan, like the Pelly, rises in or flows through
considerable lakes, in which the water is warmed to a like
extent. The suspended matter of the Macmillan may be
entirely due to the washing away of silty banks, which is the
usual cause of the turbidity of streams in this district. The
upper part of the Macmillan has never been explored, but its
size would indicate that it may rise as far to the eastward as the
Pelly, and probably, like it, in mountains representing the
THE YUKON TERRITORY 341
western ranges of the Rocky Mountains. We do not, however,
know to what extent this river shares with the Stewart the
drainage of the comparatively low country to the northward.
I afterwards met a couple of miners (Messrs. Monroe and
Langtry) who had ascended the Macmillan for several days in
a boat, but, not finding encouraging " prospects," had returned.
They reported the existence of a large area of low land with
good soil, and had met with no impediments to navigation so
far as they had gone.
Ten miles above the mouth of the Macmillan we encountered
a couple of Indians, father and son, working their way up the
Pelly with a small dug-out canoe. They were the first human
beings we had met with in the country since leaving the mouth
of the Dease River, forty-three days previously, but as we were
totally unable to communicate with them except by signs,
it was impossible to obtain any definite information from
them. They were evidently at a loss to know whence we had
come, and evinced a peculiar interest in examining our little
canvas canoe.
The range of hills bordering the Pelly on the south, near the
mouth of the Macmillan, is composed of granite, which appears
in several places on the river. This is of greyish and greenish-
grey colours, and similar to that of the Glenlyon Range, though
it apparently forms a distinct though parallel granitic axis.
From the mouth of the Macmillan to the confluence of the
Upper Pelly and Lewes Rivers is a distance, in a straight line
with a general bearing a few degrees south of west, of forty-six
miles. A considerable portion of this part of the river is,
however, extremely tortuous. The distance from the Macmillan
to the mouth of the Lewes, measured along the course of the
stream, is seventy -four miles.
Four miles below the mouth of the Macmillan, on the north
bank, is a small log cabin, the first sign of habitation we had
seen. We afterwards ascertained that two miners had lived
here during the winter of 1886-7. At five miles and a half
below the Macmillan the Pelly was found to be 754 feet in
width, with a current of 2*3 miles per hour; a few miles below
this the river turns south-westward and then nearly due south,
entering Granite Canon at thirteen miles from the Macmillan.
342 THE YUKON TERRITORY
The canon is four miles in length, with steep, rocky,
scarped banks and cliffs, 200 to 250 feet in height. In the
canon are several little rapids, but the water is deep, and with
the exception of some isolated rocks, the navigation would be
quite safe for steamers, even at a low stage of water. As the
river is much confined, however, it is probable that rough
water may be found here during floods. Just beyond the
canon, or sixteen miles and a half below the Macmillan, a small
stream, about ten feet by three inches, enters from the south-
eastward. The bed is wide, and it appears at seasons of flood
to become a formidable torrent. At thirty-six miles from the
Macmillan another small stream was observed on the south
side, but with this exception, the river receives no further
tributaries before meeting the Lewes.
After passing the ridge which is cut through by Granite
Canon, the country on both sides of the river for about fifteen
miles is quite low. No mountains or high hills are in sight on
any bearing to the westward, and wide terraces run far back
from the river at heights of 150 to 200 feet above it. These are
often lightly wooded, largely with aspen, and are clothed with
a good growth of grass, presenting a very attractive appearance.
The soil is good, and at the time of our visit the country was
very dry.
For the remaining distance to the mouth of the Lewes, the
river is more closely bordered by low hills and ridges, which
seldom exceed a height of 400 feet. At one place the stream
is confined between high and somewhat rocky banks, but no
rapid is met with. The southern slopes of the hills are generally
open and grassy, and would afford excellent pasturage. The
northern exposures are still thickly wooded. Just above its
confluence with the Lewes, the Pelly makes an abrupt turn to
the south, and runs for several miles along the eastern base of
a scarped cliff of basalt. From Granite Canon to the con-
fluence., the current scarcely exceeds two miles and a half an
hour.
CHAPTER IX.
Total length of the Upper Pelly— Its elevation — Estimated fall in Hoole Caiion —
The river navigable for stern-wheel steamers— Streams and small rivers flowing
into the Pelly — Gravel bars of the Pelly — " Small" and "heavy" colours found
in considerable number — Country about the confluence of the Lewes and Upper
Pelly — Temperature of the water — Ruins of Fort Selkirk — Fort Yukon — Explor-
ation of the Upper Liard and Yukon by Mr. Robert Campbell — Campbell's
men discouraged by the "Wood Indians " — Fort Selkirk established in 1847-48
— Fort Yukon established — The Pelly and Yukon identical — Navigation of the
Liard — The post at Pelly Banks — Dimensions and construction of Fort Selkirk
— Its interference with the trade of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Indians — The
occupants expelled and the fort pillaged by the Indians — The buildings demo-
lished by the local Indians — Fort Yukon maintained till 1869 — The Hudson
Bay Company expelled by the United States Government — Abandonment of the
fort — Posts established from Fort Simpson on the Mackenzie to Fort Yukon
— Time taken by " returns " to reach the market — Ascent of the Lewes and
arrival at Lake Lindeman — Ascent of the Yukon by explorers of the Western
Union Telegraph Company— Survey of the Lewes by Lieutenant Schwalka —
Course of the river from Fort Selkirk to Rink or Five-finger Rapid-
Velocity and width of the river below Rink Rapid — Ingersoll Islands — The
terraces and flats bordering the river — Character of the river valley — Description
of Rink 1 apid— Pleasing appearance of the country — Hoo-chee-Roo Bluff —
Stratification of the rocks — Nordenskiold River — Little Salmon River — The
valley of the Lewes between Rink Rapid and Little Salmon River — Bars worked
for gold above the Nordenskiold — Rock exposures — Coal seams — General bearing
of the Lewes from Little Salmon River to the mouth of the Bi^ Salmon or
D'Abbadie River — The Seminow Mountains — Particulars respecting the Big
Salmon River — " Fine " gold found all along the river.
THE total length of the Upper Pelly, following the course of
the river, from the point where we first reached it at the
west end of the Campbell's Portage to its confluence with the
Lewes, is 320 miles. The elevation at the first-mentioned point
is about 2965 feet, that at the confluence 1555 feet, giving a total
fall of 1410 feet, or 4*4 feet to the mile, a considerable portion
of which, however, occurs in the numerous little rapids and
riffles of its course. In Hoole Canon the estimated fall is about
twenty feet.
With the exception of Granite Canon, where warping might
have to be resorted to at one place, the river would be easily
navigable for stern-wheel steamers so far up as the mouth of
344 THE YUKON TERRITORY
the Macmillan, and the latter stream is also navigable for a
considerable though unknown distance. Above the Macmillan,
I believe, no serious difficulty would be met with in taking a
small stern-wheel steamer of good power up to the mouth of
the Ross River, and possibly as far as the foot of Hoole Canon.
A line might have to be carried ashore at a few of the stronger
rapids, but the chief difficulty to be encountered would be from
shoal water at low stages. Where the river is widely spread
and swift, a depth of three feet could scarcely be found across
some of the gravelly bars. The Ross River is a navigable
stream at its mouth, but its upper part is quite unknown.
Hoole Canon is, of course, quite impassable for a steamer of
any kind, and the rapid seventeen miles east of it, at the
mouth of Hoole River, might prove to be a difficult one to
surmount by warping, as its fall is estimated at about eight
feet. Above this point, the river is again, however, an easily
navigable one for small steamers to the furthest point seen by
us, and possibly so far as the lakes.
All the streams and small rivers flowing into the Pelly from
the south and rising in or beyond the Pelly and Glenlyon
Mountains, are notably swift, and most of them are evidently
subject to heavy freshets.
On the lower part of the Upper Pelly there are numerous
groves on or not far from the banks, with good spruce up to two
feet in diameter. Spruce of the same size is found also on the
whole upper part of the river, but is relatively less abundant
there.
As in the case of the Upper Liard and Frances Rivers, quartz
derived from veins is an abundant constituent of the gravel-bars
of the Pelly, and numerous small quartz veins were observed in
the rocks in many places. Where the granites are approached,
the veins cut all the rocks except these, and it appears that
the development of the quartz veins is due to the same
period of disturbance which has given rise to the uplift of
the granite axes or their extrusion. Small "colours" of gold
may be found in almost any suitable locality along the river,
and "heavy colours," in considerable number, were found by us
as far up as the mouth of Hoole River, in the bottom of a
gravel-bed there resting on the basalt. The river has been
THE YUKON TERRITORY 345
prospected to some extent by a few miners, but no mining of
importance has yet been done on it.
The country about the confluence of the Lewes and Upper
Pelly is generally speaking low, with extensive terrace-flats
running back to the bases of rounded hills and ridges, of which
none in sight probably exceed 1000 feet above the river. The
moderate current which has been described as characteristic of
the Upper Pelly for some distance above the confluence, con-
tinues to its mouth, but the Lewes is much swifter, and though
at the point of junction divided among wooded islands, is
evidently the larger stream, carrying a volume of water
considerably greater than that of the Pelly, though probably
less than twice as great. It does not, however, necessarily
follow from this that the Lewes is to be considered the principal
head stream or continuation of the Yukon.
The water of the Lewes is of a bluish, slightly milky cast, and
is easily distinguished from the brownish muddy colour by
which the Pelly is characterized below its junction with the
Macmillan. The temperature of the water ' in both rivers was
found to be practically identical, on the I7th and i8th of August,
at 7 p.m., being 59° F.
The river below the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes averages
about a quarter of a mile in width, and though its appear-
ance is placid and there is no rough water, it js uniformly swift.
Of this width about two-thirds had an average depth of ten feet,
with a surface velocity of four miles and three-quarters an hour.
The ruins of Fort Selkirk, formerly a post of the Hudson Bay
Company, stand on a partly open flat, on the south side, at a
short distance back from the river, and about a mile and a half
below the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes. One chimney,
built of basalt blocks which must have been brought across the
river, and cemented with clay which has been baked almost
into brick by the combustion of the ruins of the fort, still stands
erect and uninjured. The lower part of a second is near it,
and the fragments of several others strew the ground, which is
partly overgrown by small aspens. These, and the traces of a
couple of excavations which have probably been cellars, are all
that now remain to mark the site of the buildings which were
pillaged by Indians from the coast in 1852.
i
346 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Fort Selkirk, of which the ruins alone now exist, was at one
time the most important post of the Hudson Bay Company to
the west of the Rocky Mountains in the far north, and with
the exception of Fort Yukon, it was the farthest permanent
post ever maintained by the Company to the north-west.
Mr. J. McLeod appears, in the same year in which he
reached the Stikine (1834), to have ascended the Liard as far as
Simpson Lake, and to have brought back the information
according to which the river was represented on Arrowsmith's
map of 1850. It was owing to the energy of Mr. Robert
Campbell, however, that the exploration of the Upper Liard and
Yukon is almost entirely due. The only published account of
; Mr. Campbell's work, so far as I know, is that which appeared
in the Royal Reader, Fifth Book, Toronto, 1883, p. 435, and
which was reprinted, with slight alterations at Winnipeg in
1885, as a small pamphlet entitled " Discovery and Exploration
of the Youcon (Pelly) River." From this source and from
additional facts furnished by Mr. Campbell in answer to
questions addressed to him, as wrell as from allusions in the
unpublished journals of Chief Factor James Anderson, the
following brief account is drawn up.
After the abandonment of Dease Lake post in 1839, Mr.
Campbell was, in the spring of 1840, commissioned by Sir
George Simpson to explore the " north branch " of the Liard
to its source, and to cross the height-of-land in search of any
river flowing to the westward, especially the head-waters of the
Colville, the mouth of which on the Arctic Ocean had recently
been discovered by Messrs. Dease and Simpson.
Mr. Campbell writes : — " In pursuance of these instructions,
I left Fort Halkett [on the lower Liard] in May, with a canoe
and seven men, among them my trusty Indians, Lapie and
Kitza, and the interpreter, Hoole. After ascending the stream
some hundreds of miles, far into the mountains, we entered a
beautiful lake, which I named Frances Lake, in honour of Lady
Simpson. . . . Leaving the canoe and part of the crew
near the south-west [sic\ extremity of this [the west] branch of
the lake, I set out with three Indians and the interpreter.
Shouldering our blankets and guns, we ascended the valley of a
river, which we traced to its source in a lake ten miles long,
THE YUKON TERRITORY 347
which, with the river, I named Finlayson's Lake and River."
From this point, Mr. Campbell struck across to the Pelly, which
he then named in honour of Sir H. Pelly, a. Governor of the
Company.
During Campbell's absence the remainder of the party built
a house at the point between the two arms of the lake, which
was then named " Glenlyon House," but was afterwards known
as Frances Lake House or Fort Frances. Returning down the
river, they met a trading outfit which had been despatched for
them, at Fort Halkett, and turned back with it to Frances
Lake, after sending out a report of their proceedings.
The Company now resolved to follow up those western
discoveries, and in 1842 birch bark, for the construction of a
large canoe to be used in exploring the Pelly, was sent up from
Fort Liard. In the same year Fort Pelly Banks was con-
structed, or its construction begun, and early in June, 1843,
Campbell left that place in the canoe which had been made,
accompanied by Hoole, two French-Canadians and three
Indians.
They saw only one family of Indians (" Knife Indians ") till
they reached the mouth of the river which Campbell called the
Lewes. Here was a large camp of " Wood Indians," and these,
after recovering from their surprise at the sight of the party, so
discouraged Campbell's men by their stories of the number
and ferocity of the people on the lower river, that he was
obliged to turn back.
For some years afterwards the operations of the Company
did not extend beyond " Pelly Banks," though during the
summer, hunting parties were sent down the Pelly to collect
provisions, and in that way information was received respecting
the river and the Indians inhabiting its vicinity.
In the winter of 1847-48 boats were built at Pelly Banks, and
early in June following Campbell set out to establish a fort at
the confluence of the Pelly and Lewes Rivers. This was named
Fort Selkirk, and was at first situated on the extreme point of
land between the two rivers, but this point being found subject
to floods during the disruption of the ice, the post was in the
spring of 1852 moved to a site a short way below the mouth of
the Lewes, on the left bank. The inner work of the new
I 2
THE YUKON TERRITORY
buildings was still unfinished at the time of the Indian raid,
noticed further on.
Meanwhile an entry was being made into the Yukon basin
from another direction. Mr. J. Bell had already in 1842
reached the Porcupine or Rat River, and had descended it for
three days' journey. He was in 1846 in charge of the Hudson
Bay post on Peel River, near the mouth of the Mackenzie, and
was instructed again to cross the mountains and to further
explore the Porcupine River. In pursuance of these instruc-
tions, he in that year reached the mouth of the Porcupine
and saw the great river into which it flows, which the Indians
informed him was named the Yukon. In 1847 Fort Yukon
was established at the mouth of the Porcupine by Mr. A. H.
Murray.
It still remained, however, for Campbell, in 1850, to prove
that the Pelly and Yukon were identical. This he did by
descending the river from Fort Selkirk to Fort Yukon, after
which he ascended the Porcupine, crossed the mountain-portage,
and returned to Fort Simpson by the Mackenzie.1 One result
of this journey was to show that the route from Fort Selkirk by
way of the Porcupine River to the Mackenzie was preferable
to that originally discovered. The navigation of the Liard was
both arduous and dangerous, and several lives had been lost in
boating on that stream. Added to this was the length of the
land transport from Frances Lake to the Upper Pelly and the
fact that great difficulty had been found in maintaining the
posts in that district.
1 Mr. Campbell states that when again on his way down the river from
Fort Selkirk to Fort Yukon, in 1851, he found that a great number of the
Indians had been carried off during the previous winter by some virulent
disease.
He has further informed me, in answer to my inquiries on the subject,
that the Stewart River was so named after his '; dear and gallant friend and
assistant-clerk, James G. Stewart, son of the late Hon. John Stewart, of
Quebec." Stewart was sent out in the winter of 1849 to follow the Indian
hunters in quest of meat. He found them some distance north of this river,
which he crossed on the ice.
White River, Mr. Campbell named on account of its milky colour. Of
the other streams entering between Forts Selkirk and Yukon he says,
"Antoine River" was named after the interpreter at one time at Fort
Yukon, a son of his interpreter Hoole ; " Forcier River,5' after his guide,
Baptise Forcier ; " Lohque River,'3 for Forcier's wife ; and " Ayonie's
River," below the White River, was named after the natives of that quarter
THE YUKON TERRITORY 349
In 1849, the post at Pelly Banks, with the exception of the
men's house, was accidentally burnt. In 1850 it was finally
abandoned, and in the spring of 1851 Fort Frances was like-
wise abandoned.1 The abandonment of these posts was not
due to any hostility of the natives, who were on the contrary
most friendly, but in consequence of the circumstances above
noted, and the fact that while these establishments were
very expensive to maintain, they merely bought furs which
would otherwise have been carried by the Indians themselves to
other posts, if these particular, and to them more convenient
ones, had not been in existence.
The several ruined chimneys of Fort Selkirk still to be seen,
with other traces on the ground, are in themselves evidence of
the important dimensions and careful construction of this post.
The establishment consisted, I believe, in 1852, of one senior
and one junior clerk and eight men. The existence of this post
in the centre of the inland or " Wood Indian " country had,
however, very seriously interfered with a lucrative and usurious
trade which the Chilkoot and Chilkat Indians of Lynn Canal,
on the coast, had long been accustomed to carry on with these
people ; acting as intermediaries between them and the white
traders on the Pacific and holding the passes at the head-
waters of the Lewes with all the spirit of robber barons of old.
In 1852, rumours were current that these people meditated a
raid upon the post, in consequence of which the friendly local
Indians stayed by it nearly all summer, of their own accord. It
so happened, however, that they absented themselves for a
couple of days, and at that unlucky moment the Coast Indians
arrived. The post was unguarded by a stockade, and, yielding
to sheer force of numbers, the occupants were expelled and the
place was pillaged, on the 2ist of August. Two days afterward
Campbell, having found the local Indians, returned with them
and surrounded the post, but the robbers had flown. Being
now without means of support for the winter, Campbell set off
down stream to meet Mr. Stewart and the men who were on
the way back from Fort Yukon. He met them at the mouth of
1 Forts Frances and Pelly Banks are erroneously stated in Ball's "Alaska
and its Resources," to have been burnt and pillaged, p. 115, foot-note and
p. 508,
350 THE YUKON TERRITORY
White River, and after turning them back with instructions to
arrange for wintering at Fort Yukon, set out himself in a small
canoe up the Pelly River, crossed to Frances Lake, descended
the Liard and arrived at Fort Simpson with the tidings of the
disaster, amid drifting ice, on the 2ist of October.
Being anxious to obtain Sir George Simpson's permission to
re-establish Fort Selkirk, Campbell waited only till the river
froze, when he left Fort Simpson on snow-shoes and travelled
overland to Crow Wing in Minnesota, where he arrived on the
I3th of March. On the i8th of April he reached London, but
was unable to obtain from the directors of the company the
permission he desired. A short account of this remarkable
journey appeared in the Perthshire Advertiser and Inverness
Courier, but I do not know the precise date of the publication.
In the autumn of 1853, one of Campbell's hunters arrived at
Fort Halkett on the Lower Liard by way of the Pelly and
Frances. This is the last traverse of Campbell's Portage of
which I can find any record, though it may doubtless have been
used by the Indians subsequently. From this man it was learnt
that the buildings at Fort Selkirk had been all but demolished
by the local Indians for the purpose of getting the ironwork
and the nails. He also stated that the Chilkats, being unable
to carry away all their plunder in the preceding year, had taken
merely the guns, powder and tobacco. They had cached the
heavier goods, which were afterwards found and appropriated
by the local or wood Indians. At a later date the ruins of the
post must have been burnt, as their present appearance indicates.1
Fort Yukon, at the mouth of the Porcupine, was continuously
maintained till 1869, when the Hudson Bay Company was
expelled by the United States Government as represented by
Capt. Charles W. Raymond, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army;
he having ascertained by astronomical observations that the
post was situated to the west of the 1/j.ist meridian. He
describes his proceedings as follows. — " On the 9th of August,
at 12 noon, I notified the representative of the Hudson Bay Com-
pany that the station is in the territory of the United States ; that
1 Of Reid House, shown on Arrowsmith's map of 1854, near the Stewart
River and to the north of Fort Selkirk, I have been unable to learn any-
thing. Mr. Campbell never heard of it, and if it had any existence it was
probably a temporary outpost of Fort Yukon.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 351
the introduction of trading goods, or any trade by foreigners
with the natives, is illegal, and must cease ; and that the
Hudson Bay Company must vacate the buildings as soon as
practicable. I then took possession of the buildings and raised
the flag of the United States over the fort."1 The fort was
afterwards abandoned and allowed to go to ruin.
The utmost credit must be accorded to the pioneers of the
Hudson Bay Company for the enterprise displayed by them in
carrying their trade into the Yukon basin in the face of
difficulties so great and at such an immense distance from their
base of supplies. To explorations of this kind performed in the
service of commerce, unostentatiously and as matters of simple
duty by such men as Mackenzie, Eraser, Thompson, and
Campbell, we owe the discovery of our great north-west
country. Their journeys were not marked by incidents of
conflict or bloodshed, but were accomplished on the contrary
with the friendly assistance and co-operation of the natives.
Less resolute men would scarcely have entertained the idea of
utilizing, as an avenue of trade, a river so perilous of navigation
as the Liard had proved to be when explored. So long, how-
ever, as this appeared to be the most practicable route to the
country beyond the mountains, its abandonment was not even
contemplated. Neither distance nor danger appears to have
been taken into account, and in spite of every obstacle a way
was opened and a series of posts established extending from
Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, to Fort Yukon. Fort
Simpson may itself be regarded, even at the present day, as a
post very far removed from the borders of civilization, but this
further route, which nearly half a century ago became familiar
to the Company's voyageurs, stretched out beyond it for over a
thousand miles. Mr. James Anderson, in 1853, writes thus of
the Liard River : " You can hardly conceive the intense horror
the men have to go up to Frances Lake. They invariably on
re-hiring endeavour to be exempted from the West Branch
[Liard]. The number of deaths which have occurred there is
fourteen, viz. three in connection with Dease Lake and eleven
in connection with Frances Lake and Pelly Banks, of these
last three died from starvation and eight from drowning."
1 Report of a Reconnaissance of the Yukon River, 1871, p. 16.
THE YUKON TERRITORY
At the time of the establishment of Forts Yukon and Selkirk,
and for many years afterwards, the " returns " from the furthest
stations reached the market only after seven years, the course
of trade being as follows : Goods. — ist year, reach York Factory ;
2nd year, Norway House ; 3rd year, Peel River, and were
hauled during the winter across the mountains to La Pierre's
House ; 4th year, reach Fort Yukon. Returns. — 5th year, reach
La Pierre's House and are hauled across to Peel River ; 6th
year, reach depot at Fort Simpson ; 7th year, reach market.
We left the confluence and began the ascent of the Lewes
on the i8th of August, and arrived at Lake Lindeman, where
the portage to the coast begins, on September i6th. We were
during this time on the one travelled route of the country, and
every few days fell in with small parties of miners, generally on
their way out, up the river. A few men were still found
working on bars, and six or eight passed down stream with the
purpose of wintering at or near Forty-mile Creek.
The Lewes River was discovered and named by Mr. Camp-
bell in 1842, as already stated. It is indicated in an approximate
manner, according to information supplied by this gentleman,
on Arrowsmith's map of 1854. Mr. Campbell informs me that
he was well aware of the existence at its head of a portage to
the sea by which the Chilkat Indians came inland to trade.
This route he had the intention of exploring, but the question
of supplies and other difficulties prevented him from doing so.
Communication was occasionally had by this route with the
Hudson Bay steamer which traded along the coast, and it was
thus that the Honolulu paper mentioned as received in 1848 by
Sir J. Richardson, on the Mackenzie, was sent inland. Such
communication was, however, only accomplished by travelling
parties of Indians.
In 1867, explorers in the employ of the Western Union Tele-
graph Company ascended the Pelly or Yukon from Fort Yukon
to the mouth of the Lewes, returning down the river. In the same
year another explorer of the Telegraph Company reached the
Hotolinqu (of Telegraph Survey map, not the river subsequently
so called by miners), which is now known to be one of the
furthest if not the most remote source of the Lewes. This he
did from the direction of the Stikine, but was recalled before
THE YUKON TERRITORY 353
he had, by descending the river, proved its relation to the
Lewes.
The head-quarters of the Lewes River were first reached from
the head of Lynn Canal about 1878. Between the date of the
explorations of the Telegraph Company and this time, the
Lewes may have been visited by traders ascending from the
Lower Yukon, but of this we have no record. Previous to 1883,
however, the river and some of its tributaries had become
well known to a number of miners and prospectors, and when
Lieutenant Schwatka, in the last-mentioned year, crossed the
Chilkoot Pass and descended the Lewes, he merely followed in
their footsteps. To Lieutenant Schwatka is, however, due the
credit of having made the first survey of the river, a survey
which Mr. Ogilvie's work of 1887 has proved to be a reason-
ably accurate one, in so far as its main features are con-
cerned.
While the general course of the Upper Pelly is remarkably
straight, that of the Lewes makes several important and well-
marked bends, and is besides interrupted by lakes, and other-
wise irregular.
From the site of Fort Selkirk to Rink or Five-finger Rapid,
the course of the river is nearly straight, the bearing being
about S. 5°° W., and the distance, measured by the stream,
fifty-five miles. The current of this part of the river is swift
throughout, averaging about four miles and a half an hour and
seldom being under four miles. At a point six miles below
Rink Rapid, where the course of the river was uninterrupted by
islands, and its velocity and width about normal, the rate of
flow was found to be 4*8 miles per hour, the width 732 feet.
There are numerous islands, which differ from most of those
met with on the Pelly in frequently occupying positions in mid-
channel instead of being merely portions of river-flats cut off by
lateral sloughs. A few miles above the mouth of the Lewes,
these islands are particularly numerous for a distance of about
five miles, and the total width of the stream from bank to bank
is increased to nearly a mile. This group has been named
Ingersoll Islands by Schwatka.
The terraces and flats immediately bordering the river are at
first quite low, but in ascending, increase in height till they
354 THE YUKON TERRITORY
stand often at 100 to 200 feet above it before reaching Rink
Rapid.
The river valley is generally wide and somewhat ill-defined,
the ridges and low hills bounding it seldom exceeding 1000 feet
in height. Near the mouth of the river these are irregularly
disposed, but further up, those on the north-east bank become
more uniform and run parallel to the stream like the hills on
that part of the Pelly near the Macmillan.
Two miles below Rink Rapid the Lewes makes a right-angled
bend to the south-westward. The rapid itself is caused by the
occurrence of several bold rocky islands which obstruct the
river, and is only a few yards in length where the water flows
swiftly between them. The channels are deep and un-
obstructed, and at low stages of water might, I believe, be
ascended by a steamer of good power even without the assis-
tance of warping. At high-water this rapid would, of course,
be more formidable, as the velocity of the stream would be
increased. It is pretty evident that a fall has at one time
existed here, but the barrier of conglomerate which has pro-
duced it has now been cut completely through by the river.
Below the main rapid there is a second " riffle " or minor rapid
which appears to be somewhat stony, but which would not be a
serious impediment to a properly constructed steamer.
The general, appearance of the country along this part of
the river is pleasing, and resembles that of the corresponding
part of the Pelly. It is usually wooded, but the southern
exposures of some of the hills are partly open, and dry, grass-
covered terrace-flats are frequent. The trees are of the same
species before mentioned, and birch is moderately abundant.
For about twelve miles above the Hoo-chee-koo Bluff no
rocks were seen, after which, for eight miles, or to Rink Rapid,
there are frequent exposures of rocks of a different series, of
much less altered appearance, and all probably referable to the
Cretaceous. These include coarse, hard, dark, grauwacke-
sandstones, with softer shaly sandstones, passing into dark
sandy shales, all more or less calcareous.
The rock of the islands and banks of the actual rapid is coarse
conglomerate which often contains boulders of granite up to
eighteen inches in diameter, and is interstratified with irregular
THE YUKON TERRITORY 355
beds of yellowish sandstone, the appearance of the conglomerate
being much like that of the conglomerate of Jackass Mountain
on the Fraser River, though somewhat less altered. Imme-
diately above the rapid, on the south-east side of the river,
grey and blackish shales, with thin beds of sandstone and of
limestone, appear from below the conglomerates. These were
found to contain fossils in considerable abundance, though
representing but a few species.
Quartz vein-stuff is much less important as a constituent of
the river-gravels than it is on the Upper Pelly, Upper Liard,
and other streams to the eastward.
From Rink Rapid to the mouth of the Nordenskiold the
general bearing of the river is nearly due south, the distance in
a straight line being twelve miles.
The Nordenskiold is a small swift river with clear bluish
water, which enters the Lewes on the west side. It was
estimated as eighty feet wide by six inches deep, a couple of
hundred yards above its mouth. Its valley is not a wide or
important one, it being in fact difficult to decide from which
direction the stream comes a few miles back from the Lewes.
The Little Salmon (or Daly, as re-christened by Schwatka)
joins the Lewes on the opposite side, and was estimated to
carry about twice as much water as the Nordenskiold. It is
about one hundred feet wide, with an average depth of three
feet. The water is clear and brownish in tint, and the current
not rapid at the mouth.
The valley of the Lewes, between Rink Rapid and the Little
Salmon River, is in general somewhat irregular and not very
wide, and no mountains are in sight from this part of the
river. Terraces rising to 200 feet are frequent, and often run
back at about that level to the bases of the hills. Near the
mouth of the Nordenskiold the river is extremely crooked,
and the current is everywhere swift. The southern slopes of
the hills and terraces are generally in large part open and
grassy, no difference such as might indicate a climate more
humid than that of the region about old Fort Selkirk being met
with. Several magpies were seen, for the first time, on this part
of the river.
The first spot observed by us in ascending the river where
356 THE YUKON TERRITORY
bars have been worked for gold, is situated six miles above the
Nordenskiold.
The rocks along this portion of the river, like those last
described, belong to the Cretaceous series, but their attitudes
are too varied to enable anything like a complete section to be
gained from the isolated exposures met with. A few localities,
however, show features worthy of special mention.
One of these is found five miles and a half above Rink
Rapid, where a high bluff shows a series principally composed
of sandstones, shales and shaly clays. This exposure includes,
within sixty feet of the base of the bluff, at least three coaly
beds, of which the lowest is about three feet thick. This
and the other beds contain some good-looking coal, of which a
thickness of about a foot sometimes occurs, but the greater
part of the material is so sandy and impure as to be use-
less.
The condition of all the beds in this vicinity is remarkably
unaltered, as compared with those seen lower down the river,
and would appear to show that if (as assumed) they form a
connected series, these represent its upper part.
The thin coal-seams here actually seen cannot be considered
as of economic value, but are important as indicating the exis-
tence of a coal-bearing horizon which may prove to contain
thicker beds elsewhere, and might become an important point
in connection with the navigation of the river. The coal has
been examined by Mr. G. C. Hoffmann, who describes it as a
lignite-coal, with the following composition : —
Hygroscopic water ... 6*03
Volatile combustible matter ... ... ... ... 36^92
Fixed Carbon ... ... ... ... ... ... 49*03
Ash 8-02
1 00 '00
From the Little Salmon to the mouth of the Big Salmon
River or D'Abbadie, the general bearing of the Lewes is about
east-south-east, and the sinuosities of the river are not nearly
so great as in the portion last described. The distance by the
stream between these tributaries is thirty- four miles. A con-
siderable portion of this part of the river is not so swift as
THE YUKON TERRITORY 357
usual, and for eight or ten miles, midway between the Little
and Big Salmon Rivers, both the river and its valley are more
than usually narrowed. Beyond this, the valley begins to widen
rapidly, and, for some miles before the mouth of the Big Salmon
is reached, is notably wide between the bases of the limiting
hills. At the mouth of the Big Salmon, the Lewes turns
abruptly to the south, while the main valley is continued in a
south-easterly direction, becoming there the valley of the Big
Salmon. From the confluence of the rivers, the main valley
can be seen running on for a distance of about fifteen miles,
bordered by low hills to the northward, and by higher hills to
the south. These last are the Seminow Mountains of Schwatka.
The Lewes cuts through this range, which is continued also for
some miles westward, forming the south-west side of the Lewes
valley. The hills are rounded in form and wooded, and rise to
heights of 1500 to 2000 feet above the river.
Several bars which had been worked on for gold were seen
along the Lewes, below the confluence of the Big Salmon.
The Big Salmon 1 has been re-named by Schwatka the
D'Abbadie River, a name which has the merit of being more
distinctive than that previously in use, but the miners, who
(with the exception of the Indians) alone travel through the
country, refuse to know it by any but the old name. It is much
more important than any of the tributaries joining the Lewes
further down, being 347 feet wide, with a depth of five feet for
about one-third of its width, and a current of about two miles
an hour. The water is clear and of a bluer tint than that of the
Little Salmon, and the discharge was estimated at 2726 cubic
feet per second, when probably rather below its mean stage.
It might, no doubt, be navigated by a small stern-wheel steamer
for many miles.
I was afterward so fortunate as to meet a party of four
miners who had spent a part of the summer of 1887 in
prospecting this stream, and from one of them, Mr. John
McCormack, obtained some particulars respecting it, together
with a sketch of its course. Thirty-two miles from the Lewes,
the Big Salmon is said to be joined by a smaller stream, which
McCormack calls the North Fork. For about a mile and a half
1 Ta-tlin-hl-ni of the Tagish.
358 THE YUKON TERRITORY
below and a short distance above the mouth of this branch
the river is very rocky and rapid. Half a mile above it there
is an Indian salmon fishing place. For some distance beyond
this the river is sluggish, and at sixty-six miles from the Lewes
the South Fork branches off. This fork occupies a wide valley
and comes from the south-eastward. Above it the water is
swifter and the valley of the river is narrow, with high
mountains on both sides, but particularly on the north.
Granite and mica-schist were seen along this part of the river.
At a supposed distance of one hundred and five miles from the
Lewes, another stream joins from the south-east, and this also
occupies an important valley, though not so wide as that of the
South Fork. Above this point the river turns to a northerly
bearing for about fifteen miles, the current being, in general,
slack. It then reverts to an easterly bearing, and after passing
a rapid, at one place, Island Lake is reached at 190 miles from
the Lewes. This lake is four miles long, and has two arms at
its upper end, from the southern of which a river leads, in eight
miles, to a second lake two miles and a half long. A stretch of
river, a mile and a half long, joins this to the highest lake,
which McCormack named Quiet Lake, and whose length he
estimates at twenty-four miles. At the outlet of the lake is
an Indian fishing place. The country to the south of these
lakes is mountainous, granite being a common rock, and
several streams run from these mountains into Quiet Lake.
The north-east side of the lake is bordered by lower ridges, and
from its head, McCormack travelled about eight miles, through
a low country, to the bank of the Tes-lin-too, which he found
here flowing from north to south.
These miners found "fine" gold all along the river, but no
good paying bars. They were in search of " coarse " gold, but
did not discover any. A small specimen of pyrites and quartz,
from veins met with on one of the streams flowing into Quiet
Lake, given to me by Mr. McCormack, was found by Mr.
Hoffmann to contain very distinct traces of gold with a trace
of silver.
According to the Indians, the salmon run up this river to its
source, and the same is reported of the Little Salmon and the
Tes-lin-too.
CHAPTER X.
General bearing of the Lewes at the mouth of the Big Salmon River — The con-
fluence of the Tes-lin-too and Lewes — Auriferous gold bars — Cassiar Bar the
richest on the river — Valley of the Tes-lin-too — Composition of the Seminow
Hills — The river unexplored — Notes from Mr. T. BoswelPs description and
Indian sketches — General trend of the Tes-lin-too — Estimated length to the great
lake — Its continuation — Navigation fairly good — The great lake, represented as the
largest known to the Indians — The Indian trail — Distance covered by the trail
— Indian salmon fishing stations above Tes-lin Lake — Fine gold found by Mr.
Boswell all along the Tes-lin-too — The Lewes from the mouth of the Tes-lin-too
to Lake Labarge — Length and formation of Lake Labarge — Country surrounding
the lake — Ogilvie Valley — Richtofen Island — Hills and mountains along the
lake— Miner's Range — The Lewes beyond the head of Lake Labarge — Tahk-
heena River — Its principal sources — The river employed by Indians to reach the
interior — White Horse Rapid and Miles Canon — The valley occupied by Lake
Labarge — Its climate — Bennett Lake — Lake Marsh — Country in its vicinity —
Tagish Lake — Jubilee Mountain — Navigation by steamers — Lake Marsh portion
of a system of still water navigation — Probable utility of this system in opening
up and developing the mineral resources of the country — Main continuation of
the Lewes — Lake Nares — The lake system — Lake Lindeman — Trail over the
Coast Mountains — Dates of opening and closing of the rivers throughout the
region — Entrance to the Yukon district by the Chilkoot Pass and Lewes River —
Sheep Camp— Mr. J. Healey — Mountain portage from Lake Lindeman toHealey's
house — The trail across the summit of Chilkoot Pass — The " Stone house "-
Formation of rocks on the Chilkoot Pass — Its vegetation — White Pass — Altitude
of its summit — Another route to the interior — Map of the Chilkoot and Chilkat
Passes and their vicinity — Earliest reference to the discovery of gold in the
Yukon waters.
THE bearing of the Lewes becomes nearly due south, at the
mouth of the Big Salmon. Though crooked in detail, it
preserves this general bearing to the mouth of the Tes-lin-too,
a distance by the river of thirty-one miles. The actual width
of the river, at a point nine miles below the mouth of the Tes-
lin-too, was ascertained to be 483 feet, the current being at the
rate of 4*84 miles per hour. A short distance south of this
point, the river again begins to widen and to resume its usual
aspect. The hills bounding the valley on the south of the
Seminow Range seldom exceed a height of 800 feet till the
vicinity of the confluence of the Tes-lin-too and Lewes is
reached, when they gradually increase to 1000 or 1500 feet.
360 THE YUKON TERRITORY
A number of auriferous gravel-bars have been worked along
this part of the Lewes, including Cassiar Bar, which has so far
proved the richest on the river. Limited areas of the river-flats
have also been worked over, where the alluvial cover is not too
deep.
The valley near the mouth of the Tes-lin-too is again nar-
rower than usual, singularly so for the point of confluence of
two important rivers. The valley of the Tes-lin-too is evidently
the main orographic depression which continues that occupied
by the Lewes below the confluence. The Lewes flows in
through a narrow gap, closely bordered by high hills and nearly
at right angles to the lower course of the river.
The water of the Lewes has a blue, slightly opalescent colour,
much resembling that of the Rhone where it issues from the
Lake of Geneva, while that of the Tes-lin-too is brownish and
somewhat turbid. A considerable part of the water of the
former stream must be derived from the glaciers and snows of the
Coast Ranges, but the existence of large lakes on both streams
doubtless accounts for their proximate equality in temperature.
From the few exposures on that part of the Lewes which
cuts across the Seminow Hills, the range would appear to be
composed of greenish, altered volcanic rocks, probably diabase,
interbedded with grey or whitish marble.
The Teslin-too River is named the Newberry or Tess-el-
heena ' on Schwatka's map, and is evidently the same which is
sketched on the U.S. Coast Survey map of Alaska, etc. (1884),
as the Nas-a-thane. By the miners who pass along the Lewes,
it is known as the Hootalinkwa or Hotalinqu, in consequence,
as it proves, of a misapprehension. The Hotilinqu, which has
appeared on the maps for many years, was traversed in its
upper part by Byrnes in the course of his exploration. I have
ascertained that one or more of the miners who first descended
the Lewes knew Byrnes, and were familiar with his work;
1 This is doubtless a version of Tes-lin-hl-m, km (or in combination hi-nl],
being Tagish for river. Tes-lin-too is the name given to me by the Tagish
Indians, the termination being the Tinne equivalent for hin. This is, how-
ever, not the only case of such use of Tinne words by the Tagish. Nas-a-
thane is doubtless Nl-sutlin or Ni-sutlm-hi-ni, the name of the river above
the great lake. Krause names this river, on an Indian sketch attached to his
map, Tis-lin-hin.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 361
they naturally enough, on finding the river, jumped to the con-
clusion that it was the Hotalinqu of which he had told them.
This river still remains to be explored and mapped, and as it
drains a country with a rather dry climate, the area of its basin
is probably very considerable. It has been prospected to some
extent by a few miners, but it is difficult, from the accounts
which they are able to give, to ascertain much of a definite
character respecting it. At the mouth of the river we met Mr.
T. Boswell and two other miners who had spent most of the
summer on it, and from Boswell's description, together with
sketches subsequently obtained from Indians, the following
notes are drawn up.
The general trend of the Tes-lin-too appears to be south-
eastward, and Boswell estimates its length, to the great lake, at
one hundred miles. There are no rapids or falls in this distance,
but the water for sixty or seventy miles from the mouth is
moderately swift, the remaining distance to the lake being quite
slack. The lake is represented as being at least one hundred
miles in length, but accounts differ as to the existence of a large
tributary river at its head, some affirming that there is merely a
small unimportant stream. Be that as it may, the main con-
tinuation of the Tes-lin-too is found at the head of an arm ten
or twelve miles long, on the east side of the lake. This river,
known to the Tagish Indians as Ni-sutlin-hi-ni, must come
from a north-easterly direction in the first instance, and it is
represented as circling completely round the head of the Big
Salmon River and rising between that River and the Upper
Pelly. At a distance variously estimated at from eighty to one
hundred and twenty miles from its mouth (and said by the
Indians to be two days' travel down stream), the river forks, the
west fork being the larger and that of which the course has just
been described. The east fork is swift and full of rapids ; it
rises in a mountainous country, which no doubt represents a
portion of the northern continuation of the Cassiar Range. The
Indians travel several days up this fork and then cross moun-
tains to tributaries of the Upper Liard and descend by these to
the little trading post at the confluence of the Liard and Dease.
Between the mouth of the main river and the forks above men-
tioned, the navigation is fairly good and no heavy rapids occur.
K
362 THE YUKON TERRITORY
The great lake above mentioned, into which the Ni-sutlin-
hi-nl discharges, is said by the Indians to be the largest known
to them. It is named Tes-lin by the Tagish Indians, and is
bordered to the westward, at a distance of several miles, by a
high range of mountains, while a similar range, but of inferior
height, runs along its east side and separates the Tes-lin-too
from the Big Salmon further north. Near the head of the lake
is an Indian trail by which, it is said, the head of canoe naviga-
tion on the Taku River may be reached in two long days'
packing. Inquiry seems to show that the distance from point
to point by this trail is about sixty miles, and that it crosses a
range of mountains, but not at such a height as to pass entirely
out of the timber. It is stated that a miner named Mike Powers,
with eight or nine other men, crossed from the Taku to the lake
in 1876 or 1877. These men built three boats on the lake, but
do not appear to have done much prospecting, and came out by
the same route by which they had entered.
There are two Indian salmon-fishing stations on the Ni-sutlin-
hi-ni above Tes-lin Lake. Mr. Boswell and his partners found
fine gold all along the Tes-lin-too and also on the Ni-sutlin-hi-ni.
They worked in different places along the river and appear to
have done fairly well.
From the mouth of the Tes-lin-too or Newberry to the lower
end of Lake Labarge the distance by the Lewes is twenty-seven
miles and a half. The river is very crooked, and for the first
six or seven miles very rapid, averaging probably six miles an
hour. Large boulders occur in its bed in some places, but it
is believed that a stern-wheel steamer of good power might
ascend without difficulty. The current becomes slack three
or four miles before reaching the lake. The river does not
follow any well marked or important valley, but an irregular
depression among lumpy inconsequent hills, probably none
rising over 1000 feet above it.
This lake, through which the Lewes River flows, is un-
doubtedly that named for Lake Labarge on the older maps,
though Schwatka names it Kluk-tas-si, which is no doubt an
attempt at its Tagish Indian name Tloo-tat-sai'. Krause calls
it Tahiniwud, which is evidently the name given to me as that
of the Lewes River.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 363
The lake is a little over thirty-one miles in length. It lies
nearly north-and-south, but is somewhat irregular in outline and
does not present the parallel-sided form and constant width of
most of the mountain lakes. It is bordered nearly everywhere
by hilly or mountainous country, but two important valleys
require special mention. The first of these evidently forms
the continuation of the hollow occupied by the lake itself,
and runs on from its north or lower end in a north-west-
ward direction, while the river, where it leaves the lake,
turns to the north-east and breaks through the range of hills
on that side. The greater part of this valley, which I propose
to name the Ogilvie Valley, appears to drain from the lake in a
north-westerly direction and probably to White River, as it is
seen to be blocked by terrace-flats about 200 feet above the
lake, at a distance of a few miles from it. The second valley
begins in a tract of low land to the west of Richtofen Island,
and runs parallel to the first, being, like it, one of the main
orographic valleys of the region. A small river appears to enter
the lake from this valley. The mountains on the south-west
side form a well characterized range, but appear scarcely to
exceed 2500 feet in height above the lake. They carried,
however, some patches of old snow, the first seen by us since
leaving the upper part of the Pelly River.
The hills along the lower part of the lake on the east side
are remarkable in their abrupt forms and have white limestone
summits. They rise from 300 to 1000 feet above the lake, and
no higher mountains were seen behind them. Further up the
lake, on the same side, similar limestone mountains attain a
height of about 2000 feet at a short distance back, but are not so
remarkable in form. On the west side of the lake, north of the
Richtofen valley, the hills slope gradually back from the shore and
in a few places reach a height of probably 2000 feet above it, at
some miles inland. The outlines of these hills are monotonous
and they are wooded nearly to the summits. South of the
Richtofen valley the Miner's Range * approaches the lake at an
oblique angle, but decreasing in altitude. The mountains that
form this range are more varied in form than those just described.
1 I name this for the miners met by us along the river, good fellows all of
them.
K 2
364 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Though local tokens of a more humid climate were noted on
the Lewes near the Seminow Hills, these are soon lost after
passing that range, and along Lake Labarge, southern slopes
of terraces and hills are often grassy and open. Anemone
patens was noted as abundant in many places.
No definite indication of the mode of origin of the lake was
obtained. Observation shows that the valley through which it
now discharges existed in glacial times, but it may probably
have been of less importance, and it is not impossible that before
the glacial period the river flowed out by the Ogilvie valley,
which may since have become blocked by morainic or other
drift deposits.
Beyond the head of Lake Labarge, the valley of the Lewes
continues equally wide, and runs in a general southward direc-
tion like that of the lake. At the head of the lake, the valley is
occupied by swampy flats nearly at the water-level and by low
terrace-flats, which, where cut in the river banks, are seen to be
composed of stratified fine sands, which are often iron-stained,
and a few miles up the river are found to rest upon the white
silts, showing that they are valley deposits of post-glacial date.
The limestone range which has bordered the east side of Lake
Labarge, runs on in a southward direction, forming the east
side of the wide valley. Eleven miles and a half from the head
of the lake the Tahk-heena River flows in from the west,
making a right angle with the main river, and at thirteen
miles further (still measuring along the river) the foot of
White Horse Rapid is reached. The current of the Lewes is
rather slack for eleven miles from the lake, and the bed and
banks are clayey or sandy. Above this point, the river becomes
swift, averaging about four miles an hour, and gravel banks and
bars reappear. For about two miles below the White Horse
Rapid the current is very swift, and though the latter may be
designated as the head of possible steamer navigation, it would
scarcely pay to endeavour to force a steamer up to the very foot
of the rapid. No rock exposures whatever were seen along
this part of the Lewes, the scarped banks, which are often a
hundred feet in height, consisting almost entirely of white silts
with a widely undulated bedding.
The Tahk-heena River is named the Tukon at its outflow from
THE YUKON TERRITORY 365
"west Kussooa Lake" at its head, on Krause's map. The
orthography of the published maps is retained here. The name
would probably be more correctly rendered Ta-hi-nl. It is a
considerable stream and is wide and slack at its confluence with
the Lewes. At about 200 yards from the Lewes, where it has
attained its normal size, it was ascertained to be 237 feet wide,
with a depth of ten feet for about one-third of this width, and
a current estimated at two miles an hour. The hills which
border the south side of this river at its mouth, rise to high
rugged mountains at about fifteen miles to the west, and these
have the appearance of being largely composed of granite. The
water of this river is very turbid as compared with that of the
Lewes.
The principal sources of the Tahk-heena are shown by Dr.
A. Krause's exploration to be at a distance of forty to fifty miles
from the head of the west branch of Lynn Canal, and the river
was formerly much employed by the Chilkat Indians, whose
chief place is on that arm, as a means of reaching the interior.
It is not used by the miners, and is now used to only a small
extent by the Indians themselves, on account of the long and
difficult carriage from the sea to its head ; but the lake at the
head of the river once reached, the voyage down stream is
reported to be easier than that by the main river, the rapids
being less serious.
The White Horse Rapid and Miles Canon form together the
most formidable obstacle to the use of the Lewes as a route
into the interior, constituting an interruption to navigation of
two and three-quarter miles in total length. White Horse
Rapid is three-eighths of a mile long.1 The worst rapid is at
the lower end of the White Horse, where the river scarcely
exceeds a hundred feet in width, with low basaltic banks, and
the force of the water is very great. In the upper part of the
White Horse, the water flows between low basalt cliffs scarcely
exceeding twenty feet in height, but sufficient to render track-
ing precarious and difficult, while the numerous rocks in mid-
channel make the rapid dangerous to run. The portage is on
the west bank, and it is usual to carry both boats and cargo
over it.
1 The distances here given are those measured by Mr. Ogilvie.
366 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Between the White Horse and the foot of the canon the river
is very swift, and at one place, a mile above the former and
three-quarters of a mile below the latter, the set of the stream
is so strong round a rocky point as to render it advisable to
make an additional short portage of 130 feet. A third portage
of five-eighths of a mile is necessary at Miles Canon. This
portage is on the east bank, and at the lower end a very steep
ascent has first to be overcome. Here a sort of extemporized
windlass has been rigged up by the miners for the purpose of
hauling up their boats. The canon is cut through a nearly
horizontal flow of basalt and is not more than a hundred feet
in width, with vertical cliffs averaging about fifty feet, and
never exceeding one hundred feet, at the sides. It opens out
into a basin in the middle, but the river is elsewhere inaccessi-
ble from the banks. Terraced hills rise above the basalt walls
on each side of the valley, but are particularly abrupt on the
west bank. The river flows through the canon with great
velocity, but is unimpeded in its course, and it is therefore not
very risky to run with a good boat. The White Horse Rapid
is, however, much more dangerous, and though some of the
miners have run through it — generally accidentally — it should
not be attempted.
The great structural valley which is occupied by Lake
Labarge and by the river above it up to this point, runs on
above the canon as a wide, important depression, bearing
nearly due south, and appears to be uninterrupted till it joins
the lower end of Bennett Lake, thirty-two miles distant.
The course of the river, however, diverges to the south-east, in
which direction also a wide valley runs, and in twenty-three
miles (following the stream) the lower end of Lake Marsh is
reached. This valley, though extensive between its limiting
slopes, is not regularly bounded by parallel ranges, like that
first mentioned.
The climate is dry, the black pine (Pinus Murray anoL) is now
very abundant, much more so than on the lower river, and it
was here observed that this tree began to assume a more
branching and less rigid form than it has to the north. Large
numbers of salmon were found dead or dying along the banks
for a few miles above the canon, and the grass along the
THE YUKON TERRITORY 367
shores was trodden down by bears attracted here by this
circumstance. No salmon were found so far up as Lake
Marsh, and the Indians consider this is the limit of the fish.
It would appear that after their long journey from the sea,
those which get so far, exhaust their last remaining strength
in ascending the canon.
Lake Marsh, so named by Schwatka, in honour of Prof. O.
C. Marsh, is known to the miners as " Mud Lake." It is
twenty miles in length, with an average width of about two
miles, pretty uniformly maintained. The valley of which whose
centre the lake occupies, is notably wide, and the country in
the immediate vicinity of the lake is quite low, consisting
of terrace-flats, or low rounded or wooded hills and ridges.
Conspicuous mountain summits, however, occur at a distance
of some miles inland on both sides of the lake. A moderately
well-defined range, of which Michie Mountain l 5540 feet in
height is the most elevated point, bounds the view on the east
side of the lake. To the west is an irregular and broken mass
of mountains in which several notable gaps occur, and which
occupy the country between Lake Marsh and the Watson
valley, previously referred to. The highest points of these,
Mounts Lome and Lansdoivne, were ascertained to have
approximate elevations of 6400 and 6140 feet respectively.
The diversified forms of the mountains in view from this lake
render it particularly picturesque, and at the time of our visit
the autumn tints of the aspens and other deciduous trees and
shrubs, mingled with the sombre greens of the spruces and
pines, added to its beauty.
The upper end of Lake Marsh is connected with Tagish
Lake by a wide tranquil reach of river five miles in length.
The current is here very slack, and- the depth, according to
Ogilvie, from six to twelve feet. The river is bordered by low
terraces, which are particularly wide on the west side, and are
covered with open woods, chiefly consisting of white spruce and
cotton wood. To the east, the long irregular ridges and slopes
which culminate in Jubilee Mountain begin to rise a short
distance back from the river. A mile above Lake Marsh, on
the east bank of the river, are two roughly built houses
1 So named by Schwatka.
368 THE YUKON TERRITORY
belonging to the Tagish Indians. These are the only
permanent houses seen along the whole course of the Lewes,
and here the Tagish people, who roam over this part of the
country, reside during the winter months.
From the description just given, it will be seen that the
navigation, by steamers, from the head of the canon through
Lake Marsh and to Tagish Lake would offer no difficulties,
while the tranquil character of the connecting river between the
two lakes last mentioned, is such as practically to render Lake
Marsh the lower portion of an extensive system of still-water
navigation which includes not only Tagish Lake, but also Lake
Nares, Lake Bennett, and possibly other connected waters, and
which will prove of the greatest utility at no distant date in
facilitating the opening up and development of the mineral
resources of the tract of country in their vicinity.
Taken as a whole, these lakes constitute a singularly
picturesque region, abounding in striking points of view and in
landscapes pleasing in their variety, or grand and impressive in
their combination of rugged mountain forms.
The inner or north-eastern edge of the Coast Ranges is not
here very well defined, but Tagish and Bennett Lakes, with
their several arms, may be described as lying upon this border
and as in part penetrating the outskirts of the range. The
lower part of Tagish Lake occupies the continuation of the
same wide valley in which Lake Marsh lies, and the valley of
the Tako Arm may also be included as a part of the same
depression. To the west of this, the upper part of Tagish Lake
and Bennett Lake must be considered as lying among the
mountains of the Coast Ranges, and the height as well as the
abrupt and rugged character of the mountains increase in that
direction, their slopes and summits holding large areas of
permanent snow, even late in the summer.
In consequence of the position of this country, in the lee of
the higher crests of the Coast Ranges, and notwithstanding its
considerable altitude, the climate appears to be equally dry
with that about the site of old Fort Selkirk, and no very
striking difference exists in the character of the vegetation.
The southward facing slopes of some of the mountains, to a
height of a thousand feet or more above the lake, are grassy
THE YUKON TERRITORY 369
and open, a circumstance particularly observable on the north
side of the west part of Tagish Lake and on Lake Nares.
This is the main continuation of the Lewes, and is reported
to be a tranquil stream of no great length, resembling that
between Marsh and Tagish lakes. It flows out of the west side
of another very long lake which lies nearly parallel to Tahko
Arm. This lake, near the south end, receives several feeders,
one of which, entering at its extremity, I suppose to be the
Hotalinqu River of the Telegraph Survey, though the Tagish
Indians informed me they named it Yil-hi-ni.
The Indian name of the lake here named Tagish Lake, is
Ta-gish-ai (Taglscha of Krause). It is commonly known by
the miners as Tako Lake, and Schwatka adopts this name on
his map. It appears, however, admissible to revert to the
proper Indian pronunciation of the name. I am obliged, by
the facts of the case, to include Bove Lake, of Schwatka, as
part of Tagish Lake, but, in order to preserve the name, propose
to attach it to the large island in the mouth of Windy Arm.
Lake Nares is known to the miners as " Moose Lake," Lake
Bennett as "Boat Lake."
A glance at the map will show that the lakes of this system
occupy a portion only of a still more extensive system of wide
valleys, which are probably of great antiquity. The pre-glacial
direction of drainage in some of these can only be conjectured.
All those valleys are now, to a great extent, filled with detrital
deposits, probably due for the most part to the glacial period.
No appreciable deepening of drainage levels is going on, and
the action at present in progress is constantly tending toward
the filling up of the lake basins. It may be presumed, here as
elsewhere, that the lakes of this region now occupy the place of
the last tongues of the great glacier, which in the end dis-
appeared so rapidly that their beds had not time to become
filled with detritus.
Lake Lindeman occupies the continuation of the same valley
in which Lake Bennett lies, but is separated from that lake by
a small rapid stream, three-quarters of a mile in length. This
stream falls about twenty feet between the two lakes, and is
rough and rocky. The portage is on the east side, and after
carrying the greater part of our stuff overland, we experienced
37O THE YUKON TERRITORY
no difficulty in bringing the boat up the rapids. Lake Linde-
man (Ti-tshoo-tah-mini of the Tagish Indians Schiitluchroa
Lake of Krause) is five miles in total length, with an average
width of about half a mile. It is the extreme head of naviga-
tion in this direction. The lower end is shallow, and the
occurrence there of many large boulders may show that it is
moraine-dammed. Its shores are rough and rocky along both
sides, high rough mountains rising on its north bank, while
lower country, consisting of rocky hills, extends to the south-
eastward, as far as the White Pass. A stream joins the head
of the lake from the west, in which direction the main valley
runs, but bifurcates at a distance of about three miles, the
branches running off among high granite mountains. A second
stream of some size, which evidently becomes a formidable
torrent at certain seasons, flows into the lake about a mile from
its head, on the south side. It is the valley of this stream
which is followed by the trail by which the Coast Mountains
are crossed. The scenery about this lake is wild and fine,
though solitary and alpine in the extreme. The rocks every-
where about the lake are granites of the kind just described.
As a number of miners had preceded us, on their way to the
coast, we found several boats drawn up on the shore at the
mouth of the stream above mentioned. We were also so
fortunate as to find a small party of Tagish Indians camped
there, but most of the men had already gone over the portage
with some of the miners, and we were obliged to wait two days
for their return, before we could obtain the requisite assistance
to carry over our stuff.
The total length of the route by the Lewes River from "the
Landing " on Lake Lindeman to the site of Fort Selkirk is 357
miles. From the outlet of Lake Labarge to the same point is
a distance of 200 miles, in which the total descent is 595 feet,
or at the rate of 2*97 feet to the mile.
The information obtained respecting the dates of opening and
closing of the river in spring and autumn is very fragmentary.
It would appear, however, that the rivers generally throughout
the region open early in May, while they may be expected to
freeze over, in slack-water reaches, any time after the middle of
October, on the occurrence of a few consecutive days of hard
THE YUKON TERRITORY 371
frost. Loose ice sometimes begins to run in the rivers as early
as September 2oth, but this generally precedes the actual
closing of the rivers by a couple of weeks. In some seasons
the rivers do not freeze over till well on in November. The
ice, however, remains much longer unbroken upon the lakes,
the lakes on the course of the Lewes thus generally preventing
the descent of that river by boats till June.
Miners entering the Yukon district by the Chilkoot Pass and
Lewes River, frequently leave the head of Lynn Canal in April,
and after crossing the pass — for this fine weather is essential
— continue on down the lakes on the ice, and then, if necessary,
wait at some convenient point for the opening of navigation,
and build their boats. •
In ascending the river, much depends on the build of the
boat employed and skill of the men in poling, as well as on the
occurrence, or otherwise, of head-winds on the lakes. The
whole distance from Forty-mile Creek to Lake Lindeman has
been made once or twice in so short a time as thirty days, and
I believe that even this record has been surpassed by a couple
of days on one occasion, but under very exceptional circum-
stances.
Much, however, depends on the stage of water in the river,
as when it is unusually high, the current is not only stronger,
but many of the bars and beaches are covered, and the poling
and tracking is much more laborious.
Timber suitable for building boats can scarcely be found in
the vicinity of Lake Lindeman, but no difficulty is met with in
obtaining trees of fair size on Bennett and Tagish Lakes. Below
these lakes the country is generally wooded, and there is an
abundance of spruce of fair quality, growing tall and straight in
sheltered localities, but seldom attaining a diameter of two
feet.
On the igth of September, 1887, we set out with four Indian
packers, crossed the summit, and reached a point in the valley
of the west slope near what is known as Sheep Camp, the same
evening. On the evening of the 2Oth, we arrived at the head of
tide-water on Taiya Inlet, and were hospitably received by Mr.
J. Healey, who has established himself at that point for
purposes of trade with the Indians and miners. We had at
372 THE YUKON TERRITORY
this time just completed our fourth month of arduous and
incessant travel from Wrangell, at the mouth of the Stikine
River, by the rivers, lakes and portages of the interior described
in the foregoing pages, the total distance traversed being about
1322 miles. It was not the least pleasing moment of the entire
journey when, from a distance of some miles, we first caught
sight of the sea shining like a plate of beaten bronze under the
rays of the evening sun.
The length of the mountain portage from Lake Lindeman to
Healey's house is twenty-three miles and a half, the summit of
the pass being at a distance of eight miles and a half from Lake
Lindeman, with an elevation of 3502 feet.
The valley on the north gr inland side of the summit contains
several little lakes which are evidently true rock-basins, with
lumpy bottoms and irregular contours. The trail is rough and
crooked, and entirely without attempt at improvement of any
kind. It follows the stream in one place, for about a mile,
through a narrow rocky defile, which has evidently been cut
out since the glacial period. Where it crosses wide areas of
shattered rocks, the closest attention is required to follow it,
and this can only be done, in the absence of guides, by noting
the slightly soiled appearance of the grey stones from one to
another of which the Indians step. Some of the valleys to the
north of the summit, and near it, are deeply filled with perennial
snow, over which the trail runs by preference, to avoid the
rocky slopes. The small lakes highest in the pass were, at the
time we crossed, about two-thirds covered with new ice ; this
showed little sign of melting, even under the bright sun that
prevailed. Hard frosts were evidently occurring here in the
mountains every night at this season.
From seven to eight miles of the highest part of the pass is
entirely destitute of timber, even of a stunted growth such as
might be used for firewood. The nature of the ground is, how-
ever, so rocky that it does not afford a proper criterion of the
normal height of the timber-line.
At the actual summit, the trail leads through a narrow, rocky
gap, and the whole scene is one of complete desolation, the
naked granite rocks rising steeply to partly snow-clad mountains
on either side. The slope of the pass on the north side is
THE YUKON TERRITORY 373
gradual, and the total ascent from the lake not very great, being
but 1334 feet. To the south, on the contrary, it is at first
abrupt and even precipitous, being accomplished over huge
masses of fallen rock, which alternate here and there with steep
slippery surfaces of rock in places ; but the travelling here is
after all not so bad as that met with lower down the valley,
where the trail goes through the woods along the steep, rocky
and often boggy hillside, leading up ahd down the sides of
several deep, narrow gullies. Two jsmall detached glaciers
occupy hollows in the slope of the mountains on the west side
of this valley, and from these a considerable part of the water
of the stream is derived. The " Stone house," or stone houses,
and "Sheep camp" are points noted in this part of the pass,
the first consisting of several natural though inconvenient
shelters, beneath great masses of rock which have rolled down
from the mountain, where the Indians often stop over night ;
the second being the point where arboreal vegetation of fair
growth begins.
At six miles from the head of the inlet, the stream followed
down from the summit is joined by another which has been
dignified by the name of the Nourse River. A short distance
up the valley of the latter are somewhat extensive glaciers and
high snow-covered mountains. Both the valley of this stream
and that coming from the pass are narrow and V-shaped, but
from their point of junction a wide flat-bottomed valley runs
due south between high mountain walls and is continued further
on in that occupied by the inlet itself. This valley is largely
floored by gravel-flats and is evidently subjected at times to
heavy floods. The little river formed by the confluence of these
streams may be ascended with difficulty by canoes, for some
miles, when the water is not low, but at the time we passed this
was scarcely practicable. It is, however, easy to walk along the
gravel-flats, the only discomfort being the necessity of fording
the ice-cold and very swift water several times en route.
The rocks met with on the Chilkoot Pass are practically all
granites, generally hornblendic and grey, though varying in
coarseness of grain, and often porphyritic with pink orthoclase.
Below the Forks, on the east side of the valley, the summits of
several mountains show rocks evidently stratified, dipping at
374 THE YUKON TERRITORY
high angles. These are probably gneiss or schist, like those
seen in the valley of the pass.
Scrubby hemlock (Tsuga Pattoniana) in a prostrate form
occurs not far below the actual summit on both slopes.
Below the " Stone house " this tree becomes arboreal, and a
few miles further down the valley grows tall and straight,
forming entire groves. Menzies spruce (Abies Sitchensis] also
appears, a short distance below " Sheep camp," together with
cottonwood (probably Populus balsamiferd}. Here also elder
and birch were first seen on the south slope. The devil's club
(Fatsia horrida) comes in about a mile above " Sheep camp."
Pinus contorta was not seen till the Forks was reached.
The " Stone house" is named Te-hit by the Indians. The
Indian name of the Taiya River of the maps, is Dal-e'. Nourse
River is named Kit-ll-koo-goo-a/, the stream followed southward
from the summit of the pass Si-tik'. These rivers are named
Katlakuchra and Ssidrajik on the map of Dr. A. Krause.
Having heard reports of the existence of a second pass from
Taiya Inlet to the lakes on the head-waters of the Lewes, Mr.
Ogilvie sent Capt. W. Moore to make an examination of it, with
instructions to rejoin the party to the east of the mountains.
This pass Mr. Ogilvie has named White Pass in honour of the
late Minister of the Interior. It leaves the coast at the mouth
of the Shkagway River * five miles south of the head of Taiya
Inlet, and runs parallel to Chilkoot Pass at no great distance
from it. The distance from the coast to the summit is stated as
seventeen miles ; the first five miles are of level bottom-land,
thickly timbered. The next nine miles is in a canon-like valley
where heavy work would be encountered in constructing a trail.
The remaining distance of three miles, to the summit, is
comparatively easy. The altitude of the summit is roughly
estimated at 2600 feet. Beyond the summit a wide valley is
entered, and the descent to the first little lake is said to be not
more than one hundred feet. The mountains rapidly decrease
in height and abruptness after the summit is passed, and the
valley bifurcates, one branch leading to the head of Windy Arm
of Tagish Lake, the other (down which the water drains) going
to Tako Arm of the same lake.
1 So named on chart in U.S. Coast Pilot, Schkague River of Krause.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 375
There is still another route into the interior, which the
Indians occasionally employ in winter when the travelling is
good over the snow. This leaves the Nourse or west branch of
the Taiya, and runs west of the Chilkoot Pass to the head of
Lake Lindeman.
The first map of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Passes and their
vicinity is due, as mentioned further on, to Dr. A. Krause. The
passes connecting the coast with the interior country, from the
heads of Lynn Canal to the upper waters of the Lewes, were
always jealously guarded by the Chilkat and Chilkoot Indians
of the coast, who carried on a lucrative trade with the interior
or " Stick " Indians, and held these people in a species of sub-
jection. Though the existence of these routes to the interior
was known to the traders and prospectors, the hostility of the
Chilkats and Chilkoots to the passage of whites long prevented
their exploration.
I have not been able to find any reference to the discovery of
gold in the Yukon waters earlier than that given by Mr.
F. Whymper, who writes in 1869 : "It is worthy of mention
that minute specks of gold have been found by some of the
Hudson Bay Company's men in the Yukon, but not in quan-
tities to warrant a ' rush ' to the locality." l
1 Travels in Alaska and on the Yukon. London, 1869, p. 227.
L 2
CHAPTER XL
George Holt the first white man to cross — Date of Holt's journey — By the Chilkoot
or White Pass to the head of the Lewes — The river followed do Am to Lake
Marsh — Over the Indian trail to the Tes-lin-too — Return to the coast by the
same route — Holt reported the discovery of ' ' coarse gold " — His statement
unconfirmed by subsequent prospectors — Prospecting party organized at Sitka in
1880 — Chilkoot Pass crossed to Lake Lindeman — The Tes-lin-too ascended
and prospected — No encouraging "prospects" met with — The Chilkoot Pass
again crossed in 1881 — First discovery of paying placers in the Big Salmon
district — Entry of the Yukon country by the Chilkoot Pass in 1882 — Exploration
of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Passes by Dr. Arthur Krause — Progress of mining
during 1883, 1884, and 1885— Discovery of Cassiar Bar in 1886— "Coarse gold"
found on Forty Mile Creek — General view of the gold discoveries in the Upper
Yukon country — Number of miners in 1887 — Extent of country over which gold
has been found — Promising prospect for the utilization of this great mining field
— Difficulties and hardships to be overcome by miners now entering the country
— Long and severe winters — Short season for working on river bars— Frozen
ground — Capability of country to support a considerable mining population.
THE first white man who crossed from the coast to the
head-waters of the Lewes was probably one George
Holt,1 who did so with the object of prospecting the country.2
The date of Holt's journey was, I believe, 1878. He was
accompanied by one or more Indians, and crossed by the
Chilkoot or by the White Pass to the head of the Lewes. He
followed the river down to the lower end of Lake Marsh, and
walked over the Indian trail thence to the Tes-lin-too, return-
ing to the coast again by the same route. On his return, he
reported the discovery of " coarse gold," but none of the miners
who afterwards prospected the region mentioned have been
able to confirm his statement in this particular. In the Alaska
Coast Pilot the date of Holt's journey is given as 1875, and in
1 Afterwards murdered by Indians at Cook's Inlet in 1885. Shores and
Alps of Alaska, H. W. Seton Karr, London, 1887.
. 2 U.S. Coast Pilot, Alaska, 1883, pp. 200, 278.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 377
the addendum to the same work as 1872, 1 in Mrs. Scidmore's
book, already quoted, as " 1872 or 1884." The date and route
above assigned to Holt are, however, probably correct, being
the result of inquiry among miners who knew him, followed his
route through the country, and came in contact with the Indians
whom he had met.
Some years later, in 1880, a prospecting party of nineteen
men was organized at Sitka under the leadership of one Edward
Bean. Amicable relations were established with the Chilkats
and Chilkoots through the kind offices of Captain Beardslee,
U.S.N., and the Chilkoot Pass was crossed to Lake Lindeman.
The party had, by this time, increased to twenty-five in
number.2 Boats were built on Lake Lindeman, and on the 4th
of July the prospectors set out down stream. The Tes-lin-too
was reached and was then, for the first time (and as it proves,
erroneously) recognized as the Hotalinqu. Before returning,
the Tes-lin too was ascended and prospected for some
distance. From George Langtry, who was a member of the
original party, and R. Steel, who joined in later, the facts, as
above given, are derived.3 No encouraging "prospects" were
met with at this time, though Steel states that he found bars
yielding at the rate of $2*50 a day in a small stream which joins
the Lewes fifteen miles above the canon.
This large party was closely followed by two miners known
as Johnny Mackenzie and " Slim Jim," who reached Lake
Lindeman on July 3rd. It is possible that other parties as well
entered the country in that year ; but if so, I have been unable
to trace them.
1 Other extraordinary journeys assigned to Holt in Mrs. Scidmore's book
are, according to the miners, altogether incorrect. Holt appears to have
been a romancer with considerable inventive powers, but it is possible that
he made more than one journey. In May, 1878, Messrs. Rath Brothers, of
Victoria, and Mr. Bean, of California, set out to cross by the Chilkoot Pass
for the purpose of prospecting, but were not allowed to go inland by the
Indians. Morris, Report upon the Customs District, etc., of Alaska, 1879,
p. 97.
2 It had increased to twenty shortly after leaving Sitka. See Report by
Captain Beardslee, 47th Congress, ist Session, Senate, Ex. Doc. No. 71, p. 65.
In the same report, the names of the nineteen original members of the
party are given and some account of its organization, etc.
3 The account of the further wanderings of the party given in the U.S.
Coast Pilot, Alaska (1883), p. 278, is incorrect.
378 THE YUKON TERRITORY
In 1881, a party of four miners, including G. Langtry and
P. McGlinchey, again crossed the Chilkoot Pass. These men
got as far as the Big Salmon River, which they called the lyon,
by which name it is marked on the U.S. Coast Survey map of
1884. They ascended the Big Salmon, according to their
estimate, about 200 miles, finding a little gold all along its
course and meeting with some remunerative river-bars. This
may be characterized as the first discovery of paying placers in
the district.
In 1882, a number of miners entered the Yukon country by
the Chilkoot Pass, and probably during this season, but
certainly not before,1 two prospecting parties ascended the
Pelly to Hoole Canon, and some of the men appear to have
even gone some distance further up.2
Dr. Arthur Krause, engaged in an expedition on behalf of the
Bremen Geographical Society, in May and June, 1882, made
an exploration of the Chilkoot and Chilkat Passes, reaching
Lake Lindeman and the sources of the Tahk-heena River
respectively. His work is embodied in maps published by the
Bremen and Berlin Geographical Societies, and it is worthy of
special note on account of its conscientious accuracy.3
In 1883, some mining was again in progress, but details
respecting it have not been obtained. It was in this year that
Lieut. Schwatka crossed the Chilkoot Pass and descended the
Lewes and Yukon to the sea.4 In 1884 a little mining was
done on the Pelly and on the Tes-lin-too, and possibly also on
the Lewes. In 1885, mining was begun along the Stewart
1 According to miners who were in the country at the time, the statements
which have been published of earlier prospecting along the Upper Pelly are
erroneous.
2 Through the kindness of Mr. Francois Mercier, I have obtained from
Mr. D. Bertrand, who was a member of one of the parties above referred to,
the names of the men composing both, as follows : — Thomas Boswell, John
Dougan, Robert Robertson, D. Bertrand, Frank Densmore, John Riley, P.
Cloudman, Robert Fox, Thomas Curney. The date as above given is from
Mr. Bertrand. Mr. Boswell, whom we met on the Lewes in 1887, was
understood to say that he had been prospecting up the Pelly in 1884 or
1885, but this statement probably referred to a subsequent expedition.
3 Deutsche Geographische Blatter Bd. v. Heft. 4, 1882. Zeitschr. des Ges
iiir Erdk. zu Berlin Bd. xviii., 1883.
4 See Science, vol. iii., 1884, also Report of a Military Reconnaissance in
Alaska, Washington Government, 1885. Along Alaska's Great River, New
York,. 1 885,
THE YUKON TERRITORY 379
River, and in the following year, the greater part of the mining
population was engaged on that river. Cassiar Bar, on the
Lewes, twenty-seven miles below the Tes-lin-too, was dis-
covered in the spring of 1886, and actively worked during the
same summer.
Late in the autumn of 1886, " coarse gold " was found on
Forty-mile Creek still further down the main river than the
Stewart, and the announcement drew off nearly all the mining
population to that place in 1887. In the attempt to bring out
the news of this discovery, a miner named Williams was frozen
to death on the Chilkoot Pass in January, 1887.
Taking a general view of the gold discoveries so far as made
in the Upper Yukon country, we find that, though some small
bars have been worked on the upper part of the Lewes, and
" prospects " have been obtained even in the stream flowing
into Bennett Lake, paying bars have been found on this river
only below the mouth of the Tes-lin-too. The best of these
are within about seventy miles below this confluence, and the
richest so far has been Cassiar Bar. This is reported to have
yielded, in some cases, at the rate of $30 a day to the hand,
and gold to the value of many thousand dollars has been
obtained from it, chiefly in 1886. In 1887 only three or four
men worked here. All along the Lewes below the Tes-lin-too,
many bars occur which, according to the reports of prospectors,
yield as much as $10 a day, and the same is true of the Tes-
lin-too itself, both below and above Tes-lin Lake.
Gold has also been found for a long distance up the Big
Salmon River, and on the Upper Pelly so far as it has been
prospected. The Tes-lin-too, Big Salmon and Pelly have each
already afforded some good paying ground, but in consequence
of the rush to Forty-mile Creek only about thirteen miners
remained in 1887 on the first- named river, four on the second,
and two on the Pelly. On the Stewart River, as much as $100
a day to the hand was obtained in 1885 and 1886, and probably
over $100,000 worth of gold has already been obtained along
this stream. It has been prospected for a distance of 100 to
200 miles from its mouth (according to varying statements),
and the gold found furthest up is said to be somewhat
" coarser " than that of the lower part.
380 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Forty Mile Creek is reported to be a river of some size, but
more rapid than most of those in the district. It has, accord-
ing to miners, been prospected for about a hundred miles from
its mouth, gold being found almost everywhere along it as well
as in tributary gulches. The gold varies much in character,
but is quite often coarse and nuggety, and very large amounts
have been taken out in favourable places by individual miners.
Few of the men mining here in 1887 were content with ground
yielding less than $14 a day, and several had taken out nearly
f>ioo a day for a short time. The amount obtained from this
stream in 1887 is reckoned by some as high as $120,000, but I
believe it would be safe to put the entire output of the Upper
Yukon region for the year at a minimum of $75,000, of which
the greatest part was derived from this stream.
The number of miners in the whole Upper Yukon country in
1887 may be stated at about 250 ; of these, 200 were on Forty
Mile Creek, and it was estimated that at least 100 would winter
on the creek to be ready for work in the spring.
Forty Mile Creek is what the miners term a " bed-rock
creek," i.e. one in which there is no great depth of drift or
detrital deposits below the level of the actual stream. It is so
far the only locality which has been found to yield " coarse
gold," but from the extremely wide distribution of " fine gold "
it may safely be predicted that many more like it remain to be
discovered.
Mining can scarcely be said to have begun in the region
more than five years ago, and the extent of country over which
gold has been found in greater or less quantity is already very
great. Most of the prospecting has been confined to the banks
and bars of the larger rivers, and it is only when their innumer-
able tributary streams begin to be closely searched, that " gulch
diggings " like those of Dease, McDame and other streams in
the Cassiar district, and possibly even on a par with Williams
and Lightning Creeks in Caribou, will be found and worked. The
general result so far has been to prove that six large and long
rivers, the Lewes, Tes-lin-too, Big Salmon, Pelly, Stewart and
White, yield " fine gold " along hundreds of miles of their lower
courses. With the exception of the Lewes, no part of the head-
waters of any of these have yet been prospected or even reached
THE YUKON TERRITORY 381
by the miners, and scarcely any of their innumerable tributaries
have been examined. The developments up to this time
are sufficient to show that when means of access are improved,
important bar-mining will take place along all these main
rivers, and there is every reason to anticipate that the result of
the examination in detail of the smaller streams will be the
discovery of much richer auriferous alluviums. When these
have been found and worked, quartz mining will doubtless
follow, and the prospects for the utilization of this great mining
field in the near future appear to be very promising.
I must not, however, omit to state that great difficulties
and hardships have to be overcome by the miners who now
enter this country. The winter in the country is long and
severe, and the season of low water suitable for working on
river-bars is short. It is also found that beneath its mossy
covering, the ground is often frozen, presenting difficulties
of another character, which have prevented the working of
many promising flats and benches. This, however, is likely
to be remedied by the general burning off of the woods and
moss in the mining camps. Frozen ground was found in the
same way in the early days of the Cassiar mines, but the
destruction of the timber has now allowed the summer heat to
penetrate to the lower layers of the soil almost everywhere.
It is not likely that this great inland country will long be
without some easy means of connection between the coast and
its great length of navigable lake and river waters, and when
this is afforded, there is every reason to believe that it will
support a considerable mining population.
END OF PART II.
PART III.
EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT
OF
AN EXPLORATION MADE IN 1896-1897
BY
WM. OGILVIE, D.L.S., F.R.G.S.
MR. WM. OGILVIE'S EXPLORATION, 1896-1897.
Fort Cudahy, Yukon River, N.W.T.
4th Sept., 1895.
I ARRIVED here on the evening of the 3Oth ult., after a tedious
journey through much bad weather which delayed me fully ten
days. I leave for the boundary in a day, and will commence
marking it at once. With reference to the applications for
land at Selkirk, I may say I have not seen the applicants as yet,
as they are away. It appears to me, however, from what I
have learned, that the best policy is to sell the applicants the
land they ask for. They have all occupied and cultivated part
of it, for several years, raising in their gardens such roots and
vegetables as the climate will permit, on which I will report
more fully later on. There is no great prospect of any town of
importance ever being either at Cudahy or Forty Mile. There
are many mining camps now in the country, and besides, the
miners find it pays well, to what they call "drift," that is
quarry out the frozen gravel during the winter, pile it up, and
wash it during the spring and summer. This keeps scores of
them on their claims all the winter, so that there is not that
demand for town residences during the winter that existed
formerly, and, consequently, town lots are somewhat at a dis-
count. Coarse gold and excellent prospects have been found
on the Hootalinqua (Teslin), and there will likely be a rush there
next spring. I will report more fully on that in future.
I propose, if I can close my operations here early enough
next spring, to make a survey and examination of the Hoota-
linqua rivers and basins on my way out to Yunean. I think this
is desirable in view of the prospects of that region.
M
386 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Fort Cudahy, N.W.T.
8th Jan., 1896.
I HAVE already sent out a short report from that place, being
fortunate enough to catch the boat here when I came down.
In that report I made some remarks on the town sites in our
territories ; since then I have learned nothing of importance in
that connection, the most noteworthy fact being that gold-
bearing quartz has been found in Cone Hill, which stands mid-
way in the valley of the Forty Mile River, a couple of miles
above the junction with the Yukon. The quantity in sight
rivals that of the Treadwell mine on the coast, and the quality
is better, so much so that it is thought it will pay well to work
it, even under the conditions existing here.
Application has been made to purchase it, and an expert is
now engaged in putting in a tunnel to test the extent. In-
dications in sight point to the conclusion that the whole hill is
composed of this metalliferous rock. If the tests corroborate
this, a stamp mill will be erected next season, which will have
an important bearing on the future of this country. If this
venture succeeds (as it doubtless will, for it is in the hands of
parties who are able to push it) it will give permanent employ-
ment to a good many men, who with their families will form
quite a community.
Apart from this I cannot see very much of a chance for
speculation for buying or selling town sites ; and my opinion is
confirmed by the present condition of Forty Mile, which now
contains very few people, the great majority of the miners
remaining on their claims all winter, coming in only once or
twice for supplies. Even in the case of the mine at Cone
Hill being worked, only a village would be formed around
it.
Outside of all such considerations, the present applicants for
" Forty Mile " and " Cudahy " town sites have either directly
or indirectly occupied the present sites for years and spent
thousands of dollars improving and building on them. One
house erected in " Forty Mile " last summer is said to have cost
$10,000. It would cost between two and three thousand in
Ottawa. Those improvements cover so much ground that even
if it were decided to lay out the town site and convey it in
THE YUKON TERRITORY 387
lots, the applicants would have a claim to most of the ground
they ask for.
A couple of coal claims have been staked and applied for,
which I will survey in the spring, and at the same time make
an examination of the coal area where they are. I may
anticipate this to a certain extent by saying that a few days
after I reported to you last fall, I went up Coal Creek to search
for this coal, to which I referred in my report of 1887 and 1888.
I found it about seven miles up the creek overlying a coarse
sandstone, and under drift clay and gravel.
The seam is about twelve feet six inches thick. It seems to
me to be a good quality of lignite. I have packed thirty or
forty pounds of the best specimens I found a few feet in, and
will send them out to you in the spring, that a test may be
made. That exposure has now been staked and applied for to
the agent here. I judge from the position of these coal claims
that we have quite an area of coal here. Both exposures
furnished, as far as exterior features show, the same character
of coal, and are about the same level, so that it is fair to assume
they are in the same seam. I will make a search in the
intervening distance to determine this, when I make a survey
of the claims. Coal is reported in the drift on Chandinduh,
about thirty miles up the river from here, which would go to
show that there is another area or continuation of this one
here.
On my way down the river I saw the copper-bearing vein
near Ton-dac Creek above Fort Reliance. It does not appear
to be extensive, but there are several small veins in the
vicinity, and it may be that a commercially valuable deposit
may be found ; about twenty-five miles further down I found
a small vein which indicates that this copper deposit is
extensive.
I found a small seam of rather poor asbestos a short distance
from Fort Cudahy, and, as there is quite an extensive area of
serpentine around here, asbestos may yet be found of commer-
cial value.
Very rich placer diggings are now being worked on the
creeks flowing into Sixty Mile, part of which are supposed to
M 2
388 THE YUKON TERRITORY
be in Canada. I shall be able to say definitely, when I produce
the line that far, where they are and how much we have of
them.
Last season good placer mines were found on the
Hootalinqua — Teslin of Dawson — with coarse gold in them,
and there will probably be a lot of claims worked there next
season. Several miners were wintering there to commence
operations early in the spring. A great deal of improvement
has been introduced into the working of placer diggings,
which has much increased the output. The miner, instead of
spending the winter months in the towns and saloons,
remains on his claim all winter, cutting wood in the earlier
months, with which he builds fires and thaws the frozen
gravel, piling it up to be washed as soon as the flow of water
in the spring will permit. In this way, the work is more than
doubled, but as the supply of wood is very limited, except on
the main river, this cannot always be done.
The timber fit for building and lumber is fast disappearing
along the river, and in a few years there will be none left near
here. There is a portable saw-mill at Fort Ogilvie — 100 miles
above this — and one here, which yearly cut a good deal of lumber.
Were all this utilized in Canada, nothing might be said of it,
but some of it goes down the river into American territory, in
addition to which a good deal of wood and logs is cut on our
side and floated into Alaska, where it is sold. Some men
make a business of this, and on this at least the department
might collect dues. There is very little good timber on the
American side of the line, hence the demand for our timber.
The police have, so far, made a very favourable impression,
and the general policy of the Government in connection with
this district is admired.
The merchants are well satisfied with the establishment of a
court of justice, and look for the early addition of some sort of
a court of record where transfers and claims can be recorded,
so that the collection of debts can be undertaken with some
degree of certainty. As it is now — A transfers to B, who keeps
the record as long as it pays him to do so, but if he is dishonest
THE YUKON TERRITORY 389
and A absent or dishonest too, he may destroy it, and repudiate
payment of his debts. This has occurred already, and as a
good deal of transferring and counter-transferring is indulged
in, it may occur more frequently in the future, unless some
court of record is created.
It is probable the boundaries of the police jurisdiction may
have to be extended in the near future, for a good deal of trading
is done on the head- waters of the river by parties who cross the
summit of the coast-passes with goods from Yunean. Also the
miners on the head-waters and on the Hootalinqua bring their
supplies from Yunean. Now one of the traders here — Harper
— has a small steamboat named the Beaver, which he got last
season for the express purpose of reaching the upper parts of
the river and its affluents with supplies, and having paid duty
on all his foreign goods, expects to be protected against
smuggled goods. Should the Hootalinqua turn out as expected,
and promised, a police force will be required there. Harper will
try hard to get up with supplies to it and Teslin Lake. I fancy he
can lay down most things there as cheaply as they can be brought
over the pass. It costs $14 to $15, sometimes more, per hundred
pounds to transport from Taiya to the lakes, which makes
flour $16 to $17 per hundred at the lake, while it costs, or is
sold here for $8. Things here are sold so low now, that were I
ever coming in from the Pacific again, I would bring nothing in
quantity but bacon, on which I might save a dollar or two a
hundred, it being sold here from $30 to $35 per hundred.
I have produced the boundary line about five miles north of
where it crosses the Yukon River, which is as far as I thought
needful at present. I have also produced it about seven miles
south, and about the end of February will resume work, and run
it as far as Sixty Mile Creek. In connection with this I have
occupied six photograph stations and developed all the plates
exposed, which have turned out satisfactorily. I have made a
cross section measurement of the Yukon River where the
boundary crosses it.
In order to determine the exact position of the boundary as
referred to the longitude of my observatory of 1887-88, I made
a careful triangulation and transverse survey from the obser-
390 THE YUKON TERRITORY
vatory westward, which located it 109 feet west of the spot I
marked in 1888 as the boundary, this being established by
micrometer measurements — the distance is three miles. In
the vicinity of the river, I have opened out a wide line in the
woods which will remain visible for several years, but I erected
nothing permanent on it. In the valley of the river the
distances are chained ; elsewhere they are deducted from
micrometer measurements.
During the November-December lunation I got several lunar
culminations, of which I have only had time to completely
reduce one, and the result differs from the mean of my 1887-88
determinations by only 0*13 seconds. I hope to get some more
in the January- February lunation.
On the way in, the system of thirteen wires in the transit got
so damp that they bent into a useless mass of lines, some in, some
out of focus ; of course I did not open the box until I arrived at
my winter quarters. I repeatedly dried them, thinking I might
make them serve, but, after a few hours in the cold damp
atmosphere, they were as bad as ever. Finally, one of them
became detached at one end, fell across the others and rendered
them completely useless, there being a lump of glue attached
to the loose end. A diligent search for several days discovered
no spider lines that could be used to replace them, and I was
hopeless of doing anything with the transit this winter, until
one day I discovered that a solution of indiarubber I had, might,
with careful manipulation, furnish what I wanted. I tried it,
and after several attempts succeeded in getting five fair threads
on in the place of the original five — ten seconds apart. These
wires possess the virtue of always being taut by reason of the
elasticity of the rubber, so temperature does not affect their
positions, but they stick together like gum if they touch, so
that I could not use a micrometer wire, and consequently
cannot get latitudes with the zenith telescope bubble.
Up to date, our lowest temperature has been 63° below
zero. The winter has been unusually windy. Coming up here
we had to face a strong wind when 52° below zero, and frozen
noses were the rule of the day.
No mail from outside since September.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 391
Fort Cudahy, N.W.T.
loth June, 1896.
AFTER sending my last report, I left Cudahy on the i2th
January, reaching the boundary on the I3th, when I imme-
diately set to work reducing the observations I had taken of
lunar culminations up to that date, six in number, on one of
which both limbs of the moon were observed, making several
determinations of the longitude.
After my return there was some fine clear weather in January,
but it was exceedingly cold and more than 60° below zero, one
night 68° 5', and as I had both my ears pretty badly frozen I could
not go out in such cold without having them covered, so that I
could not hear the chronometer beat, I could not observe until
the end of the month, when we had two fine nights — 2gth and 3Oth
— mild enough for me to work. On the 2gth I again observed
both limbs, the moon on both these occasions being suitably
full at transit here. This makes in all ten different determina-
tions of the longitude to be summed with my work of 1887-88,
and as most of my observations were then on the first limb, and
most of these on the second, the total result is better balanced.
Having reduced all my observations, and the days having
attained a reasonable length, I went into camp on the line on
2Oth February, resuming work on the 22nd. But as the hill-
tops are all bare, and from two to three thousand feet above the
river, we lost many days through the fierce winds.
Our progress was necessarily slow for this reason, and ajso from
the fact that I photographed from several stations, which took
some time. As there were no important creeks between Yukon
and Forty Mile Rivers, I did not cut the line out continuously,
but left it so that any one wishing to can place himself on or
very near to the line. The distance from Yukon to Forty Mile
River is a little over twenty-five miles. In the valleys along the
line the timber was thick with much underbrush, but very little
of it is of much value. Curiously enough the line kept
generally in the valleys or on the sides of them, and very little
of it was in the open. Going from point to point, we had to
follow as much as possible the hill-tops and ridges. I reached
Forty Mile with this survey on the I3th of March. From this
point southwards there are many streams cut by the line, all
392 THE YUKON TERRITORY
of which are more or less gold-bearing, and all have been more
or less prospected. This necessitated my cutting out the line
continuously from Forty Mile River onwards, which increased
our work very much. The valleys traversed are generally up-
wards of 1000 feet deep, and often very steep, so that our work
was exceedingly laborious.
Transporting our outfit from camp to camp was often a very
hard task, as the hills were so steep everything had to be packed
up them, which, in the deep soft snow, was anything but easy.
I reached a point within two miles of Sixty Mile River on the
I4th April, and as I had passed all the creeks of any note, and
many of them were already running water, and our way lay down
them, I thought it well to quit work on the line and return to
Forty Mile and Cudahy, and attend to the local surveys there.
The weather was fine and warm, and so much water ran in the
creeks by which we had to return, that we could only travel a
few hours in the early morning and forenoon. Had the season
been more favourable, I would have visited Glacier and Miller
Creeks, which were generally supposed to be in Alaska, but are
found to run in Canada for some distance. They are the two
richest creeks yet found on the Yukon, and are both tributaries
of Sixty Mile River. Both creeks are fully located and worked,
each claim being 500 feet along the creek and the width of the
valley or creek bed. There are nearly 100 claims, all of which
pay well. One on Miller Creek I understand will yield seventy-
five to eighty thousand dollars this season, and the owner will
net, it is said, between forty and fifty thousand dollars. H e
took out, it is reported, nearly half that sum last year off the
same claim, and expects to do equally well next year. This is
much the richest claim yet found, but all on those creeks do
well. There are many other creeks in this vicinity yet to be
prospected, and some will, I have no doubt, pay well. Gold is
found all along the valley of Sixty Mile River, and under more
favourable conditions, both mercantile and climatic, it would
yield good results to large enterprises. The mercantile con-
ditions will improve. The climate is a serious difficulty, but
will be surmounted in time, I believe. Along the last ten or
twelve miles of the line I ran, the mountains consist principally
of quartz and schists, which no doubt originally held the gold
THE YUKON TERRITORY 393
found in the valleys, and doubtless hold some yet. Several men
have taken to quartz prospecting, and from indications which I
will dwell on later, I believe we are on the eve of some magnifi-
cent discoveries.
The miners on all the creeks referred to have quietly accepted
my line as the boundary pro tern., and as far as I can learn at
present, the general feeling is satisfaction that one can now
know where he is. Even if the line is not final, no one doubts
its being very near the final position. The line as far as run is
marked by cairns of stones, wherever it was possible to procure
them with reasonable time and labour, and is cut through the
woods and blazed, so that no one who wants to find it can
mistake it. Another source of satisfaction to all is that they
know distances and directions. Many miners remark to me,
" We know where we are going, we can see where south is." In
this high latitude in the summer months, it is impossible to tell
when the sun is near the meridian because its change in altitude
is so little for eight or nine hours, consequently any point
between east and west was called somewhere near south. This
helps to explain much of the variance in the direction of points
as given by miners and others who have no compass or are
unacquainted with the use of one and the application of the
declination.
On my arrival at Fort Cudahy I rented two cabins from the
N. A. T. and T. Co., to house my men and self, as I would be
around here probably until I started up the river. I did this
because there are no convenient camping places in the vicinity,
and in the spring all the flats are like lakes along the river until
well into the month of June.
After a couple of days' rest for the party, who had worked very
hard, and after I had developed all my photographs, I began to
attend to the local surveys, first surveying the coal claims on
Coal Creek and making a chain transverse survey of the creek
from the claims down to the Yukon. I mail you a plot of this
and the claim on a scale of forty chains to the inch. I also
mail you a sketch map of my survey of the boundary line on a
scale of twenty miles to the foot, and have pencilled in an idea
of the topography ; it is made on the best paper I could get
here as I brought none with me, I next made a survey of the
394 THE YUKON TERRITORY
Cone Hill quartz-mining claim and a chain transverse survey of
the Forty Mile River from the claim down to the Yukon. I then
went to work on the Forty Mile town site and the Cudahy town
site. The last I was asked to block out, which I have done.
The manager, Mr. C. H. Hamilton, objected to streets sixty-six
feet wide on such a small plot of ground (there are only about
fifty acres). I read him my instructions and wrote him an
official letter on the subject, but he insisted on streets only fifty
feet wide, and assumed all responsibility, so I did as he desired. I
made him a plot of the work done on the ground, and he under-
stands that he will have to pay the department for the service
rendered in blocking as well as the original survey, and wishes
a plan of it, which of course can only be prepared when I go
out.
I made a complete survey of Forty Mile, locating and taking
the dimensions of every house in it, and it is the worst jumble
I ever saw. I had to do this, though it entailed a great deal of
work, for there were so many claimholders, and there appeared
to be a general distrust in the vicinity ; every man wants
himself on record in evidence as to his claim. I have taken
some, but I have several days' work yet. I made a survey of
the island for the Anglican mission, and of another island for
a man named Gibson. This is the delta of Forty Mile Creek,
and he intends to make a market garden for the growth of such
vegetables as the country will produce. In my final report I
will deal as fully as my experiences here will permit with that
phase of the country's character. Many here have small
gardens and are fairly successful with ordinary vegetables. I
have advised many to correspond with the experimental farm
at Ottawa, with a view to learning the best sort of vegetables
for growth in this climate. There is an application in, and the
purchase money and cost of survey paid, for eighty acres just
west of Cudahy town site, which I will survey in a few days.
There is also an application in for forty acres, containing a
hay swamp, on the east side of the river, about two miles below
here, which I will survey before starting out. There are many
other applications in, but I shall not have time to attend to
them, nor have the parties asked for a survey. I think these
applications are simply intended to hold the ground until the
THE YUKON TERRITORY 395
future of this region is forecasted ; it certainly looks promising
now. I would respectfully call the attention of the department
to the fact that the services of a surveyor are urgently needed
in here, and will be for some years to come, and I would
suggest that one be appointed to look after and take charge of
all the land interests in the district. He will find plenty to do,
and any work outside of departmental which he might be asked
to do (and there is much of it, and will be more in the way of
engineering) would help materially to pay his salary, which
would, of course, in here have to be liberal.
Another inconvenience is the want of a trade medium ; there
is very little coin, nearly all business being transacted in gold
dust, which passes current at $17 per ounce troy, but as most
of it will not assay that, there is some hardship to those taking
it out, though there may be no actual loss. If enough money
were sent in to pay the North-West Mounted Police for some
time, it would help for a period at least, and would emphasize
the existence of Canada. What coin and bills are here are
largely American.
Another important question is the treatment of the liquor
business which cannot be ignored much longer ; there are
several saloons in Forty Mile and one in Cudahy, yet there is
no law recognizing them nor regulating them in any way. It
would be almost impossible, and very unpopular, were any
attempt made to close them. Liquor could not be kept out of
the country if the whole North-West Mounted Police were
scattered around the river.
Another subject which I have mentioned before is that of the
timber. Large quantities of timber are being and have been
cut in our territory, and floated down the river to American
territory where it is used, and Canada derives no benefit.
Were it used to develop our country it would matter less, in
fact I would encourage such use, but to see our timber taken
out without any sort of benefit to the country is, I think, worthy
of some sort of attention. There is very little useful timber in
the country, and much of what does exist is cut into fuel, while
more of it goes beyond the boundary. In the near future we
shall feel the want of it. I have spoken to the agent about it,
but he has no authority to act, and, if he had, is disinclined to
396 THE YUKON TERRITORY
run up and down the river looking after it, unless he has a
steamer.
A word or two on the steamer question. He labours under the
delusion that a small steam launch is all he requires. Now the
best of them can only make five to seven miles per hour in dead
water, and here we have a river with a current of six to eight miles
per hour the greater part of the summer ; even in low water it is
five to six generally. To get up at all his launch would have to
keep inshore, and even then she would not make more miles
per day than the same number of men would with a good canoe
or boat, tracking or poling, with the advantage to canoe or boat
of not having to stop for fuel. The only boat suitable for this
river is a stern-wheeler, and one of the most suitable size for
police purposes would cost ten to twenty thousand dollars, and
require experienced men to run her.
Some sort of court for the collection of debts is required here
now, and whether or not the agent could act in that capacity
is a question to be decided.
The merchants here who pay duty are naturally dissatisfied
at the smuggling done on the upper river, and ask for some
sort of protection. It might be advisable to have a squad of
police and an officer somewhere on the lake to look after that.
I am thoroughly convinced that a road from the coast to some
point on the head- waters of the river, preferably by the Taku,
if at all practicable, would convert all our part of the river
into a hive of industry. It may be said there is no competition,
and anyway, in the present condition of trade, things cannot
be sold much cheaper at a fair rate of profit. Once let a
railroad get from some point on the coast to some point on the
river, so that we can have quick, cheap and certain entrance
and exit, and the whole Yukon basin will be worked. At
present the long haul makes the expense of mining machinery
practically prohibitive, for the cost of transport is often more
than the first cost of the machine.
Assays of Cone Hill quartz are very satisfactory, and the
quantity good for generations of work ; were it on the coast,
the Treadwell Mine would be diminutive beside it. Five tons
of rock from it are being sent out for a mill test, and should
they prove as satisfactory as the test of a ton sent out last year,
THE YUKON TERRITORY 397
I understand the parties owning it will proceed to develop it.
If it starts and proves reasonably successful, there are scores of
other places in the country that may yield as well. An expert
here who prospects for the N. A. T. and T. Company, found a
ledge last spring on the Chandindu River of Schwatka (known
as Twelve Mile Creek here) and located two full claims on it.
He told me the assay he made of many specimens of it was
much more satisfactory than that of Cone Hill, and this ledge,
he claims, is where a commencement should be made in quartz
milling in this country, and there would be no fear of the result.
He appeared to be pretty well versed in mining lore, is a
practical assayer — that is his profession — and he says he never
saw or read of anything like it for extent in the world. He
informed me there were extensive deposits of coal about twenty
miles up the creek, and this ledge was about four miles up.
He had no doubt but that the copper about Fort Reliance will
with better facilities yet be a valuable feature in the country.
He showed me a lump of native copper some Indians said they
found at the head of White River, but could not or would not
specify where. Speaking of White River reminds me that it
and Sixty Mile are very close together in the vicinity of the
boundary. I was told it was only a short walk from the creeks
of one to the creeks of the other, but how far from stream to
stream is uncertain.
This expert is an American who has spent many years of his
life in the best mining districts of the United States, and he
assures me this country promises better than any he ever saw
before, and as an evidence of his satisfaction with it he is going
to spend the rest of his life here.
Great anxiety is felt here about a mail route and regular
mail. Last winter three mails left the coast, one by the Taku
route, one by the White Pass, and one via Taiya : the first
two got here in good time, the last (ours by the way) did not,
nor is likely to arrive, for some time — may be, never. The
man in charge was badly frozen on the summit, and had to
turn back, leaving the mail behind him, and it is now probably
buried in fathoms of snow. An Indian brought the mail in by
the Taku, and took the Slocoh branch of it to Atlin Lake.
From what I learnt of this route while up there, it may be
398 THE YUKON TERRITORY
found to afford an easier way than by Teslin Lake, but it has
the disadvantage of landing on the head of the Lewes instead
of the Hootalinqua or Teslin, and so takes in the canon and
White Horse Rapids.
Last winter many of the miners and residents here talked
to me about the mails, and what the government intended
in this direction ; of course I could tell them nothing, but
suggested they should make their views known by getting up
a petition to the Minister of the Interior, which I understand
they did.
The Alaska Commercial Company are putting a new and
powerful steamer on the river, which will make four; the
Arctic, Alice, and Emma, large, and the Bedon, small. There is
some talk of the N. A. T. and T. Company putting on a sister
boat to the Partus B. Weare. All are stern-wheeled boats.
From my camera stations on the boundary I saw many
high mountains, some of them not less than 8000 feet, some
I believe 10,000- Some of the prominent ones I have
named after the pioneers of this country, notably one Mount
Campbell after the late Mr. Robert Campbell, who estab-
lished Fort Selkirk. It is about sixty miles due east of here,
and is a noteworthy peak, in that it stands on the top of an
extensive, well-defined range, rising like a lofty pillar about
1000 feet above the ridge. It is, as far as seen, the most
remarkable peak in the country. I have not made any compu-
tations yet, but I do not think its summit is much, if any, less
than 10,000 feet above the sea ; no one noticed it before for
the reason that it is only about 600 feet wide, is always black,
and very distant from points where it can be seen around here.
Fort Cudahy, N.W.T.
June 25th, 1896.
MY experience last winter was that a party of say eight men,
three on the line continuously, and four forwarding continuously,
and one cook, the line could be advanced at the rate of twenty-
five miles per month with no great difficulty during February,
March, April and May, and part of October, November, and
part of December.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 399
Good strong toboggans and good strong large snow-shoes are
required. During June, July, August and September, the same
party with say five pack horses, three at camp and two for-
warding from depot of supplies, could proceed at an equal if not
faster rate. There wrould be about two or two and a half months
too dark to profitably work on the line. This, I think, would
be more satisfactory than putting in a few isolated points here
and there, certainly it would give us a continuous boundary and
a more extended geographical knowledge of the country, as well
as botanical and geographical information of importance.
Horses could be laid down here for, I should say, about $250
per head — and the same animals ought to last the whole survey.
Horses have been in use here, packing to the mines in summer
and hauling wood in the winter, for several years, and are still
serviceable, notwithstanding that they live only on the coarse
grasses of the country. They pack 200 Ibs. apiece from Forty
Mile River at the mouth of Moore Creek to the mines on Miller
Creek (about seventeen and a half or eighteen miles), and climb
some very steep long hills on the way, taking two days with
loads, and one day without ; all they get to eat is what they
find.
As a gauge of what can be done I refer you to what I did
last winter. In less than two months, February 22rid to April
I3th, I produced the line nearly fifty miles, cutting every bit of
bush on twenty-five miles of it, and partly cutting the rest,
besides spending several days on my photograph stations, and
I had only six men. I am confident that a joint party consist-
ing of say twelve altogether, could produce this line at the rate
of 300 miles per year, marking it properly and permanently, and
enabling a fair map of the country on both sides to be made.
The cost of this you can easily estimate and add, say 25 per
cent, for the establishment of provision depots and incidentals.
My last report told you of the agent here going to Miller and
Glacier Creeks, and collecting fees and making entries ; as he
did not go west of those creeks no complications will arise for
you, as you will see by my sketch map they are within Canada. I
may say here that one claim on Miller Creek has turned out
about $70,000 last winter, and several others have done very
well too ; so far nearly all the miners have passed here going to
40O THE YUKON TERRITORY
Circle City (about 200 miles down), and I have no doubt many
of them will keep on going.
About 100 miners are reported on the Hootalinqua this
summer. We shall probably soon have to extend law and order
there.
Many here make gardens, using any seeds they can get, and
some are going to try grasses for fodder. I would suggest the
director of the central experimental farm be asked to send in
seeds of the kinds of ordinary vegetables and grasses best suited
to such a climate as this, to be distributed by the agent here to
those who will make a proper use of them, or for sale at cost.
I am quite sure it would be of much service, and if some hints
on the proper care of plants were sent in, it would be more so,
as most of the people in here know practically nothing of
gardening or farming. Besides, it would improve the feeling
among the people here towards our country and institutions,
and would cost the country practically nothing.
Fort Cudahy.
August 1 8th, 1896.
IT is now certain that coal extends along the valley of the
Yukon from Coal Creek for ten or twelve miles down, and from
Coal Creek up to Twelve Mile Creek which flows into the Yukon
about thirty miles above here. The latter stretch is cut off from
the river by several miles of hills, and is about six miles direct
from the river at Coal Creek and about eighteen on Twelve
Mile Creek. This is the stream named Chandindu by Schwatka.
There is a seam on it about six feet thick, as reported by an
expert who went in search of it. I found drift coal on the south
branch of Coal Creek.
On the Cornell claim off Cliff Creek the seam is five feet four
inches thick. I have sent specimens of it out. I found it
necessary to refer to the different creeks, so had to name them
" Shell Creek," because I found a stone with a shell impression
at its mouth. " Cliff Creek," because it enters the river at the
foot of a high cliff, and " Flat Creek," because it enters the
river in a large flat.
Glacier Creek is turning out very well, and several good
creeks have been discovered up Forty Mile in Alaska.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 40 1
Fort Cudahy.
6th Sept., 1896,
I HAVE been in hourly expectation of the Canadian mail for
some days now, but it has not arrived yet. The steamer
Alice came up on the 4th inst., but brought no news for me,
so that I am completely in the dark as to my movements
yet, and if I am to go out, it is time I was on the way. I do
not wish to remain here another winter unless it is absolutely
necessary ; more especially with my party and all its expenses.
In case I go out I will try to accompany Mr. J. Dalton over his
trail from the head of Chilkat Inlet to Selkirk on the Yukon.
He has made several entries over that route with horses and
packs, and speaks very highly of it. I will make a rough
survey of it, and take some photographs along the route.
I have taken notes from him, but would like to see it for
myself.
I am very much pleased to be able to inform you that a most
important discovery of gold has been made on a creek called
Bonanza Creek, an affluent of the river known here as the
Klondyke. It is marked on the maps extant as Deer River,
and joins the Yukon a few miles above the site of Fort
Reliance.
The discovery was made by G. W. Cormack, who worked
with me in 1887 on the Coast Range. The indications are that
it is very rich, indeed the richest yet found, and as far as work
has been carried on it realizes expectations. It is only two
weeks since it was known, and already about 200 claims have
been staked on it, and the creek is not yet exhausted ; it, and
its branches are considered good for 300 or 400 claims.
Besides, there are two other creeks above it, which it is
confidently expected will yield good pay ; and if they do so, we
shall have from 800 to 1000 claims on this river, which will
require over 2000 men for their proper working. Between Deer
River (or Klondyke) and Stewart River a large creek called
Indian Creek flows into the Yukon, and rich prospects have
been found on it, and no doubt it is in the gold-bearing country
between Klondyke and Stewart Rivers, which is considered by
all the old miners the best and most extensive gold country yet
found. Scores of them would prospect it but for the fact that
N
402 THE YUKON TERRITORY
they cannot get provisions up there, and it is too far to beat
them up from here in small boats.
This new find will necessitate an upward step on the Yukon,
and help the Stewart River region.
News has just arrived from Bonanza Creek that three men
worked out $75 in four hours the other day, and a $12*00
nugget has been found, which assures the character of the
ground, namely, coarse gold and plenty of it, as three times
this can be done with sluice boxes. You can fancy the excite-
ment here. It is claimed that from f 100 to $500 per day can
be made off the ground that has been prospected so far. As we
have about 100 claims on Glacier and Miller, with 300 or 400
in this vicinity, next year it is imperative that a man be sent
in here to look after these claims and all land matters, and it
is almost imperative that the agent be a surveyor. Already
on Bonanza Creek they are disputing about the size of
claims.
I would have gone up and laid out the claims properly, but
it would take me ten or twelve days to do so, and meantime
my presence might be more urgently required elsewhere.
Another important matter is the appointment of some sort
of legal machinery here. Before the police came miners'
meetings administered justice, collected debts, etc. ; now the
magistrates here are expected to do all that, and when it is
found that they do not, it causes much dissatisfaction, and there
are several cases of real hardship where parties will not pay
their just debts, though able to do so. If a miners' meeting
were held, and judgment given against the delinquent, it would
do no good, for he would and does resist payment, and were
force resorted to, he would appeal to the police for protection.
A continuation of this state of affairs' is most undesirable in the
interests of our country, for we have a reputation as a justice-
administering, law-abiding people to maintain, and I would
urgently press this matter on the authorities.
From the indications I have mentioned, it will be seen that
this corner of the North-West is not going to be the least
important part of it, more especially when we consider the fact
that gold-bearing quartz has been found in it at numerous
places, and much will no doubt be worked. It is apparent that
THE YUKON TERRITORY 403
the revenue and business of the country will more than offset
the expense of administration.
I cannot here enter into the reasons for it, but I unhesi-
tatingly make the assertion that this corner of our territory
from the coast strip down, and from the I4ist meridian east-
ward, will be found to be a fairly rich and very extensive mining
region.
As I have already pretty fully reported on coal, I will only
add that it is reported in abundance only eight miles up the
Chandinaler River, where a seam over six feet thick has been
found of the same quality as that already described.
Fort Cudahy.
November 6th, 1896.
YOUR official letter informing me that negotiations for a joint
survey of the I4ist meridian had so far failed, and that I had
better return to Ottawa for the winter, reached me here on the
nth September. As the Alaska Commercial Company's
steamer Arctic was then hourly expected up the river on her
way to Selkirk, I thought it best to wait and go up on her to
that point. Day after day passed without any sign of her;
wearied of waiting and hopeless of her arrival at all this year, I
determined to start out on 27th September, a late date, but
with fair conditions feasible. On the 25th a tremendous storm
of snow set in which so chilled the river that a few days after
it was choked with ice, which precluded all idea of getting up
the river, and it was equally hopeless down the river.
Three parties have announced their intention of starting for
the outside world about the ist prox., and I write this contem-
plating its transmission by one or other of these parties. For
myself, to think of going out in the winter is, I think, unwise for
the following reasons. Dogs, the only means of transport, are
scarce and dear, ranging from thirty or forty dollars to one
hundred and twenty-five dollars apiece. Dogs' food, like all other
food, is scarce by reason of the poor salmon run in the river last
season ; practically none were caught near here, and the result
is the dog owners have to use bacon for food, which at twenty-
five to forty cents per pound is expensive.
It would require a team of eight dogs to take my outfit and my
N 2
404 THE YUKON TERRITORY
man Fawcett with our provisions and the dogs' food as far as
Taiya. There, the dogs would have to be abandoned or killed,
as they are worthless on the coast except to parties coming in
here early in the season. Starting from here say December
ist, it would be February before I reached Ottawa, and during
thirty-five or forty days of this time we would be exposed to much
cold and hardship and some hazard from storms.
The journey has been made, and I would not hesitate to
undertake it were things more reasonable here and dog food
plentiful, but it would take at least $ 1000 to equip us with
transport and outfit, which sum I think I can expend more in
the interests of the country by remaining here and working a
survey of the Klondyke of the miners — a mispronunciation of the
Indian word or words " Thron-dak " or " duick," which means
plenty of fish, from the fact that it is a famous salmon stream.
It is marked Tondak on our maps. It joins the Yukon from
the east — a few miles above the site of Fort Reliance — about
fifty miles above here. As I have already intimated, rich
placer mines of gold were discovered on the branches of
this stream. The discovery, I believe, was due to the reports of
Indians. A white man named G. W. Cormack, who worked
with me in 1887, was the first to take advantage of the rumours
and locate a claim on the first branch which was named by the
miners Bonanza Creek. Cormack located late in August, but
had to cut some logs for the mill here to get a few pounds of
provisions to enable him to begin work on his claim. The
fishing at Klondyke having totally failed him, he returned with a
few weeks' provisions for himself, his wife and brother-in-law
(Indians), and another Indian, in the last days of August, and
immediately set about working the claim. As he was very short
of appliances he could only put together a rather defective
apparatus to wash the gravel with. The gravel itself he had to
carry in a box on his back from thirty to a hundred feet ; not-
withstanding this, the three men working very irregularly
washed out $1200 in eight days, and Cormack asserts with
reason that had he proper facilities it could have been done in
two days, besides having several hundred dollars more gold
which was lost in the tailings through defective apparatus.
On the same creek two men rocked out $75 in about four
THE YUKON TERRITORY 405
hours, and it is asserted that two men in the same creek took out
$4008 in two days with only two lengths of sluice boxes. This
last is doubted, but Mr. Ledue assures me he weighed that much
gold for them, but it is not positive where they got it. They
were new comers, and had not done much in the country, so the
probabilities are they got it on Bonanza Creek. A branch of
Bonanza named Eldorado has prospected magnificently, and
another branch named Tilly Creek has prospected well ; in all
there are some four or five branches of Bonanza Creek which
have given good prospects. There are about 170 claims staked
on the main creek, and the branches are good for about as many
more, aggregating say 350 claims, which will require over 1000
men to work properly.
A few miles farther up Bear Creek enters Klondyke, and it has
been prospected and located on. Compared with Bonanza it
is small, and will not afford more than twenty or thirty claims,
it is said. About twelve miles above the mouth " Gold Bottom
Creek " joins Klondyke, and on it and a branch named Hunker
Creek, after the discoverer, very rich ground has been found.
One man showed me $22*75 he took out in a few hours on
Hunker Creek with a gold pan, prospecting his claim on the
surface, taking a handful here and there as fancy suggested.
On " Gold Bottom Creek " and branches there will probably
be two or three hundred claims. The Indians have reported
another creek much farther up, which they call " Too Much
Gold Creek," on which gold is so plentiful, that, as the miners
say in joke, " you have to mix gravel with it to sluice it/' Up
to date nothing definite has been heard from this creek.
From all this we may, I think, infer that we have a district
which will give 1000 claims of 500 feet in length each. Now
1000 such claims will require at least 3000 men to work them
properly, and as wages for working men in the mines are from
eight to ten dollars per day without board, we have every
reason to assume that this part of our territory will in a year or
two contain 10,000 souls at least. For the coast an unpre-
cedented influx is expected next spring. And this is not all,
for a large creek called Indian Creek joins the Yukon about
mid-way between Klondyke and Stewart Rivers, and ail-along this
creek good pay has been found. All that has stood in the way
406 THE YUKON TERRITORY
of working it heretofore has been the scarcity of provisions, and
the difficulty of getting them up there, even when here. Indian
Creek is quite a large stream, and it is probable it will yield five
or six hundred claims. Farther south yet lies the head of
several branches of Stewart River, on which some prospecting
has been done this summer, and good indications found, but the
want of provisions prevented development. Now gold has been
found in several of the streams joining Pelly River, and also all
along the Hootalinqua. In the line of these finds farther south
is the Cassiar goldfield in British Columbia ; so the presumption
is, that we have in our territory along the easterly watershed of
the Yukon a gold-bearing belt of indefinite width, and upwards
of 300 miles long, exclusive of the British Columbia part of it.
On the westerly side of the Yukon prospecting has been done
on a creek a short distance above Selkirk with a fair amount of
success, and on a large creek some thirty or forty miles below
Selkirk fair prospects have been found, but as has been before
remarked, the difficulty of getting supplies up here prevents any
extensive or extended prospecting.
Dalton informed me he had found good prospects on a small
creek nearly mid-way between the Coast Range and Selkirk in
his route. His man showred me some coarse gold, about a dollar's
worth, he found on the head of a branch of the Altsek River,
near the head of Chilkat Inlet, which is inside the summit of
the Coast Range, and, of course, in our territory. From this
you will gather that we have a very large area all more or less
gold-bearing, and which will all yet be worked.
Gold quartz has been found in places just across the line on
Davis Creek (see my map of the i/j-ist sent you), but, of
what is unknown, as it is in the bed of the creek and covered
with gravel. Good quartz is also reported on the hills around
Bonanza Creek, but of this I will be able to speak more fully
after my proposed survey. It is pretty certain from information
I have got from prospectors that all or nearly all of the
northerly branch of White River is on our side of the line,
and copper is found on it, but more abundantly on the
southerly branch, of which a great portion is in our territory
also ; so it is probable we have that metal too. I have seen
here several lumps of native copper brought by the natives
THE YUKON TERRITORY 407
from " White River," but just from what part is uncertain. I
have also seen a specimen of silver ore said to have been picked
up in a creek flowing into Bennett Lake, about fourteen miles
down it on the east side.
I think this is enough to show that we may look forward
with confidence to a fairly bright future for this part of the
territory.
When it was fairly established that Bonanza Creek was
rich in gold, which took a few days, for Klondyke had been
prospected several times with no encouraging result, there was
a great rush from all over the country adjacent to Forty Mile.
The town was almost deserted ; men who had been in a chronic
state of drunkenness for weeks were pitched into boats as
ballast and taken up to stake themselves a claim, and claims
were staked by men for their friends who were not in the
country at the time. All this gave rise to much conflict and
confusion, there being no one present to take charge of matters,
the agent being unable to go up and attend to the thing, and
myself not yet knowing what to do, so that the miners held a
meeting and appointed one of themselves to measure off and
stake the claims, and record the owner's name in connection
therewith, for which he got a fee of $2*00, it being of course
understood that each claim-holder would have to record his
claim with the Dominion agent and pay his fee of $15*00.
At the same meeting they discussed our law on mining, and
discovered, as they thought, that it was very defective. They
appointed a committee to wait on the agent and ask him to
ratify their course in appointing the surveyor and recorder to
act pro tern, on the creek, and to forward their views on the
law to the department at Ottawa. Now it appears to me that
a good deal of fault of the law as they found it lay in the fact
that they did not read it in all its proper connection ; and
because the printed law did not start out from a given point
and detail consecutively what was to be done under every
possible contingency that might arise, under that reading they
thought it defective. I believe this to be the case, because I
have never had any difficulty in explaining any case that has
been submitted to me for an opinion, and there have been a
good many.
408 THE YUKON TERRITORY
The miners, as a rule, are dissatisfied with the claims laid
out for them by their own surveyor, appointed as I have already
intimated, and many of them are claiming for a remeasurement
now that they know I am going to make a survey of the creeks.
In fact many of them thought that a survey of the creeks
necessarily meant a survey and adjustment of the claims, and
it took me, some time to correct that impression. I made them
understand that as the claims had been laid out by their
own act, and had been approved of by the agent, I could not
interfere without the consent and approval of all the original
parties to the act, and that they would have to meet and
discuss the questions and determine whether they would have
them adjusted or not. If they decide to have it done, I made
them understand they would have to assist me at work as I
passed along. If they do not require it, I will take the
necessary steps to enable me to plot very closely where every
claim is. I may yet make a good deal of the survey by photo-
graph as I have about ten dozen good plates yet. In any case,
I will occupy several photo stations to enable me to give some
idea of the mountain ranges around — if any — and supplement
my views from the boundary last winter. As soon as this is
done my men will take their discharge, Adam Fawcett going
into the service of the Alaska Commercial Company, and all
the rest mining.
If you want any further surveys made in here, men will have
to be sent to do it, for men cannot be had here for less than
$5*00 to $10-00 per day. Any man sent in for survey purposes
will require to bring a good canoe with him, say nineteen feet
long and forty-four inches wide, and eighteen to two and a half
deep. Such a canoe will bring in five or six men, and their
stock of provisions for the trip. By the time they would arrive
here provisions will be plentiful, for the boats will then be
up from Circle City, where two of them are probably winter-
ing. A party crossing the summit early in June would
just about find the lakes open for the run down. You might
warn any such party that they had better run no risk at the
canon, White Horse and Five Fingers. The canon is not
dangerous, but there is a good portage past it. The rapids
between it and White Horse are rough in high water, but with care
THE YUKON TERRITORY 409
are safe. A great many large boats run the White Horse, but
most of them take more or less water ; many fill altogether and
the owners are often drowned ; in any case they lose all their
effects if they do escape. A careful estimate of those drowned
in 1895 places the number at thirteen, a large percentage, I
think, of those who tried it. The Five Fingers are at certain
stages of the water uncertain. Last time I came down I found
it very nice on the left side — no danger at all, while boats
passing the right side took in water. In every case the party
in charge will do well to carefully examine beforehand all the
points named. Should you deem it advisable for myself to
return early in the summer, I will have to make my way around
by the mouth, as I will have no men to help me up stream, and
no one will be ascending the river until near September, and
indeed very few do it at all now. Any party coming in would
reasonably be expected in before I started down, and I could
confer with them on the work to be done, should you deem it
advisable to do so.
In the course of a year I believe coal will supersede wood for
fuel, which will relieve the demand as far as towns and villages
are concerned, but mining interests will require a lot of fuel
where coal cannot be taken.
The traffic in liquor will have to be taken hold of and
regulated at once ; it is here now and cannot be kept out by
any reasonably practical means. The majority — the great
majority of miners — will have it, and all the more will their
predilection be if it is attempted to stop the entry of it.
In my opinion it is imperative that this business be brought
under control at once, or it may develop phases that will be at
least annoying in the near future.
I have in previous reports intimated that some sort of legal
machinery is absolutely necessary for the trial of cases of
contract, collection of debts, and generally the judicial interests
of the country. There are several cases of hardship now for
the want of a proper court.
If some sort of court, to satisfy the necessities of the people
in business here, is not at once established, serious incon-
venience will result. The officer appointed will require to be a
hale, vigorous person, for it is probable he will have to make
410 THE YUKON TERRITORY
journeys of considerable length across unoccupied country in
the discharge of his duty.
There have been several applications for land in the vicinity
of the mouth of the Klondyke, and Inspector Constantine has
selected a reserve for government purposes at the confluence
of that stream with the Yukon, forty acres in extent.
A court or office of record in real estate transactions will
require to be opened here at once. A recorder was appointed
in Forty Mile, and a plot made in 1894. In anticipation of my
going out this fall I got a meeting held of the property owners,
and had them hand the records over to me for the information
of the department. They are in my possession yet, and I will
take them out with me when I go. They are rather crude in
form, and require an initiale to understand them. I act as
recorder pro tern.
Before closing I may say that every report that comes from
Bonanza Creek is more encouraging than the last. Prospecting
has only begun, and up to date of mailing, November 22nd,
very rich prospects have been found on the few claims
prospected on ; from one dollar to the pan of dirt up to twelve
dollars are reported, and no bed rock found yet. This means
from $1000 to $12,000 per day per man sluicing.
The excitement is intense, but at this season of the year it is
naturally very local.
I expect a mail will be starting from here in January, and I
will try to send out a short report by it embracing events up-to-
date.
Fort Cudahy.
9th Dec., 1896.
A MAIL left here for the outside on the 27th ult. by which I
sent you an interim report, which will probably reach you in
January. From it you will learn how I came to be caught in
the country, and why I have not attempted to get out in
winter. As you are as likely to get that report as you are this
one, I refrain from repeating more here than to say that should
it be necessary for me to go out before summer, I will try and
get out by dog team, starting in the last days of February or
THE YUKON TERRITORY 411
early in March, when the days are long and the weather mild,
getting out, say early in May.
Since my last the prospects on Bonanza Creek and tributaries
are increasing in richness and extent, until now it is certain
that millions will be taken out of the district in the next few
years.
On some of the claims prospected the pay dirt is of great
extent and very rich. One man told me yesterday that he
washed out a single pan of dirt on one of the claims on Bonanza
and found $14*25 in it. Of course, that may be an exception-
ally rich pan, but $5 to $7 per pan is the average on that claim
it is reported, with five feet of pay dirt and the width yet
undetermined, but it is known to be thirty feet even at that ;
figure the result at nine or ten pans to the cubic foot, and 500
feet long : nearly $4,000,000, at $5 per pan — one fourth of this
would be enormous.
Another claim has been prospected to such an extent that it
is known there is about five feet of pay dirt, averaging $2 per
pan, and width not less than thirty feet. Enough prospecting
has been done to show that there are at least fifteen miles of
this extraordinary richness, and the indications are that we will
have three or four that extent, if not all equal to the above at
least very rich.
It appears a great deal of staking for absentees has been done,
some of whom have turned up, and some have not. This has
caused confusion, and leads to a good deal of what might be
called fraud, for it is easy for a few in the inner circle to know
what claims have been recorded in accordance with the law, and
what have not. They can for themselves, directly or through
the intervention of a friend, have the latter jumped for their
whole or partial interest. It appears this has been done in
several instances.
I think the department should get large posters printed, on
which shall be shown the sections of the law governing the
location and recording of quartz and placer mines, the extent of
each, the duties of miners in both cases, and the rulings of the
department on the questions I have submitted, with the
penalties attached to offences against the law. Some of these
should be printed on stout paper or parchment capable of
412 THE YUKON TERRITORY
standing exposure to the weather, and posted at every important
point in the country, so that there may be no excuse hereafter
for ignorance.
A large number of copies of the mining act, land act, and
timber and hay land regulations should also be sent in.
As to the extent of mining districts, they should, I think, be
made large, and section 21 amended to enable a man who
has located a claim which does not pay a reasonable return
on the outlay the first season after his claim has been pros-
pected, to make a second location in the same locality or district,
provided he can find one in it. The agent would have to
determine whether or not he had expended the proper amount
of labour on his claim to get reasonable returns ; this I know
opens the door for a lot of trouble and, maybe, fraud, but on the
other hand a great many worthy men suffer from the want of
some such regulation, and as very few would be in a position to
take advantage of such a provision until after their second
season, there would hardly be anything left for them to take-
Enterprising men who would work almost continuously might
get some benefit — probably would — but no others, so such a
regulation could not do very much harm, and might help some
deserving people. As it is now, men stake claims on nearly
every new find, some having several claims in the Klondyke
locality. They know, I believe, that they will not be able to
hold them, but, as the localities are not yet clearly defined, they
can hold on to them for a while, and finally by collusion with
others acquire an interest in them.
The miners here are, I understand, getting up a petition to
the Minister of the Interior, asking for aid in opening a way to
the south and building along it a shelter for winter travellers,
with suitable supplies scattered along.
As it is now, a winter trip out from here is, on account of the
long haul and want of shelter, tedious and hazardous, and their
representations are worthy of consideration.
Fort Cudahy,
iith Jan., 1897.
The reports from Klondyke region are still very encouraging ;
so much so, that all the other creeks around are practically
THE YUKON TERRITORY 413
abandoned, especially those on the head of Forty Mile in
American territory, and nearly 100 men have made their way up
from Circle City, many of them hauling their sleds themselves.
Those who cannot get claims are buying in those already
located. Men cannot be got to work for love or money, and
development is consequently slow ; one and a half dollars per
hour is the wages paid the few men who have to work for hire,
and work as many hours as they like.
Some of the claims are so rich that every night a few pans of
dirt suffices to pay the hired help where there is any ; as high
as $204*00 has been reported to a single pan, but this is not
generally credited. Claim-owners are now very reticent about
what they get, so you can hardly credit anything you hear ; but
one thing is certain, we have one of the richest mining areas
ever found, with a fair prospect that we have not yet discovered
its limits.
Miller and Glacier Creeks, on the head of Sixty Mile River,
which my survey of the I4ist meridian determined to be in
Canada, were thought to be very rich, but they are both poor
in quality and quantity compared with Klondyke.
Chicken Creek, on the head of Forty Mile in Alaska, dis-
covered a year ago and rated very high, is to-day practically
abandoned.
Some quartz prospecting has been done in the Klondyke
region, and it is probable that some good veins will be found
there. Coal is found on the upper part of Klondyke, so that the
facilities for working it if found are good and convenient.
[Mr. Ogilvie has subsequently (in November, 1897) given the
following account of the discovery of gold on the Klondyke.]
The discovery of the gold on the Klondyke, as it is called —
the proper name of the creek is an Indian one, Thronda — was
made by three men, Robert Henderson, Frank Swanson, and
another one named Munson, who in July, 1896, were prospecting
on Indian Creek. They proceeded up the creek without finding
414 THE YUKON TERRITORY
sufficient to satisfy them until they reached Dominion Creek,
and after prospecting there they crossed over the divide and
found Gold Bottom, got good prospects, and went to work.
Provisions running short, they decided to make their way to
Sixty Mile to obtain a fresh supply, and went up Indian Creek
to the Yukon to Sixty Mile, where Harper had established
a trading post. Striking upwards on Forty Mile they came
across a man, a Californian, who was fishing in company
with two Indians. The Indians were Canadian Indians, or
King George men, as they proudly called themselves. Now,
one of the articles of the miner's code of procedure is that
when he makes a discovery he shall lose no time in proclaiming
it, and the man felt bound to make the prospectors acquainted
with the information that there was a rich pay to be got in
Gold Bottom. The two Indians showed a route to this creek,
and from there they crossed over the high ridge to Bonanza.
From there to El Dorado is three miles, and they climbed
up over the ridge between it and Bonanza, and reaching
between Klondyke and Indian Creeks, they went down into
Gold Bottom. Here they did half a day's prospecting, and
came back, striking into Bonanza about ten miles beyond,
where they took out from a little nook a pan which encouraged
them to try further. In a few moments more they had taken
out $12*75. A discovery claim was located, and also one
above and below for the two Indians.
In August, 1896, the leader, generally known as Siwash
George, because he lived with the Indians, went down to
Forty Mile to get provisions. He met several miners on his
way and told them of his find, showing the $12*75 which he
had put in an old Winchester cartridge. They would not
believe him, his reputation for truth being somewhat below
par. The miners said that he was the greatest liar this side of
— a great many places.
They came to me finally and asked me my opinion, and I
pointed out to them that there was no question about his
having the $12*75 in gold ; the only question was, therefore,
where he had got it. He had not been up Miller or Glacier
Creek, nor Forty Mile. Then followed the excitement. Boat
load after boat load of men went up at once. Men who had
THE YUKON TERRITORY 415
been drunk for weeks and weeks, in fact, were tumbled into
the boats and taken up without being conscious that they were
travelling.
One man who went up was so drunk that he did not wake
up to realization that he was being taken by boat until a third
of the journey had been accomplished, and he owns one of the
very best claims on the Klondyke to-day. The whole creek, a
distance of about twenty miles, giving in the neighbourhood of
two hundred claims, was staked in a few weeks. El Dorado
Creek, seven and a half or eight miles long, providing eighty
claims, was staked in about the same length of time.
Boulder, Adams, and other gulches were prospected, and
gave good surface showings, gold being found in the gravel in
the creeks. Good surface prospects may be taken as an
indication of the existence of very fair bed-rock. It was in
December that the character of the diggings was established.
Twenty-one above discovery on Bonanza was the one which
first proved the value of the district. The owner of this claim
was in the habit of cleaning up a couple of tubfuls every night,
and paying his workmen at the rate of a dollar and a half an
hour. Claim No. 5, Eldorado, was the next notable one, and
here the pan of $112 was taken out. That was great. There
was then a pan of even greater amount on No. 6, and they
continued to run up every day.
The news went down to Circle City, which emptied itself at
once and came up to Dawson. The miners came up any way
they could, at all hours of the day and night, with provisions
and without supplies. On their arrival they found that the
whole creeks had been staked months before. A good many
Canadians, who were in their talk out-and-out Americans,
came up to Canadian territory with a certain expectation of
realizing something out of this rich ground by reason of their
nationality. One of them, particularly, on finding that he was
too late, cursed his luck, and said that it was awfully strange
that a man could not get a footing in his own country.
Another of these men who arrived too late was an Irishman,
when he found he could not get a claim he went up and down
the creek, trying to bully the owners into selling, boasting
that he had a pull at Ottawa, and threatening to have the claims
o
416 THE YUKON TERRITORY
cut down from 500 to 250 feet. He came along one day and
offered to wager $2000 that before August ist they would be
reduced to 250 feet. One of the men to whom he had made
this offer came and asked me about it. I said to him, " Do
you gamble? " His reply was " A little." Then I told him
that he was never surer of $2000 than he would have been if
he had taken that bet.
This ran to such an extent that I put up notices to the effect
that the length of the claims was regulated by Act of Parlia-
ment of Canada, and that no change could be made except by
that Parliament, and telling the miners to take no notice of
the threats that had been made.
Jim White then adopted another dodge, locating a fraction
between 36 and 37, thinking that by getting in between he
could force the owners to come to his terms, forgetting that
the law of this country does not allow any man to play the
hog. For three or four days this state of things kept the men
in an uproar. I was making my survey, and getting towards
36 and 37 ; when I got near, I delayed my operations and went
up to 36, finding there would be no fraction, or at least an
insignificant one of inches.
I took my time, and in the meantime the owner of 36 became
very uneasy, and White also. I set in a stake down in the
hollow until I saw how much fraction there was. I found only
a few inches. I was very tedious with this portion of the
work, and the man who was with me seemed to have quite a
difficulty in fixing the stake. Then I went down with the
remark that I would do that myself. I had made it a rule
never to tell anyone whether there was a fraction until it was
marked on the post.
While I was standing by the post, Jim White came up to
me. He had a long way to go down the creek, he said — and
he did not want to wait any longer than was necessary.
" Well," I said, " I can't tell you just yet exactly how much of
a fraction it will be— but something about three inches."
That is how Jim comes to be known as " Three Inch White/'
Bonanza and El Dorado Creeks afford between them 278
claims ; the several affluences will yield as many more, and all
of these claims are good. I have no hesitation in saying that
THE YUKON TERRITORY 417
about a hundred of those on Bonanza will yield upwards of
$30,000,000. Claim 30 below, on El Dorado, will yield a
million in itself, and ten others will yield from a hundred
thousand dollars up. These two creeks will, I am quite
confident, turn out from $60,000,000 to $75,000,000, and I can
safely say that there is no other region in the world of the
same extent that has afforded in the same length of time so
many homestakes — fortunes enabling the owners to go home
and enjoy the remainder of their days — considering that the
work has had to be done with very limited facilities, the
scarcity of provisions and of labour, and that the crudest
appliances only are as yet available. When I tell you that to
properly work each claim ten or twelve men are required, and
only 200 were available that season, it will give you an idea of
the difficulties which had to be contended with.
On Bear Creek, about seven or eight miles above that, good
claims have been found, and on Gold Bottom, Hunker, Last
Chance, and Cripple Creeks. On Gold Bottom, as high as
$15 to the pan has been taken, &nd on Hunker Creek the same,
and although we cannot say that they are as rich as El Dorado
or Bonanza, they are richer than any other creeks known in
that country. Then, thirty-five miles higher up the Klondyke,
Too-Much-Gold Creek was found. It obtained its name from
the fact that the Indians who discovered it saw mica glistening
at the bottom, and, thinking it was gold, said there was " too
much gold — more gold than gravel."
A fact I am now going to state to you, and one that is easily
demonstrated, is that from Telegraph Creek northward to the
boundary line we have in the Dominion and in this province an
area of from 550 to 600 miles in length, and from 100 to 150
miles in width, over the whole of which rich prospects have
been found. We must have from 90,000 to 100,000 square
miles, which, with proper care, judicious handling, and better
facilities for the transportation of food and utensils, will be the
largest, as it is the richest, goldfield the world has ever
known.
Stewart and Pelly, in the gold-bearing zone, also give
promising indications. Everywhere good pay has been found
on the bars, and there is no reason why, when good pay is
o 2
4i 8 THE YUKON TERRITORY
obtained on the bars, the results should not be richer in the
creeks. The Klondyke was prospected for forty miles up in
1887 without anything being found, and again in 1893 with a
similar lack of result, but the difference is seen when the right
course is taken, and this was led up to by Robert Henderson.
This man is a born prospector, and you could not persuade
him to stay on even the richest claim on Bonanza. He started
up in a small boat to spend this summer and winter on Stewart
River, prospecting. NThat is the stuff the true prospector is
made of, and I am proud to say that he is a Canadian.
In regard to quartz claims, seven have already been located
in the vicinity of Forty Mile and Dawson, and there is also a
mountain of gold-bearing ore in the neighbourhood yielding $5
to $7 a ton. The question to be considered is whether with
that return it will pay to work under the peculiar conditions
which exist, and the enormous freight rates charged for trans-
portation for anything of that kind.
About forty miles further up the river two large claims have
been located by a mining expert -hailing from the United States,
and who has had considerable experience in Montana and
other mineral States, and he assured me that the extent of the
lode is such that these two claims are greater than any proposi-
tion in the world, going from $3 to $11 a ton. On Bear
Creek a quartz claim was located last winter, and I drew up
the papers for the owner. He had to swear that he had found
gold ; he swore that he did, and he told me the amount, which,
if true, will make it one of the most valuable properties that
exists in the country.
On Gold Bottom another claim has been located, and I made
a test of the ore. I had no sieve, and had to employ a hand
mortar, which you who know anything of the work will under-
stand would not give best results. The poorest result obtained
was, however, f 100 to the ton, while the richest was $1000.
Of course, I do not know what the extent of the claim is, but
the man who found it said that from the rock exposed the
deposit must be considerable in extent. He didn't know
whether the exposure was the result of a slide, but said that it
would be an easy matter to find the lode.
About thirty miles up the Klondyke another claim was
THE YUKON TERRITORY 419
located, and the man swore that it was rich, although he
wouldn't say how rich.
On El Dorado and Bonanza, the gold obtained on the
different benches has about the same value, that is, it has about
the same degree of fineness, and is worth about $16 per oz., and
as you go down the creek this value decreases to about $15*25.
From that point, however, it increases again, and from this the
inference appears to be plain that the same lode runs right
across the region that these creeks cut through, which is proved
still more surely by the fact that the value increases as you
strike Hunker, and in the other direction Miller and Glacier.
The nuggets found in El Dorado and Bonanza show no
evidence of having travelled any great distance, and some I
have are as rough as though they had been hammered out of
the mother lode.
That mother lode is yet to be found in the ridges between the
creeks, and when it is found it may be discovered to consist of
several large lodes, or a succession of small ones that may not
pay to work.
On Stewart and Pelly Rivers, some prospecting has been
done and gold found, and on the Hootalinqua in 1895 good pay
was discovered, and the richness of the gold increases as work
is continued further down. Some men, working fifteen feet
down, found coarse gold, when the water drove them out, and
they had to abandon the work and come out, determined to
return ; but they did not go back, as in the meantime the
Klondyke excitement knocked that place out.
Gold has been found at the head of Lake Labarge, on the
stream flowing into the lake at this point. In fact, there is
gold everywhere in this zone, which is 500 miles long by 150
wide. Prospects, too, are to be found on the Dalton Trail, on
the other side of the Yukon River. A man, riding along the
Altsek Trail, was thrown from his horse, and, in falling, caught
at the branch of a tree. As he drew himself up, he saw some-
thing shining on the rock which fixed his attention at once.
He picked it up and found that it was gold. Other excellent
prospects have also been found along the same creek. From
these circumstances and discoveries it may be assumed that in
all this country there is gold, while in this particular zone it is
42O THE YUKON TERRITORY'
especially abundant. This zone lies outside of the Rocky
Mountains, and distant from them about 150 miles.
Another product of the country that demands attention is
copper. It is doubtless to be found somewhere in that
district in great abundance, although the location of the main
deposit has yet to be discovered. Mr. Harper was shown a
large piece of pure copper in the possession of the Indians —
indeed I have seen it myself. It comes from the vicinity of the
White River somewhere — just where has yet to be disclosed.
Silver has also been found, and lead, while to work our precious
metals we have coal in abundance. It is to be found in the
Rocky Mountains, or, rather, the ridge of high mountains
running parallel to them in the interior. A deposit of coal in
this range runs right through our territory. At two points,
near Forty Mile, it also crops out, in one place only about
forty feet from the River Yukon. Further up the Yukon, on
one of its many smaller feeders, at Fifteen Mile Creek and on
the head of the Thronda, there are also out-croppings of coal.
On the branches of the Stewart and on some of the Five
Fingers of the Yukon coal is also exposed. In fact, there is any
amount of coal in the country with which to work our minerals
when we can get in the necessary facilities.
Regarding the surface of the country and the difficulties of
prospecting : Passing down the river in a boat one sees a suc-
cession of trees, ten, twelve, fourteen and sixteen inches in
diameter, and he naturally comes to the conclusion that it is a
well-timbered country. And so it is, along the margin of the
river. But let him land and go inland, and he will find the
ground covered with what is locally known as "nigger grass."
This is a coarse grass which each year is killed and falls,
tangling in such a way as to make pedestrian progress all but
impossible, tripping one up every few feet. It is, as might be
imagined, a most difficult thing to walk through this grass, great
areas of which are found all through the district. And where
these areas are found the miners avoid them as they would the
plague.
For the rest of the country the rocks are covered by one foot
to two of moss— and underneath, the everlasting ice. On this
a scrubby growth of trees is found, extending up the mountains.
THE YUKON TERRITORY 421
It is this which appears to those passing down the river in
boats to be a continuation of the good timber seen along the
banks. Timber that is fit for anything is scarce, and we should
husband it carefully. Our timber has built Circle City. Our
timber has served all the purposes of the Upper Yukon
country. A large amount of timber is required, and what we
have we should keep for our own use, particularly as the ground
has to be burned to be worked.
Above the timber line you come to the bare rocks — the crests
bare save where clothed with a growth of lichen on which the
caribou feed. There is no timber in the way here — no moss
and no brush. The miners in travelling consequently keep as
much as possible to the top of the ridge.
Bedrock prospecting necessarily has to be reserved for the
winter. First the moss has to be cleared away, and then the
muck — or decayed rubbish and vegetable matter. The fire is
applied to burn down to bedrock. The frost in the ground
gives way before the fire, ten, twelve, or perhaps sixteen inches
in a day. The next day the fire has to be again applied, and
so the work proceeds until gravel is reached. It may be twenty
feet or so below the surface, in which case it is usually reached
in about twenty days. Prospecting is now commenced — that
is, a pan or two of dirt is washed to determine whether it is
worth keeping or not — the refuse is thrown on one side of the
hole, and the paying dirt on the other. Near to and on bed-
rock the pay is found, which is generally not more than two or
three feet deep. Having burned down to the bedrock and
found the paystreak, you start drifting in the direction of the
best pay. The distance this process can be conducted depends
on the thickness of the crust on top. If this is soft, you may
drift thirty feet with safety, when a new hole or shaft must be
sunk and the drifting continued. Very few people have the
good fortune to succeed with one shaft ; prospecting holes as
many as twenty or thirty must be dug until you cut the whole
valley across before you find pay. The next man may strike it
at the first hole. To give you an instance : One man put down
eleven holes, and didn't find anything, and yet other men had
confidence enough in the claim to pay $2500 for a half interest
in it, knowing that the owner had put in eleven holes and found
422 THE YUKON TERRITORY
nothing, a fact which will go to prove the character of the
country.
After you have worked until April or May the water begins to
run, and the trouble is that the water accumulates and you
cannot work, as it puts out the fires which have been used to
thaw out and soften the ground. Then the dams are built,
timber prepared, and the sluice-boxes put in to wash the
dump.
In one clean-up eighty pounds avoirdupois of gold was taken
out, or a total value of about $16,000. The dump from which
this partial return was obtained contained in all $110,000, the
result of the united efforts of five or six men, at $1*50 per hour,
for upwards of six months, not including the labour of sluicing.
You can understand, therefore, that although the pay is very
rich, it is not exactly all profit.
One man, who owns a claim on El Dorado and one on
Bonanza, has sold out, so it is said, for a million dollars. He
went into the country a poor man, with the intention of raising
sufficient money to pay off the mortgage on his place. He has,
I believe, not only done so, but paid off those of all his
neighbours.
Although these creeks are rich — and, as I have told you, more
men have made homestakes (fortunes) there than anywhere else
in the world — I do not wish you to look only on the bright side
of the picture. An American from Seattle came in June, 1896,
to the Forty Mile, with his wife, with the intention of bettering
his condition. They went out again last July with $52,000. I
was well acquainted with this man, a very decent, intelligent
man. He told me one day that if he could remain in this
country from three to five years, and go out with $5000, he
would consider himself in luck. He has gone out with $52,000,
and after the prospecting he has done, a little in the middle
and at one end of the claim, he believes that he has $1,500,000
there.
On the other hand, however, a Scotchman named Marks has
been in there for eleven years. I have known him well, and
once last fall when he was sick, I asked him how long he had
been mining. His reply was forty-two years — in all parts of
the world, except in Australia. In reply to the question as to
THE YUKON TERRITORY 423
whether he had ever made his stake, he told me he had never
yet made more than a living, and very often that was a scanty
one. This, of course, is the opposite extreme. I could quote
scores of cases similar to that, so that I would not have you
look too much on the bright side.
There are men in that country who are poor, and who will
remain so. It has not been their " luck," as they call it, to
strike it rich. But I may say that that country offers to men of
great fortitude and some intelligence and steadiness an oppor-
tunity to make more money in a given time than they possibly
could make anywhere else. You have, of course, a good deal
to contend with ; your patience will be sorely tried, for the
conditions are so unique that they have surprised many who
have gone in, and they have left in disgust.
We have there a vast region comprising from 90,000 to
100,000 square miles of untold possibilities. Rich deposits we
know to exist, and all may be -as rich. We know now that there
is sufficient to supply a population of a hundred thousand
people, and I look forward to seeing that number of people in
that country within the next ten years. It is a vast inheritance.
Let us use it as becomes Canadians — intelligently, liberally,
and in the way to advance our country — Canada. Let us use
it as it becomes the offspring of the Mother of Nations !
END OF PART III.
INDEX
ADAMS, George R.
Ball, W. H., Obligations to, 240.
One of pioneers, 34.
Starts for Nulato, 52.
Alaska.
Coast, absence of terrace deposits,
287.
Commercial Company's steamers,
398.
No icebergs from Dixon's Entrance
to Behring Strait, 242.
Alaskan traders, route to Yukon
district, 255.
Aleutian Islands, touched at, 240.
Aleuts.
Bathing customs, 139.
Nominal Christians, 88.
Promise of ultimate civilization, 115.
Aloshka, accompanies Dyer as inter-
preter, etc., 74.
Arrives at Nulato, 181.
Altsek Trail, Gold found on, 419.
American ships at St. Michael's, News
of, 239.
Amilka, inhabitant of Ikigalik, 27.
Builds winter house near Nukkoh,
167.
House at Ulukuk, 36.
Ananyan, builds house at Kutlik, 234.
Anderson, James, account of Liard
navigation, 351.
Anderson, James, unpublished journals,
346.
Andrea steals dogs, 185.
Andreafifsky Fort deserted, 231.
Andreaffsky Fort, Tragedy at, 231.
Antoshka.
Accompanies Dyer to Fort Yukon,
74-
Beaten by Russian, 62.
Returns from foraging expedition,
68.
Anvik village, 217.
Graves, 218.
Natives Ingaliks, 217.
tareek, 217.
Anvil Mountain, 314.
Armstrong, Dr. A., on granite rocks,
274.
Arrowsmith, map of Cassiar District
(1850), 307.
Arrowsmith, map of Yukon (1850),
251.
Ash deposit, Account of, 276.
Atlantic cable, success of, 119.
Auriferous ground, clue to search for,
266.
Aurora Borealis, 59.
A/iak or Sledge Island, 138.
B.
"BACKFAT," 136.
Bank Swallow on Yukon, 80.
Barminster, H. M., takes R. Kenni-
cott's body home, 6.
Barnard, Lieut. J. J.
Arrives at Nulato. 48.
Grave, 52.
Murdered, 51.
Remark about " sending " for chief,
Effects of, 48.
Bean, Edward, organizes prospecting
party to cross Chilkoot, 377.
Bear Creek, Claims on, 405, 417, 418.
Bear-Hunting, 133.
Bear, tracks of black, 211.
Beardslee, Captain, establishes amic-
able relations with Chilkoots and
Chilkats, 377.
Beaver, habits of, 212.
Beaver Lake, 39 ; passed, 169.
Bedrock prospecting, 421.
Behm Canal, 279.
Bell, Dr. R., on glacier ice movement,
274.
Bell, J., explores Porcupine River, 348.
Bell, J., reaches Yukon by Porcupine,
251.
Beluga (white whale), Account of,
236.
Bennett Lake, 254, 366, 368 ; Silver
ore near, 407.
INDEX
425
Berlin Geographical Society, Map of
Chilkoot Country, 378.
Besboro' Island, Water-fowl on, 147.
Big Salmon River (D'Abbadie), 356.
First discovery of paying placers,
378.
Gold found on, 358, 379.
Material brought down by, 268.
Birch Canoes, 219.
Birch River, 101.
Birds (rare) obtained on Lower Yukon,
229.
Birdskin dresses on Lower Yukon,
225.
Black or Turnagain (Muddy) River
discovered, 309.
Black, Turnagain, or " Muddy "
River, Gold in, 304.
Blake, W. P., Report on Stikine, 290.
Blue River, " Caribou," of Campbell,
3I4-
Bonanza Creek.
Claims on branches, 405.
Claims, probable yield, 417.
Discovery of gold at, 401, 402.
Reports from, 410, 411.
Value of gold obtained from, 419.
Boswell, T., description of Tes-lin-too,
361.
Boulder-clay, where found, 273,
Bradfield Canal, 279.
Bremen Geographical Society, Dr. A.
Krause's expedition for, 378.
British Columbia.
Coast, absence of terrace deposits,
287.
Geology of southern part, 263.
(Northern Part) River System, 249.
" Broken Stare" jargon, 106.
Buck's Bar, Mining-camp at, 308.
Bulegin, Ivan, massacred, 49.
Bulkley, Captain Charles S., Engineer-
in-chief of expedition, 6.
Burrough's Bay, 279.
Butterflies caught, 84.
Butterflies, yellow, on Yukon, 230.
Byrnes explores Hotilinqu River
(Tes-lin-too), 252, 360.
C.
CALLBREATH, J. C., on opening of
navigation on Stikine, 289.
Campbell Mountains, 326, 333.
Campbell, Robert.
Describes Hudson Bay Company's
trail at Frances Lake, 330 .
Established Fort Selkirk, 398.
Establishes trading-post at Dease
Lake, 307.
Campbell, Robert (cont.} :
Estimate of portage, 247.
Explores to Frances and Finlayson
Lakes, 318.
Explores Upper Liard and Yukon ,
346.
Explores Yukon River, 251.
Journey to Minnesota and London,
350-
Meeting Stewart, 349.
Names Terror Bridge, 307.
Proves identity of Pelly and Yukon,
348.
Camping in Yukon Territory, 188.
Canadian mining law, 407.
Canal, St. Michael's, reached, 119,
239 ; Straight and Crooked, n.
Caribou Camp, 292, 293.
Trail to Dease Lake, 294.
Caribou Crossing, Ash deposit at, 277.
Caribou, where found, 260.
Cassiar Bar on Lewes.
Discovered and worked, 379.
Rich in gold, 360.
Cassiar District.
Climate, 257.
Destruction of Timber, effects of,
38i.
Discovery of, 306.
Gold yield, 308, 309.
Gold Yield Table (1873-87), 301.
Imperfectly prospected, 305.
More accessible than Caribou, 297.
Placer gold-mines, 278.
Population, 308, 309.
Cassiar Range, 250, 309.
Rocks resemble Rocky Mountains,
316.
Chamberlin, Professor T. C., examines
glacier, 271.
Chandinaler River, Coal reported on,
403-
Chandindu River (Twelve Mile Creek),
Claims on, 397.
Chandindu River, Coal deposits on,
387, 397-
Chicken Creek abandoned, 413.
Chilkat Pass, explored by Dr. A.
Krause, 378.
Chilkat Pass used by Indians, 256.
Chilkoot Pass.
Crossed, 248.
Explored by Dr. A. Krause, 378.
First crossed by G. Holt, 376.
Geology, 263.
Impassable for pack-horses, 256.
Rocks, 373.
Trail across, 371.
Vegetation, 374.
Chippewayans, Meaning of word, 108.
Christmas festivities, 58.
Circassian tobacco, effect of, 81, 224.
426
INDEX
Circle City built of Canadian timber,
421.
News of gold finds reaching, 415.
Claims, Act of Parliament regulating
length, 416.
Clara Bell.
Arrives at Fort St. Michael's, 121.
Expected at St. Michael's, 119.
Departure from St. Michael's, 122.
Search for parties left at Grantley
Harbour, 120.
Clearwater River enters Stikine, 282.
Cliff Creek, Coal at, 400.
Coal Creek.
Coal at, 400.
Coal examined by Wm. Ogilvie, 387.
Wm. Ogilvie's survey of, 393.
Coal-seam, Nulato, examined, 56.
Coast, Character of, 20.
Coast Ranges, 250.
Climate, 257, 368.
Geology, 263.
Trail over, 370.
Traversed by Stikine River, 287.
Collections sent by Clara Bell, 122.
Cone Hill.
Assays satisfactory, 396.
Gold quartz found at, 386.
Wm. Ogilvie's survey, 394.
Copper Region, Alaska, 277.
Copper, where found, 274.
Cormack, G. W., discovers gold on
Bonanza Creek, 401, 404.
Cottonwood Creek on Arrowsmith's
Map, 311.
Cottonwood Creek Valley, geological
features, 315.
Couriers on important occasions, 123.
Co \vley drowned, 109.
Crane (Sand-hill) on Lower Yukon,
219.
Creeks abandoned, no paying gold,
304-
Creoles, 12 ; Condition of, 241.
Crimp, J. S., Gold Commissioner for
Cassiar District, 301.
Cripple Creek, Claims on, 417.
Cudahy, no prospect of town at, 386.
Cudahy town blocked out, 394.
Curlew (Limosa uropygialis] eggs found,
235-
D.
D'ABBADIE River (see Big Salmon).
Dall, W. PL
Appointed Director of Scientific
Corps ; plans, 6.
Assists in transporting goods to
Ulukuk, 35, 37.
Dog-team, 185.
Dall, W. H. (cont'.) :
Embarks for San Francisco, 240.
Illness; return to Redoubt, 157.
Journey to Iktigalik, 33.
Knowledge of Innuit and Indian
dialects, 121.
Narrow escape on Klat-Kakhatne
River, 205.
On discovery of Stikine River, 289.
On Kwikhpak, 251.
Party starts for Fort Yukon, 74.
Plans, 123.
Plans to ascend Yukon, 56.
Prepares to accompany Captain
Smith to California, 240.
Remains at St. Michael's, 122.
Work on Alaska (1870), 290.
Dall, W. H., and Popoff give festival,
154.
Dalton, J.
On gold prospects between Coast
Range and Selkirk, 406.
Trail from Chilkat Inlet to Selkirk,
401.
Trail, Gold prospects on, 419.
Dance -house, uses of, 16.
Dances (Innuit), 149.
Davidson Glacier on Lynn Canal, 284.
Davis Creek, Gold quartz at, 406.
Dawson, Dr.
Graptolites collected by, 316.
In charge of expedition, 245.
Party, Members of, 246.
Report on Yukon Expedition, 245.
Dawson, Quartz claims near, 418.
Dease Creek.
Discovered, 308.
Gold deposits, 299, 302.
Headquarters of Gold Commission,
299.
Dease Lake.
Account of, 299.
Centre of Cassiar mining district,
246, 278.
Dates of opening and closing, 299.
Height of watershed near, 249.
Humid, 257.
Placer gold, 297.
Reached, 298.
Trading-post established and aban-
doned, 307, 346.
Dease River.
Account of, 310.
Fossils, 317.
Geological features, 314.
Good boat-route, 253.
Length of, 309.
Dease River and Liard, confluence, 246.
December Mail, 123.
December 27th, length of day, 58.
Deer becoming scarcer, 147.
Deer River (see Klondyke).
INDEX
427
Defot Creek discovered, 309.
Defot Creek, Gold in, 303.
Derabin.
Rebuilds fort of Nulato, 48.
Stabbed, 50.
Traffics with natives for furs, 48.
Doe killed, 161.
Dog driving, 186.
Dog harness, 163.
Dogs escape, 30.
Dogs for Eskimo sleds, 25.
Dordogne, drawings in caves, 237.
Dry fish, 30.
Dyer, Quartermaster, 25.
Plans to investigate Yukon delta,
56.
Sends dogs back, 32.
Starts for Fort Yukon, 74.
"Telegraph Stew," 36.
E.
EAGLE River, "Christie," of McLeod,
ii.
Earn River, tributary of Pelly, 339.
Earthquake shock, 118.
Egg River, camping on bank, 232.
Ekogmut tribe (Pre-morski).
Graves, 227.
Habits, 223.
El Dorado Creek, Claims on, 415.
Probable yield, 417, 419.
Elephant bones found, 238.
Emperor goose breeding at Kusilvak
Slough, 230.
Emperor goose found, 235.
Ennis, W. H., in charge of exploring
party West of Yukon, 8.
Enterprise abandoned, 119.
Eskimo boots described, 22.
Eskimo, derivation of word, 144.
Etolin, Creole officer of Russian
American Company, 12.
F.
FESTIVALS (Innuit), 149.
Fifteen Mile Creek, Coal found on,
420.
Finlayson Lake.
Account of, 333.
Expedition reaches, 332.
Vegetation on, 334.
Finlayson River, Gold found at mouth,
329-
Finlayson River, named by Campbell,
33°-
Fire-drills, 142.
First South Fork joins Stikine, 282.
Fish, Scarcity of, 179.
Fish-traps described, 172.
Fishing village on Lower Yukon, 228.
Flowers on Yukon, 98, 99.
Food, Scarcity of, 64, 66.
"Ford Mumford " (see Telegraph
Creek).
Fort Cudahy.
Asbestos near, 387.
Difficulties of winter journey to
Ottawa, 403.
Mail routes to, 397«
Wm. Ogilvie arrives at, 385.
Wm. Ogilvie's work at, 393.
Fort Derabin (see Nulato-).
Fort Dionysius constructed by Russians,
289.
Fort Frances abandoned, 349.
Fort Halkett, Campbell leaves to ex-
plore Liard, 346.
Fort Halkett, J. McLeod explores near,
Fort Kennicott, founding, 63.
Fort Kennicott, orders for repairing,
124.
I Fort Liards, 114.
Fort Nelson massacre, 113.
Fort Ogilvie, portable saw-mill at, 388.
i Fort Pelly Banks constructed, 347.
Fort Reliance, Copper near, 397.
Fort Selkirk.
Account of, 349.
Applications for land at, 385.
Demolished by local Indians, 350.
Established, 347.
Pillaged by Indians, 349.
Site of, 1 10, 345.
Site of, confluence of Pelly and
Lewes at, 252.
Fort Simpson to Fort Yukon, Posts
between, 351.
Fort Yukon.
Abandoned, 351.
Annual trade, 106.
Arrival at, 102.
Bateaux arrive, 105.
Departure from, 116.
Described, 103.
Established, 348.
Fare for men and dogs at, 103.
Furs in storehouse, 115.
History of, 102.
Maintained till 1869, 350.
Mean annual temperature, 258.
Preparations for journey to, 72.
Range of temperature, 105.
Region to be explored, 6.
Transport difficulties, 103.
Tribes represented at, 109.
United States of America, 206.
Forty Mile Creek.
American's experience at ; Marks',
422.
Enters Dease ("Stuart "of McLeod),
312.
428
INDEX
Forty Mile Creek (font.) :
Gold found on, 379, 380.
Liquor question, 395.
No prospects of town at, 386.
Ogilvie, Wm., reaches, 391.
Ogilvie's, Wm., survey, 394.
Rush to, 407.
Snow at, 257.
Steamers to, 256.
Fossil elephant tusk, 134.
Fossil molluscs and plants, 267.
Fossils, 71 ; at Tolstoi Point, 135.
Fossils found near Nulato, 67.
Frances Lake.
Described, 325.
Examined and mapped, 247.
Expedition arrives at, 330.
Fish in, 327.
Gold placers on, 266.
Log cache constructed on, 247.
Named after Lady Simpson, 346.
Woods round, 328.
Frances Lake and River geology, 266.
Frances River.
Ascent difficult, 246.
Course of, 319, 321.
False Canon, 323.
Lower Canon, 319 ; Rocks, 320.
Middle Canon, 321.
Passable by large boat, 253.
Upper Canon, 323.
Frances L. Steele, W. II . Dall leaves
St. Michael's by, 240.
Francis, engineer of Wilder^ 25.
Helps in transporting goods to
Ulukuk, 35, 36.
Returns to Unalaklik a third time,
38.
Fraser Lake, trail to Dease Lake, 253.
Free traders in Hudson Bay territory,
105.
French Creek, " Detour River,' 313.
Furs, Manner of packing, 106.
G.
" GEORGE S. WRIGHT," ss., anchors at
Egg Island, 5.
Glaciation, 271.
Glaciation and placer gold deposits,
275.
Glaciation, Direction of, 273.
Glacier Creek, Yukon, Claims on, 392,
402.
Returns poor compared to Klondyke,
4I3-
Glasunoff first explores Yukon Estuary,
251.
"Glenlyon House;" Fort Frances
built, 347.
Glenlyon Mountains, 339.
Glenlyon River, tributary of Pelly, 339.
I Glenora, Account of, 283.
Cultivation at, 289.
Gold.
Bar-mining prospects, 381.
Discovered in Cassiar region, 290.
First discovery of paying placers on
Big Salmon River, 378.
'* Gulch diggings," 380.
Mining (1883-5), 378.
Placer deposits, where found, 275.
Placer mines of Cassiar, 278.
Yield, Cassiar District, Table (1873-
87), 301-
Gold Bottom, Claims on, 417.
Gold Bottom, ore tested, 418.
Goldsen, Russian Creole, 160.
Acting as Secretary to Greek
Mission, 227.
Arrives at Pastolik, 238.
Golsona River reached, 129.
Goose, first seen, 68.
Grantley Harbour.
Parties embark safely, 121.
Telegraph poles erected near, 6 1.
Traders visiting, 200.
Graptolites found, 316.
Great Bend rounded, 228.
" Great Canon " on Slikine River, 278.
Greek priests, 226.
H.
H.M.S. "ENTERPRISE" at St.
Michael's, 48.
Han Kutchin (Gens de Bois) at Fort
Yukon, 109.
Hardistz, Wm. L., on Kutchin castes,
196.
Harlequin duck found, 208.
Harper.
Carries supplies by steamer to Hoot^
alinqua, 389.
Trading post at Sixty Mile, 414.
Trading post moved to Forty Mile
Creek, 248.
llaughton, Professor S., on northward
ice movement, 274.
Healey, J., trading post at Taiya Inlet,
371-
Henderson, Robert, discovers gold in
Klondyke, 413.
Henderson, Robert, prospecting on
Stewart, 418.
Henry, dispute with Indian chief at
Fort Nelson, 112.
Henry, Mr. and Mrs., murdered, 113.
Hoffmann, G. C., examines coal on
Lewes, 356.
Finds traces of gold at mouth of
Finlayson, 329.
Hohonila, Mount, 85.
INDEX
429
Holt, George, first to cross Chilkoot
to head of Lewes, 376.
Hoole Canon, Rocks of, 337.
Hootalinqua (Teslin).
Gold found on, 385, 419.
Number of miners on, 400.
Ogilvie, Wm., proposes to survey,
385-
Placer mines on, 388.
Hootalinqua (see also Teslin).
Houle, Antoine, interpreter, at Nuk-
lukahyet, 86, 91.
House at Fort Yukon, 103.
Sketch of, 106.
Hudson Bay Company.
Cache discovered in ruins, 331, 332.
Dealings with Indians, 112.
Discover Cassiar District, 306.
Employes at Fort Yukon, 103.
Enterprise in Yukon basin, 351.
Forts abandoned by, 114.
Post established on Stikine, 290.
Route to Yukon District, 255.
Servants' hardships, 104.
Hudson Bay knives, 105.
Hudson Bay sled, 165, 170.
Hunker Creek, Claims on, 417.
Gold found on, 405.
Hunter, J., measurements in 1877, 246.
Survey of Stikine River, 279, 280.
I.
IKTIGALIK.
Arrival at, 167.
Best route to Vesolia Sopka, 185.
Dall, W. H., journey to, 33.
Described, 26.
Ingaliks at, 132.
Stolen dogs found at, 185.
Indian.
Avarice, examples of, 167.
Belief in Shamanism, 88.
Carvings, 214.
Chiefs, why chosen, 202.
Children, 68.
Dances, 198.
Dialects, 28, 109.
Grave, 79.
Life, a struggle with Nature, 200.
Map of Frances tributaries, 322.
Pipes, 81.
Sled of Yukon, 166.
Indian Creek, gold found on, 401, 405.
Indians.
Character, in.
Habits of, 58.
Love of singing and tobacco, in.
Near site of Fort Selkirk, travelling
routes, 257.
Of Western United States, 115.
On Yukon, 215.
Painting their faces, 94.
Indians (cont. ) :
Sham fits cured, 171.
Suspicions, illustration of, 61.
Unused to steady hard work, 100.
Ingalik tribe (Nulato), 28.
Account of, 53.
Camp, birch canoes made at, 219.
Character, 193.
Customs, 196.
Diseases among, 195.
Grave, 132.
Proper names, 202.
Skull taken from grave, 67.
Ingechuk.
Brings white grouse and reindeer
meat, 29.
Carries note to Ketchum, 34.
Takes Metrikoffs sons to Ulukuk,
174.
Ingersoll Islands, 353
Innuit.
Bath, 20.
Casine, diagram of, 127.
Dialect of delta of Yukon, 28, 227.
Drawings on bone, 237.
Graves, 19.
Ivory carvings, 236.
National dance, 221.
Pottery, 218.
Sleds, 164, 170.
Trading voyages, 216.
Innuit of Norton Sound.
Boats, 137.
Dances and festivals, 148.
Disposition, 138.
Dress, 141.
Games, 137.
Graves, 145.
Habits, 147.
Infanticide, 139.
Intercourse with Indians, 144.
Labrets, 140.
Map drawing, 142.
Marriages, 139.
Mode of life, 136.
Patron spirits, 145.
Physique, 137.
Property, 142.
Shamanism among, 144.
Tattooing, 140.
Trading, 143.
Tribes, 137.
Weapons, 143.
Women, 139.
International Telegraph, exploration to
decide on line for. 4.
Isaac ill-treated by Russians, 162.
Iskoot River, 283.
Ivanhoff, Gregory, action in Andre-
affsky tragedy. 231.
Ivanovich, Yagor, assistant to Ivan
Pavloff, 45.
430
INDEX
Jacobson, Captain, obtains jade at
Yukon mouth, 271.
Jade, where found, 271.
Jearny's barrabora, Camping near, 176.
Johnson, D., assistant in Yukon expedi-
tion, 246.
Jones, Strachan, on Kutchin castes,
196.
Jubilee Mountain, 367.
K.
through
KAIYUH Indians starved
scarcity offish, 179.
Kaiyuh Mountains, 42.
Kaiyuh River, Journey to, 175.
Kaltag, 41 ; Camping at, 208.
"Kaltag Stareek," death, 133.
Kamaroff arrives at Nulato, 181.
Kamar off trading at Koynkuk, 182.
Kamokin assists Captain Pirn and
explorers ; barbarity to sick, 162.
Karpoff at Nulato, 45.
Kaviaks, 137, 138.
Kegiktowruk village, 128.
Casine described, 126.
Dall, W. H., ill at, 158.
Departure from, 20.
Expedition detained at, 1 6.
Goods fetched from, 132.
Seal fishery at, 236.
Voyage to, 126.
Kennicott, Robert, Director of
Scientific Corps.
Body brought home, 6.
Character; death, 5, 70.
Explores Yukon, 4.
Ketchum, F. E., Captain of Expedition.
Arrangements for trip up Yukon, 31.
At Nulato, 43.
Explores north and east of Nulato,
8.
Journey to Fort Yukon, 63.
Last visit to Redoubt, 59.
Plans to ascend Yukon, 56.
Return to Fort Yukon, no.
Sends necessaries to repair boat, 18.
Starts for Fort Selkirk, 85.
Starts for Nulato, 34.
Klat-Kakhatne River, Dall, W.
narrow escape on, 205.
Torrent on, 69.
Klan-li-lin-ten, 215.
Klondyke River.
Applications for land near mouth,
410.
Coal on upper part, 413.
Placer gold on, 404.
Ogilvie, Wm., account of his dis-
cevery of gold on, 413.
Prospected in 1887, 418.
Reports from, 412.
H.,
" Kloochman Canon " on Stikine River,
280.
Kluk-tas-si (see Lake Labarge).
Kogenikoff, Ivan, action in Andre-
affsky tragedy, 231.
Koliak, Ichuk, brings new bidarra to
Unalaklik, 157.
Note from ; meeting, 216.
Koloshes, pride of family, 196.
Kotelkakat Village, 53.
Kotelno River, village on, 53.
Kotzebue Sound, Traders visiting,
200.
Winter visit proposed to, 123.
/"^.oyukuk Sopka, 77.
f Koyukun tribe, 48.
Accompany W. H. DalFs party, 77.
Account of, 53, 54-
\ Customs, 196.
Dress, 82.
Hostility of, 192.
Insolence to Russians, 118.
Proper names, 202.
Song, translation of, 199.
Threaten to burn Nulato, 207.
Krause, Dr. A.
Explores Chilkoot and Chilkat Passes,
378.
Explores Tahk-heena, 365.
Map of Chilkoot and Chilkat Passes,
375-
Naming rivers, 374.
Kurilla, Indian cook.
Accompanies W. H. Dall to Fort
Yukon, 74.
Arrives at Unalaklik, 164.
Engaged as permanent assistant ;
starts for Unalaklik, 124^
Good shot and sportsman, 5$V
History of, 55.
Kills first goose, 69, 204.
Returns to Nulato with goods, 17,4.
Wounded, 179.
Kurupanoff defends St. Michalel's
Redoubt, 10.
Kushevaroff, Creole officer of Russian
American Company, 12.
Kusilvak Mountain, Vie^v of, 232.
Kusilvak Slough, Emperor goose
breeding at, 230.
i Kutcha Kutchin camp, 101.
Kutchin Indians died of scarlet fever,
100.
Kutchin Totems (castes) three, 169.
K-uJxhin tribes, habits, 200.
Kutfik, arrived at, 234.
Russian house at, 119.
Kwikhpak, Russian name for Yukon,
251.
Kwikhtana barrabora (cold house),
210.
Kyaks, 137.
INDEX
431
L.
LA PIERRE'S house, Porcupine River,
103, 255.
Lake Labarge, 252, 362.
Conglomerates and sandstones, 268.
Glaciation, 272.
Gold found at, 419.
Lake Labarge Valley, its climate, 366.
Lake Lindeman, account of, 369.
Expedition reaches, 352.
Prospectors at, 377.
Lake Marsh (Mud Lake), Account of,
367.
Part of still- water navigation, 368.
Lake Nares, " Moose Lake," 368, 369.
Laketon built, 308 ; reached, 246.
Langtry, George, account of pro-
specting for gold, 377.
Lapie River, 337.
Lap worth, Professor Charles, note on
graptolites, 316.
Larriown.
Appearance, 52.
Appears at Nowikakat, 85.
Meets W. H. Ball's party, 77.
Reputation, 53.
Treats sick man, 89.
Wounded, 51.
Larriown family, conduct of, 192.
Larriown, Father, Greek missionary
at St. Michael's, 226.
Leather village, Food at, 220.
Lebarge, Michael. ,
Arrives at Nulato, 38.
Explores near Nulato, 8.
Journey to Fort Yukon, 63.
Meeting with W. H. Ball at St.
Michael's, 240.
Plans to ascend Yukon, 56.
Return to Fort Yukon, 1 10.
Leech on First South Fork and Iskoot
head-waters, 283.
Lewes River.
Ascent of, 248, 352.
Cassiar Bar rich in gold, 360.
Confluence with Upper Pelly, 247.
Course of, 353.
Dates of opening and closing, 370.
Discovered by R. Campbell, 352.
Gold found on, 380.
Part of Yukon, so called, 252.
Rink Rapid, 353 ; ash deposit, 277.
Rocks, 354.
Source of, 252.
White Horse Rapid and Miles Canon,
obstacle to navigation, 365.
Width, 359.
Lewes River and Upper Pelly, country
about confluence, 345.
Lewes Valley beyond Lake Labarge,
364-
Lewes Valley, traces of glacier ice, 272.
Lewis, L., assistant in Yukon expedi-
tion, 246.
Liard River.
Ascent difficult, 246.
Course of, 249.
Dates of opening and closing, 314.
Denned, 318.
Fort Nelson on, 112.
Gold placers on, 266.
Liard River, Lower, undesirable route,
253-
Liard River, Upper, Account of, 319.
Geology, 268.
Passable by large boats, 253.
Liard Valley, Trend of, 320.
Liquor question, 409.
" Little Canon," Stikine River, 279,
280.
Little Salmon River, tributary of
Lewes, 355.
Lofka.
Barrabora, 211.
Buys accordeon, 37.
Sent with letter to Redoubt, 51.
Loon-cap village.
Camping at, 224.
Graves, 224.
Inhabitants, 225.
" Lower Post," furthest outwork of
civilization, 314.
Lower Yukon (see Yukon, Lower).
Lukeen brings news of sale of territory,
181.
Lynn Canal.
Furs reaching, their value, 262.
Head of, reached, 248.
Passes from head of, 256, 258.
M.
McCoNNELL, R. G., assistant in the
Yukon Expedition, 245.
On Great Glacier Moraine, 285.
Survey of Lower Liard, 246.
Survey of Stikine, -246, 279.
McCormack, John, gives particulars of
Big Salmon, 357.
McCormick, John, on geology of S.W.
of Quiet Lake, 266.
McCulloch dies on Stikine, 308.
Discovers gold in Cassiar district,
290, 308.
McDame Creek.
Gold in, 303, 311.
Mountains bordering, 312.
Placers discovered, 308.
McDonald, Rev., at Fort Yukon, 103.
Held services for Indians, 1 10.
432
INDEX
McDougal, J. , Commander of garrison
at Fort Yukon, 103.
Letters for, 206.
McEvoy, J., assistant in Yukon Ex-
pedition, 245, 246.
McEvoy Lake, 333.
McLeod, J.
Ascends Liard to Simpson Lake,
346.
Discovers Dease Lake, 306.
Explores to Simpson Lake, 318.
McLeod, Peter, story of escape from
Fort Yukon, 91.
McDougal's suggestion about, 116.
Mackenzie River, 249.
Macmillan, branch of Pelly River, 251,
253.
Account of, 340.
Upper part unexplored, 340.
McMurray founds Fort Yukon, 102.
Magemuts tribe, south of Yukon
Mouth, 140.
Mahlemuts.
Attempt to steal alcohol, 221.
Camp, cotton tents, 220.
Dall, W. H., interview with, 17.
Engaged for journey to Unalaklik,
125.
Festival, 152.
Kind-heartedness, 159.
Meeting party of, 216.
Of Kotzebue Sound, 139.
Shaman, 144.
Major's Cove, 125 ; Camping at, 159.
Malakoff, Creole officer of Russian
American Company, 12.
Explored Yukon to Nulato, 48.
Mallard's nest found, 83.
Mammoth remains, R. Campbell on,
273-
Manki, Innuit village, 223.
Maria, at Nulato massacre, 51.
Death, 68.
Marks' experience at Forty Mile,
422.
Martha reports arrival of Clara Bell,
121.
Mastodon, or mammoth remains, R.
Campbell on, 273.
Matfaz and family at Kaltag, 208.
Matfaz, inhabitant of Iktigalik, 28.
Refuses use of dogs, 167.
Medical supplies deficient, 25.
Melozikakat or Clear River, 84.
Merriam, Dr. C. H., description of
new species of moose, 260.
Metrikoft, death ; fate of sons, 173.
Michaelovski Redoubt (see St.
Michael's).
Milavanoff, at Greek Mission, St.
Michael's, 227.
Miles Capon on Lewes, 254, 366.
Miller Creek, Yukon.
Claims on, 392, 402.
Output of one claim, 399.
Returns poor compared with Klon-
dyke, 413.
Miners' Range, 363.
Miners' route to Yukon District, 255.
Mining districts, Wm. Ogilvie on
extent of, 412.
Missionaries to Indians, in.
Monroe, Charles, prospecting near
Frances Lake, 329.
Moore, Captain W., explores White
Pass, 374.
Working at Dease Creek, 308.
Moose Island, 325.
Moose killing, 99, 100.
Moose, where found, 260."
Mosquitoes, 70 ; four kinds, 100.
Mount Campbell, Description of, 398.
Mountain goat, where found, 259.
Muir, John, describes Stikine glaciers,
283.
Munson discovers gold in Klondyke,
4I3.
Murray, A. H., establishes Fort Yukon,
348-
Mushrooms, 123.
N.
NATCHE Kutchin (Gens de Large) at
Fort Yukon, 109.
Native clothing described, 21.
Native house described, 13.
Natives, 13.
Natural History specimens, 61, 203.
Newberry River (see Tes-lin-too).
" Nigger grass," 420.
Nightingale.
Arrival in Norton Sound, 3.
Rations carried back by, 66.
Sails for Plover Bay, 8.
Nikolia brothers murdered, 19.
Ni-sutlin-hi-ni River, Gold found
along, 362.
Indian salmon-fishing stations on,
362.
Nordenskiold River, tributary of
Lewes, 355.
North Pacific, Key to, 242.
Norton Sound, Fish in, 148.
Region bordering to be explored, 6.
Notarmi leaves Nulato, 48.
Notokakat or Dall River enters Yukon,
100.
Nourse River, west branch of Taiya,
374-
INDEX
433
Nowikakat.
Arrival at, 85.
Harbour-view of Yukon Mountains
from, 87.
Noted for birch canoes, 90.
Tyone, 86.
Village and River, 86.
Nuklukahyet and Twin Mountains, 93.
Nuklukahyet Chief, 57.
Dress, 94.
Fishing for salmon, 117.
Meeting W. H. Dall's party, 93.
Nuklukahyet, Departure from, 96.
Nulato.
Arrivals at, 8, 43, 171, 191.
Christmas at, 178.
Crockery broken, 177.
Departure from, 207.
Depth of snow at, 257.
History of, 48.
Housekeeping at, 177.
" Hungry " place, 38.
Inhabitants, 45.
Party for, 25.
Party remaining at, 63.
Return to, 117.
Nulato and Fort Kennicott, Telegraph
poles erected between, 64, 72.
Nulato and sea, region between to be
explored, 6.
Nulato Fort described, 45.
Nulato Hills, expeditions to, 192.
Nulato massacre, history of, 49.
Nulato River, 47 ; Ice breaking up on,
69, 205.
O.
OGILVIE, William.
Account of discovery of gold in
Klondyke, 413.
Astronomical work of Yukon Ex-
pedition, 246.
Familiar with Peace River, 253.
Measuring claim, 416.
Names White Pass, 374.
On extent of mining districts, 412.
Photo-stations, 389, 391, 398, 408.
Preliminary report and map -sheets,
248.
Report of exploration (1896-7), 385.
Rock specimen from Lower Yukon,
266.
Waiting for Arctic, 403.
Work of, 399.
Ogilvie Valley, 363.
Okeeogemuts arrive at St. Michael's,
121.
Ooskon, Sketch of, 80.
Orarian tribes, similarity of customs and
those of cave-dwellers, 237.
Orchay River, 338.
Orders to remove property to Redoubt,
118.
Ottawa, Expedition leaving, 246.
Otter seen, 211.
Owls, specimens found, 67.
P.
PARHELIA described, 40.
Paspilkoff, assistant at Nulato, 45.
Cuts Cross in memory of R. Kenni-
cott, 70.
Erects Fort Kennicott, 6r, 63, 68.
Makes new sled, 182.
Pastolik, Eskimo village.
Beluga, Seal-fishing at, 236.
Natives killing white whale at, 14.
Reached, 119, 236.
Wild fowl in marshes, 238.
Pavloff, Ivan, commander of Nulato
trading post, 44.
Accident and rescue, 69.
Meets W. H. Dall at Nuklukahyet,
93-
Return to Nulato, 172.
Return with sable skins, 59.
Sketch of, 44.
Traps foxes, 57.
Type of Creole, 45.
Pavloff, Ivan, and party start for Nuk-
lukahyet, 206.
Peace River at Dunvegan, size of, 253.
Peak or Blue Mountains (Cassiar
Range), 309.
Pease, Charles, takes R. Kennicott's
body home, 6.
Peechka, Russian store described, 9.
Peel River, confluence with Mackenzie,
255-
Peetka, cook at Nulato, 52.
Pelly Banks Fort abandoned, 349.
Felly Range, 335, 337.
Pelly River.
Detour, 340.
Difficulties of overland journey to-
wards, 331.
Expedition reaches, 332.
First camp on, 334.
Gold found on, 379, 419.
Granite Canon, 341.
Gravel-bed, Gold in, 344.
Hoole Canon, 335.
Indications of gold on, 417.
Navigable for small steamers, 344.
Part of Yukon, so called, 252.
Prospecting parties ascend (1882),
378.
Rocks on, 337, 339.
Pelly River, Upper.
Bank reached, 247.
Confluence with Lewes, 252, 341.
2
434
INDEX
Pelly River, Upper (font.) :
Descent of, 247.
Fossil plants, 268.
Length, 343.
Rapid on, 247.
Pelly (Upper) Valley, traces of glacier
ice, 272.
Pemmican, how made, 136.
Pereleshin, Lieut., ascends Stikine,
290.
Perivalli, camping at, 169.
Petroff, report of value of furs shipped,
261.
Pikmiktalik, Touched at, 239.
Pirn, Captain Bedford.
Frost-bitten, 52.
In Kaviak Peninsula, 51.
Pipes, Indian, 81.
Placer gold (see under Gold).
Platinum, where found, 261.
Point Romanoff (Cape Shallow Water)
reached, 119.
Pope, Major, explores for Collins'
Telegraph Company, 290.
Poplar Creek good lor trapping, 39.
Popoff (Unalaklik Vidarshik), 131.
Popoff and W. H. Dall give festival,
154-
Popoff Glacier, 283.
Porcupine River, 102, 255.
Explored by J. Bell, 348.
Navigation of, 105.
Powers, Mike, crossing from Taku to
Teslin Lake, 362.
Q.
QUARTZ Creek, Gold in, 303.
R.
RAMPARTS on Yukon River, 97.
Fine view of, 100.
Rapid River Valley, 312 ; Plants found
in, 313-
Rapids of Yukon, 97, 117.
Rasbinik Village, 229.
Raymond, Captain Charles W., obser-
vations ot I4ist Meridian, 350.
Red Leggins, intelligence and influ-
ence, no.
Reed at Dease Lake, 332.
Reid, Robert, dates of opening and
closing Lake Dease, 299.
Reindeer fawns hunted by women, 148.
Reindeer, habits of, 29.
Report of Progress of Geological Survey
for 1886-7 j notes on gold, 301.
Reports on Medical Department and
Scientific Corps, 122.
Richardson, Sir J.
Honolulu paper reaching, 352.
On Laurentian boulders, 275.
On tibia of Elephas primigenius,
273-
Particulars of Liard River, 319.
Richtofen Valley, 363
Riedell, Captain of Constantine, 240.
Rocky Mountains, minerals found near,
420.
Romantzoff Mountains, 101.
Ross, Bernard R., on Eastern Tinneh
Indians, 112.
Ross, branch of Pelly River, 253.
Named by Campbell, 336.
Rousseau, General, arrival at Sitka,
184.
Rubber blankets, 76.
Rusanoff, S. S. (see Stepanoff, S. R.).
Russian American Company.
Not retaliating for Nulato massacre,
52-
Workmen, u.
Wound up, 181.
Russian bath described, 31.
Russian mail route from St. Michael's,
4-
Russian peasants' ingenuity, 62.
Russian plans for return from Nulato,
192.
Russian led, 166, 170.
Russian treatment of natives, 161 ;
effect of, 231.
Russian v. American travelling, 182.
S.
ST. ELIAS Alps, 250.
St. George's Island touched at, 240.
St. Michael Island composed of basaltic
lava, 33.
St. Michael's Mission, Arrival at, 226
St. Michael's Redoubt.
Arrival at, 184, 239.
Dall, W. H., takes survey of, 9.
Described, 9.
Expedition lands at, 7.
Expedition leaves, 15.
Inmates, three classes, n.
Journey to, 182.
Observations at, 6.
Reached on foot, 160.
Return to, 119.
Vessel taking liquor to, 239.
Sakhniti, chief of Kutcha Hutchin, 102,
107.
Character, in.
Salmon fishing, 147.
Salmon trout at Ulukuk, 36.
INDEX
435
San Francisco.
Arrival at, 242.
Voyage to, 240.
Sayyea Creek, Gold in, 304, 320.
Scarnmon, captain of Nightingale, 3.
Scarlet fever among Indians, 100.
Schwatka, Lieut., crosses Chilkoot and
descends Yukon to sea, 378.
Survey of Lewes, 353.
Scidmore, Mrs., on date of G. Holt's
crossing Chilkoot, 377.
Scratchett.
Hard journey from Unalaklik, 69.
Obtains reindeer meat, 66.
Remains at Nulato, 72.
Rescues Ivan Pavloff, 69.
Return brigade entrusted to, 57.
Sent to Kaltag with fish, 65.
Scud River, 282.
Seal fishing, 148.
Seal hunting, 18.
Seasons in Yukon Territory, 200.
Seminon Mountains, 357 ; rocks, 360.
Shabounin attacks Tekunka, 204.
Shageluk Ingaliks, Rumours of invasion
by, 161.
Shageluk, Leather village on, 220.
Shaman Mountains, 43.
Shamanism, belief in, 88.
Sheep camp on Chilkoot Pass, 371.
Shooting expeditions in canal, 125.
Shot, W. H. Ball makes, 203.
Shuswap Lake, Rocks of, 315.
Simpson Lake, 318, 322.
Simpson Mountains, 323, 333.
Simpson, Sir George.
Commissions R. Campbell to explore
Liard, 346.
Leases coast strip of Russian
America, 308.
Simpson's Tower, 325.
Sitka, No polar bears near, 242.
Sixty Mile River.
Gold found on, 392.
Harper's trading post at, 414.
Placer diggings at, 387.
Skin boats, three kinds, described, 15.
Skree Range, 311.
Sled (Eskimo) described, 25.
Sled runner broken and repaired, 185.
Small Houses, Game and fish plentiful
at, 100.
Smith, Captain Everett, of the Wilder,
~8, 60.
Enthusiastic sportsman, 24.
Smith, captain of Frances L. Steele,
at St Michael's, 240.
Smith, Lieut. F. M., acting surgeon for
Unalaklik party, 25.
Snares for grouse and rabbits, 178.
Snow Creek, Gold in, 303.
Snow goggles, 195.
Snowshoes, different kinds, 190.
Spring, Signs of, 66.
Starry Kwikhpak village, 229.
Steel, R. , account of finding gold, 377.
Stepanoff, S. Rusanoff, commands
trading-posts in district of St.
Michael, 11, 122.
Character, 12.
Stewart River, 251, 252.
Gold found on- 379, 417, 419.
Navigable, 255.
Prospecting on, 406.
Whom named after, 348 n.
Stikine Indians expert on river, 280.
Stikine River.
Course of, 249.
Discovery of, 289.
Gold found on, 296, 301.
Mouth of, mean annual temperature,
258.
Navigable for steamers, 253.
Opening of navigation, 289.
Placer gold discovered on bars, 290.
Sketch of, 278.
Terrace deposits at mouth, 287.
Stikine Valley.
Basalt-flows in, 270.
Climate of coast and inland, 287.
Geology, 285.
Glaciers, 283.
Placer gold deposits, 286.
Railway not difficult to construct,
298.
Rainfall, 287.
Survey, 298.
Trend of, 279.
Vegetation in May, 288.
" Stone house" on Chilkoot Pass, 373.
Stuart Island, 33.
Sugar scarce ; mode of using, 79.
Sukaree, 75.
Swans at Nulato, 69.
Swans on Yukon, 213.
Swanson, Frank, discovers gold in
Klondyke, 413.
Sylvester's landing at mouth of
McDame Creek, 311.
Sylvester's trail to Turnagain or Black
River, 312.
T.
TAGISH Lake, connected with Lake
Marsh, 254, 367, 368.
Tako and Windy Arms, 374.
Tahk-heena River, confluence with
Lewes, 364.
Tahl-tan River, Account of, 291.
Gold-mining formerly at, 292.
436
INDEX
Tahl-tan Valley, gold worked formerly,
296.
Taiya Inlet, Reports of second pass
from, 374.
Tako Lake (see Tagish).
Tuku River, 249, 254.
Tananah Indians arriving at Fort
Yukon, 107.
Tananah River junction with Yukon, 93.
Tanzilla, or Third North Fork.
Old river channel, 295.
Terrace deposits, 295.
Valley, 293.
Tarentoff, convict, and Major Kenni-
cott, 70.
Teal, green-winged, shot on Yukon,
209.
Tebenkoff Cove, 11.
Tebenkoff, Michael, establishes trading
post at St. Michael's, 9.
Tekunka Shaman among Kaiyuh
Indians, 66.
Announces festival, 167.
Attacked by Shabounin, 204.
Festival on Kaiyuh River, 175.
Telegraph Creek.
Cultivation at, 289.
Crops grown near, 258.
Dawson arrives at, 246.
Origin of name, 283.
Origin of rocks near, 295.
Pack trail from, 278.
Rich prospects in country round,
417.
Rocks near, 286.
Trail to Dease Lake, country
traversed by, 291.
Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake,
waggon road easily constructed,
297.
" Telegraph Stew," 29.
Teluzhik, Russian interpreter, on
Shageluk, 29, 51, 221.
Passes through Kutlik to Pastolik,
235-
Tenan Kutchin (Gens des Buttes),
Account of, 108.
Method of dressing hair, 108.
Tern (river), common on Yukon, 92.
Teslin Lake, largest known to Indians,
362.
Tes-lin-too River.
Confluence with Lewes, 359.
Course of, 361.
Gold found on, 362, 379, 380.
Thought to be the Hotalinqu, 377.
Tes-lin-too Valley, 360.
Theatricals, Impromptu, 35.
Thibert Creek, Gold in, 302.
Thibert, Henry, discovers gold in
Cassiar district, 290, 308.
Thomas River, 327.
Tikhmenief, historian of Russian
American Company, 48.
On attack on St, Michael's Redoubt,
9-
Timber for boats, where obtainable,
371-
Tinneh, Eastern, women and children,
202.
Tinneh, Tribes belonging to family of,
109.
Tinneh, Western, Account of, 193 seqq.
Tohonidola, dress described, 82.
Tolstoi Point, 33 ; Geological observa-
tions at, 135.
Ton-dac Creek, Copper deposit at, 387.
Tootsho Range, 250, 332 ; Composi-
tion of, 329.
Tooya, or Second North Fork, 292.
Reached by McLeod, 307.
Tooya Valley, 292, 293.
Topanika, beach at, 20.
Dall, W. H., lands at, 129.
Totems (castes), account of, 196.
Tozikakat River, bar at mouth, 92.
Trading at Nowikakat, 86.
Trading companies in Yukon Terri-
tory, conduct of, 240.
Travelling, examples of difficulties,
128, 1 68.
Tummel River, tributary of Pelly, 339.
Tundra, prairie-like plain, 39.
Tutchone Kutchin (Gens de Foux) at
Fort Yukon, 109.
Tyone of Koyukuk, 49.
U.
ULUKUK, branch of Unalaklik River,
30, 36, 39-
Ulukuk Hills, larch and alders on, 29.
Ulukuk Indians back out of engage-
ment, 63.
Ulukuk village, 32.
Camping at, 168.
Departure from, 38.
Described, 36.
Journey to, 35.
Journey to bring remaining goods,
171.
Start for, 166.
Trip to, 139.
Unakatana Indians, 53.
Unalaklik Fort described, 23.
Unalaklik River, bar at mouth, 32.
Crossing, 130.
Unalaklik village.
Arrival at, 21, 131.
Beach and village described, 24.
Dall, W. H., return to, 135.
Deaths in village, 162.
Journey to, 15.
INDEX
437
Unalaklik village (cont.} :
Parties attacked by scurvy, 69.
Preparations for trip to, 8, 124.
Return for missing dogs, 31.
Return journey to, 34, 160.
Start for, 125.
Telegraph poles erected near, 61.
Unaligmuts attack St. Michael's
Redoubt, 9.
United States Coast Survey Map, 252.
United States negotiating for purchase
of Russian America, 119.
Uphoon.
Arrival at mouth, 233.
Birds found on, 233.
Northern mouth of Yukon reached,
119.
Upper Pelly (see Pelly, Upper).
V.
VESOLIA Sopka, cheerful mountain, 37,
39-
Camping near, 169, 185.
Villages on Upper and Lower Yukon,
Difference between, 224.
Vunta Kutchin or Rat-Indians at Fort
Yukon, 109.
W.
WALRUS unknown in Norton Sound,
Ward buried by McDonald, no.
Water-fowl at Nulato, 69.
Water-fowl breeding on Besboro'
Island, 147.
Watson Valley, 367.
Westdahl, astronomer of expedition,
14.
Accident to boat, 18.
Western Union Telegraph explorers
ascend Pelly, 352.
White, C., describes graptolites, 317.
White Horse Rapid on Lewes River,
364.
White, Jim, " Three-Inch White," 416.
White Pass, .near Lake Lindeman,
256, 370.
Account of, 374.
White River, 251, 252.
Copper found on, 397, 406, 420.
Gold found on. 380.
Swift, 255.
Whiteares, J. F., submits graptolites to
Professor Lapworth, 316.
Whymper, F., artist of expedition, 8.
At Nulato, 43
Earliest mention of gold found on
Yukon, 375.
Whymper, F. (cont.):
Plans to ascend Yukon with W. H.
Dall, 56.
Starts for Fort Yukon, 74.
Wild fowl on Lower Yukon, 229.
Wild rose found on Yukon, 80.
Wilder, small steamer, 7.
Departure for Unalaklik, 8.
Williams frozen to death on Chilkoot
Pass, 379.
Willis, Bailley, examines glacier, 271.
Winter supplies purchased, 135.
Wolasatux barrabora, trip to, 64.
Wolasatux escapes massacre, 50.
Wolasatux, illness of family, 171.
" Wood Indians " met by R. Camp-
bell, 347.
Wrangell, Baron, orders establishment
of trading postal St. Michael's, 9.
Wrangell, at mouth of Stikine River.
British flag hoisted at, 290.
Expedition reaches, 246.
Mean annual temperature, 258.
Wrangell, Mount, 277.
Argillites at, 264, 285.
Wright, G. B., information on gold,
301.
Wright, Major George M., Adjutant of
Expedition, 122.
Y.
YAGORSHA (Yakut).
Arrives at Nulato with skin boat, 64.
At Nulato, 45.
Greets W. H. Dall on return to
Nulato, 117.
Yakuto, 12.
Yakutz-Kalatenik River, house at
mouth, 211.
Yaska, interpreter, at Andreaffsky, 229.
Yeto (Sidorka), accompanies W. H.
Dall, 209.
Yukon District.
Abuses prevalent in, 241.
Agricultural possibilities of, 259.
Alluvial soil, Formation of, 71.
Area, 245, 261.
Boundaries, 245.
Boundary determined by Wm.
Ogilvie, 389.
Characteristics, 249.
Climate in N.W. and E., 263.
Cost of transport, 396.
Difficulties of prospecting, 420.
Entry by Chilkoot Pass and Lewes,
371-
Fauna, 259.
Fish in, 260.
First telegraph pole, 59.
Furs taken by different routes from,
261.
438
INDEX
Yukon District (conf.}:
Geology of interior region, 265.
Gold-bearing belt, 406.
Gold found in 1887, 261.
Headquarters, 61.
Interior plateau glacier, 271.
Legislation (special) necessary, 241.
Mail routes to Fort Cudahy, 397.
Miners enter by Chilkoot (1882),
378.
Mining expert's opinion of, 397.
Police jurisdiction, 389.
Possibilities of, 423.
Resources of, 262.
River system, 249.
Rivers principal routes of travel, 253.
Seasons in, 200.
Sold to United States, 181.
Suitable railway routes, 254.
Temperature, 390.
Three routes of access, 255.
Timber, 395.
Trade returns, time taken for, 352.
White spruce abundant, 259.
Winds, summer and winter, 258.
Winter climate in north, 261.
Yukon Expedition.
Distance travelled, 248.
Purpose of, 245*
Sails, 4.
Yukon Indians.
Dances, 95.
Graves, 95.
Ornaments, 95.
Yukon River.
Banks, Vegetation on, 209.
Barter on, 78.
Branches of, 249.
Broad at mouth, 85.
Different names given to parts of,
252.
Distance navigable, 254.
Earliest mention of gold found on,
375-
Yukon River (cont.}:
Estuary, first exploration, 251.
First glimpse of, 41.
Fish found in, 180.
Ice breaking up on, 72.
Identical with Colville or Kwikhpak,
4-
Indian fishing-camps on, 118.
Journey down, 116.
Lateness of season, 208.
Mouth, Preparations for journey to,
203.
Plain north of, 101.
Seal (leopard) in, 118.
Source of interesting inquiry, 252.
Steamers suitable for, 396.
Trees growing near, 77.
White whale (beluga) in, 119.
Width, depth and velocity, 253.
Yukon River, Lower, Breadth of, 226.
Yukon River, Lower district, decrease
in population, 224.
Yukon River, Upper.
Ash deposit, 275.
Auriferous deposits, 275,
Rivers draining basin, 254.
Yukon River (see also Lewes and
Pelly).
Yukon, Upper District.
Frozen ground in, 381.
Gold discoveries in, 379.
Hardships to be overcome by miners,
381-
Number of miners in, 380.
Yukon Valley, Coal in, 400.
Yukutzcharkat (Whymper) River, 99.
Yunean, 385, 389.
Z.
ZAGOSKIN, Lieut.
At Nulato, 48.
Fables about deer, 148.
Map of Yukon, 251.
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The Yukon Territory
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