Chapter II: Klondyke Facts (2)

"These Indians are perfectly heartless. They will not render even the smallest aid to each other without payment; and if not to each other, much less to a white man. I got one of them, whom I had previously assisted with his pack, to take me and two of my party over a small creek in his canoe. After putting us across he asked for money, and I gave him half a dollar. Another man stepped up and demanded pay, stating that the canoe was his. To see what the result would be, I gave to him the same amount as to the first. Immediately there were three or four more claimants for the canoe. I dismissed them with a blessing, and made up my mind that I would wade the next creek.

"While paying them I was a little apprehensive of trouble, for they insisted on crowding into my tent, and for myself and the four men who were with me to have attempted to eject them would have been to invite trouble. I am strongly of the opinion that these Indians would have been much more difficult to deal with if they had not known that Commander Newell remained in the inlet to see that I got through without accident.

"While making the survey from the head of tide water I took the azimuths and altitudes of several of the highest peaks around the head of the inlet, in order to locate them, and obtain an idea of the general height of the peaks in the coast range. As it does not appear to have been done before, I have taken the opportunity of naming all the peaks, the positions of which I fixed in the above way. The names and altitudes appear on my map.

"While going up from the head of canoe navigation on the Taiya River I took the angles of elevation of each station from the preceding one. I would have done this from tide water up, but found many of the courses so short and with so little increase in height that with the instrument I had it was inappreciable. From these angles I have computed the height of the summit of the Taiya Pass,[2] above the head of canoe navigation, as it appeared to me in June, 1887, and find it to be 3,378 feet. What depth of snow there was I cannot say. The head of canoe navigation I estimate at about 120 feet above tide water. Dr. Dawson gives it as 124 feet.

[Footnote 2: The distance from the head of Taiya Inlet to the summit of the pass is 15 miles, and the whole length of the pass to Lake Lindeman is 23 miles. Messrs. Healy and Wilson, dealers in general merchandise and miners' supplies at Taiya, have a train of pack horses carrying freight from the head of Lynn Canal to the summit. They hope to be able to take freight through to Lake Lindeman with their horses during the present season.]

"I determined the descent from the summit to Lake Lindeman by carrying the aneroid from the lake to the summit and back again, the interval of time from start to return being about eight hours. Taking the mean of the readings at the lake, start and return, and the single reading at the summit, the height of the summit above the lake was found to be 1,237 feet. While making the survey from the summit down to the lake I took the angles of depression of each station from the preceding one, and from these angles I deduced the difference of height, which I found to be 1,354 feet, or 117 feet more than that found by the aneroid. This is quite a large difference; but when we consider the altitude of the place, the sudden changes of temperature, and the atmospheric conditions, it is not more than one might expect.

"While at Juneau I heard reports of a low pass from the head of Chilkoot Inlet to the head waters of Lewes River. During the time I was at the head of Taiya Inlet I made inquiries regarding it, and found that there was such a pass, but could learn nothing definite about it from either whites or Indians. As Capt. Moore, who accompanied me, was very anxious to go through it, and as the reports of the Taiya Pass indicated that no wagon road or railroad could ever be built through it, while the new pass appeared, from what little knowledge I could get of it, to be much lower and possibly feasible for a wagon road, I determined to send the captain by that way, if I could get an Indian to accompany him. This, I found, would be difficult to do. None of the Chilkoots appeared to know anything of the pass, and I concluded that they wished to keep its existence and condition a secret. The Tagish, or Stick Indians, as the interior Indians are locally called, are afraid to do anything in opposition to the wishes of the Chilkoots; so it was difficult to get any of them to join Capt. Moore; but after much talk and encouragement from the whites around, one of them named "Jim" was induced to go. He had been through this pass before, and proved reliable and useful. The information obtained from Capt. Moore's exploration I have incorporated in my plan of the survey from Taiya Inlet, but it is not as complete as I would have liked. I have named this pass "White Pass," in honor of the late Hon. Thos. White, Minister of the Interior, under whose authority the expedition was organized. Commencing at Taiya Inlet, about two miles south of its north end, it follows up the valley, of the Shkagway River to its source, and thence down the valley of another river which Capt. Moore reported to empty into the Takone or Windy Arm of Bove Lake (Schwatka). Dr. Dawson says this stream empties into Taku Arm, and in that event Capt. Moore is mistaken. Capt. Moore did not go all the way through to the lake, but assumed from reports he heard from the miners and others that the stream flowed into Windy Arm, and this also was the idea of the Indian "Jim" from what I could gather from his remarks in broken English and Chinook. Capt. Moore estimates the distance from tide water to the summit at about 18 miles, and from the summit to the lake at about 22 to 23 miles. He reports the pass as thickly timbered all the way through.

"The timber line on the south side of the Taiya Pass, as determined by barometer reading, is about 2,300 feet above the sea, while on the north side it is about 1,000 feet below the summit. This large difference is due, I think, to the different conditions in the two places. On the south side the valley is narrow and deep, and the sun cannot produce its full effect. The snow also is much deeper there, owing to the quantity which drifts in from the surrounding mountains. On the north side the surface is sloping, and more exposed to the sun's rays. On the south side the timber is of the class peculiar to the coast, and on the north that peculiar to the interior. The latter would grow at a greater altitude than the coast timber. It is possible that the summit of White Pass is not higher than the timber line on the north of the Taiya Pass, or about 2,500 feet above tide water, and it is possibly even lower than this, as the timber in a valley such as the White Pass would hardly live at the same altitude as on the open slope on the north side.

"Capt. Moore has had considerable experience in building roads in mountainous countries. He considers that this would be an easy route for a wagon road compared with some roads he has seen in British Columbia. Assuming his distances to be correct, and the height of the pass to be probably about correctly indicated, the grades would not be very steep, and a railroad could easily be carried through if necessary.

"After completing the survey down to the lake, I set about getting my baggage down too. Of all the Indians who came to the summit with packs, only four or five could be induced to remain and pack down to the lake, although I was paying them at the rate of $4 per hundred pounds. After one trip down only two men remained, and they only in hopes of stealing something. One of them appropriated a pair of boots, and was much surprised to find that he had to pay for them on being settled with. I could not blame them much for not caring to work, as the weather was very disagreeable--it rained or snowed almost continuously. After the Indians left I tried to get down the stuff with the aid of my own men, but it was slavish and unhealthy labor, and after the first trip one of them was laid up with what appeared to be inflammatory rheumatism. The first time the party crossed, the sun was shining brightly, and this brought on snow blindness, the pain of which only those who have suffered from this complaint can realize. I had two sleds with me which were made in Juneau specially for the work of getting over the mountains and down the lakes on the ice. With these I succeeded in bringing about a ton and a-half to the lakes, but found that the time it would take to get all down in this way would seriously interfere with the programme arranged with Dr. Dawson, to say nothing of the suffering of the men and myself, and the liability to sickness which protracted physical exertion under such uncomfortable conditions and continued suffering from snow blindness expose us to. I had with me a white man who lived at the head of the inlet with a Tagish Indian woman. This man had a good deal of influence with the Tagish tribe, of whom the greater number were then in the neighborhood where he resided, trying to get some odd jobs of work, and I sent him to the head of the inlet to try and induce the Tagish Indians to undertake the transportation, offering them $5 per hundred pounds. In the meantime Capt. Moore and the Indian "Jim" had rejoined me. I had their assistance for a day or two, and "Jim's" presence aided indirectly in inducing the Indians to come to my relief.

"The Tagish are little more than slaves to the more powerful coast tribes, and are in constant dread of offending them in any way. One of the privileges which the coast tribes claim is the exclusive right to all work on the coast or in its vicinity, and the Tagish are afraid to dispute this claim. When my white man asked the Tagish to come over and pack they objected on the grounds mentioned. After considerable ridicule of their cowardice, and explanation of the fact that they had the exclusive right to all work in their own country, the country on the side of the north side of the coast range being admitted by the coast Indians to belong to the Tagish tribe just as the coast tribes had the privilege of doing all the work on the coast side of the mountains, and that one of their number was already working with me unmolested, and likely to continue so, nine of them came over, and in fear and trembling began to pack down to the lake. After they were at work for a few days some of the Chilkoots came out and also started to work. Soon I had quite a number at work and was getting my stuff down quite fast. But this good fortune was not to continue. Owing to the prevailing wet, cold weather on the mountains, and the difficulty of getting through the soft wet snow, the Indians soon began to quit work for a day or two at a time, and to gamble with one another for the wages already earned. Many of them wanted to be paid in full, but this I positively refused, knowing that to do so was to have them all apply for their earnings and leave me until necessity compelled them to go to work again. I once for all made them distinctly understand that I would not pay any of them until the whole of the stuff was down. As many of them had already earned from twelve to fifteen dollars each, to lose which was a serious matter to them, they reluctantly resumed work and kept at it until all was delivered. This done, I paid them off, and set about getting my outfit across the lake, which I did with my own party and the two Peterborough canoes which I had with me.

"These two canoes travelled about 3,000 miles by rail and about 1,000 miles by steamship before being brought into service. They did considerable work on Chilkoot and Tagish Inlets, and were then packed over to the head of Lewes River (Lake Lindeman), from where they were used in making the survey of Lewes and Yukon Rivers. In this work they made about 650 landings. They were then transported on sleighs from the boundary on the Yukon to navigable water on the Porcupine.

"In the spring of 1888 they descended the latter river, heavily loaded, and through much rough water, to the mouth of Bell's River, and up it to McDougall's Pass. They were then carried over the pass to Poplar River and were used in going down the latter to Peel River, and thence up Mackenzie River 1,400 miles; or, exclusive of railway and ship carriage, they were carried about 170 miles and did about 2,500 miles of work for the expedition, making in all about 1,700 landings in no easy manner and going through some very bad water. I left them at Fort Chipewyan in fairly good condition, and, with a little painting, they would go through the same ordeal again.

"After getting all my outfit over to the foot of Lake Lindeman I set some of the party to pack it to the head of Lake Bennet.

"I employed the rest of the party in looking for timber to build a boat to carry my outfit of provisions and implements down the river to the vicinity of the international boundary, a distance of about 700 miles. It took several days to find a tree large enough to make plank for the boat I wanted, as the timber around the upper end of the lake is small and scrubby. My boat was finished on the evening of the 11th of July, and on the 12th I started a portion of the party to load it and go ahead with it and the outfit to the cañon. They had instructions to examine the cañon and, if necessary, to carry a part of the outfit past it--in any case, enough to support the party back to the coast should accident necessitate such procedure. With the rest of the party I started to carry on the survey, which may now be said to have fairly started ahead on the lakes. This proved tedious work, on account of the stormy weather.

"In the summer months there is nearly always a wind blowing in from the coast; it blows down the lakes and produces quite a heavy swell. This would not prevent the canoes going with the decks on, but, as we had to land every mile or so, the rollers breaking on the generally flat beach proved very troublesome. On this account I found I could not average more than ten miles per day on the lakes, little more than half of what could be done on the river.

"The survey was completed to the cañon on the 20th of July. There I found the party with the large boat had arrived on the 18th, having carried a part of the supplies past the cañon, and were awaiting my arrival to run through it with the rest in the boat. Before doing so, however, I made an examination of the cañon. The rapids below it, particularly the last rapid of the series (called the White Horse by the miners), I found would not be safe to run. I sent two men through the cañon in one of the canoes to await the arrival of the boat, and to be ready in case of an accident to pick us up. Every man in the party was supplied with a life-preserver, so that should a casualty occur we would all have floated. Those in the canoe got through all right; but they would not have liked to repeat the trip. They said the canoe jumped about a great deal more than they thought it would, and I had the same experience when going through in the boat.

"The passage through is made in about three minutes, or at the rate of about 12-1/2 miles an hour. If the boat is kept clear of the sides there is not much danger in high water; but in low water there is a rock in the middle of the channel, near the upper end of the cañon, that renders the passage more difficult. I did not see this rock myself, but got my information from some miners I met in the interior, who described it as being about 150 yards down from the head and a little to the west of the middle of the channel. In low water it barely projects above the surface. When I passed through there was no indication of it, either from the bank above or from the boat.

"The distance from the head to the foot of the cañon is five-eighths of a mile. There is a basin about midway in it about 150 yards in diameter. This basin is circular in form, with steep sloping sides about 100 feet high. The lower part of the cañon is much rougher to run through than the upper part, the fall being apparently much greater. The sides are generally perpendicular, about 80 to 100 feet high, and consist of basalt, in some places showing hexagonal columns.

"The White Horse Rapids are about three-eighths of a mile long. They are the most dangerous rapids on the river, and are never run through in boats except by accident. They are confined by low basaltic banks, which, at the foot, suddenly close in and make the channel about 30 yards wide. It is here the danger lies, as there is a sudden drop and the water rashes through at a tremendous rate, leaping and seething like a cataract. The miners have constructed a portage road on the west side, and put down rollways in some places on which to shove their boats over. They have also made some windlasses with which to haul their boats up hill, notably one at the foot of the cañon. This roadway and windlasses must have cost them many hours of hard labor. Should it ever be necessary, a tramway could be built past the cañon on the east side with no great difficulty. With the exception of the Five Finger Rapids these appear to be the only serious rapids on the whole length of the river.

"Five Finger Rapids are formed by several islands standing in the channel and backing up the water so much as to raise it about a foot, causing a swell below for a few yards. The islands are composed of conglomerate rock, similar to the cliffs on each side of the river, whence one would infer that there has been a fall here in past ages. For about two miles below the rapids there is a pretty swift current, but not enough to prevent the ascent of a steamboat of moderate power, and the rapids themselves I do not think would present any serious obstacle to the ascent of a good boat. In very high water warping might be required. Six miles below these rapids are what are known as 'Rink Rapids,' This is simply a barrier of rocks, which extends from the westerly side of the river about half way across. Over this barrier there is a ripple which would offer no great obstacle to the descent of a good canoe. On the easterly sides there is no ripple, and the current is smooth and the water apparently deep. I tried with a 6 foot paddle, but could not reach the bottom.

"On the 11th of August I met a party of miners coming out who had passed Stewart River a few days before. They saw no sign of Dr. Dawson having been there. This was welcome news for me, as I expected he would have reached that point long before I arrived, on account of the many delays I had met with on the coast range. These miners also gave me the pleasant news that the story told at the coast about the fight with the Indians at Stewart River was false, and stated substantially what I have already repeated concerning it. The same evening I met more miners on their way out, and the next day met three boats, each containing four men. In the crew of one of them was a son of Capt. Moore, from whom the captain got such information as induced him to turn back and accompany them out.

"Next day, the 13th, I got to the mouth of the Pelly, and found that Dr. Dawson had arrived there on the 11th. The doctor also had experienced many delays, and had heard the same story of the Indian uprising in the interior. I was pleased to find that he was in no immediate want of provisions, the fear of which had caused me a great deal of uneasiness on the way down the river, as it was arranged between us in Victoria that I was to take with me provisions for his party to do them until their return to the coast. The doctor was so much behind the time arranged to meet me that he determined to start for the coast at once. I therefore set about making a short report and plan of my survey to this point; and, as I was not likely to get another opportunity of writing at such length for a year, I applied myself to a correspondence designed to satisfy my friends and acquaintances for the ensuing twelve months. This necessitated three days' hard work.

"On the morning of the 17th the doctor left for the outside world, leaving me with a feeling of loneliness that only those who have experienced it can realize. I remained at the mouth of the Pelly during the next day taking magnetic and astronomical observations, and making some measurements of the river. On the 19th I resumed the survey and reached White River on the 25th. Here I spent most of a day trying to ascend this river, but found it impracticable, on account of the swift current and shallow and very muddy water. The water is so muddy that it is impossible to see through one-eighth of an inch of it. The current is very strong, probably eight miles or more per hour, and the numerous bars in the bed are constantly changing place. After trying for several hours, the base men succeeded in doing about half a mile only, and I came to the conclusion that it was useless to try to get up this stream to the boundary with canoes. Had it proved feasible I had intended making a survey of this stream to the boundary, to discover more especially the facilities it offered for the transport of supplies in the event of a survey of the International Boundary being undertaken.

"I reached Stewart River on the 26th. Here I remained a day taking magnetic observations, and getting information from a miner, named McDonald, about the country up that river. McDonald had spent the summer up the river prospecting and exploring. His information will be given in detail further on.

"Fort Reliance was reached on the 1st of September, and Forty Mile River (Cone-Hill River of Schwatka) on the 7th. In the interval between Fort Reliance and Forty Mile River there were several days lost by rain.

"At Forty Mile River I made some arrangements with the traders there (Messrs. Harper & McQuestion) about supplies during the winter, and about getting Indians to assist me in crossing from the Yukon to the head of the Porcupine, or perhaps on to the Peel River. I then made a survey of the Forty Mile River up to the cañon. I found the canon would be difficult of ascent, and dangerous to descend, and therefore, concluded to defer further operations until the winter, and until after I had determined the longitude of my winter post near the boundary, when I would be in a much better position to locate the intersection of the International Boundary with this river, a point important to determine on account of the number and richness of the mining claims on the river.

"I left Forty Mile River for the boundary line between Alaska and the Northwest Territories on the 12th September, and finished the survey to that point on the 14th. I then spent two days in examining the valley of the river in the vicinity of the boundary to get the most extensive view of the horizon possible, and to find a tree large enough to serve for a transit stand.

"Before leaving Toronto I got Mr. Foster to make large brass plates with V's on them, which could be screwed firmly to a stump, and thus be made to serve as a transit stand. I required a stump at least 22 inches in diameter to make a base large enough for the plates when properly placed for the transit. In a search which covered about four miles of the river bank, on both sides, I found only one tree as large as 18 inches. I mention this fact to give an idea of the size of the trees along the river in this vicinity. I had this stump enlarged by firmly fixing pieces on the sides so as to bring it up to the requisite size. This done, I built around the stump a small transit house of the ordinary form and then mounted and adjusted my transit. Meanwhile, most of the party were busy preparing our winter quarters and building a magnetic observatory. As I had been led to expect extremely low temperatures during the winter, I adopted precautionary measures, so as to be as comfortable as circumstances would permit during our stay there.

DESCRIPTION OF THE YUKON, ITS AFFLUENT STREAMS, AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY.

"I will now give, from my own observation and from information received, a more detailed description of the Lewes River, its affluent streams, and the resources of the adjacent country.

"For the purpose of navigation a description of the Lewes River begins at the head of Lake Bennet. Above that point, and between it and Lake Lindeman, there is only about three-quarters of a mile of river, which is not more than fifty or sixty yards wide, and two or three feet deep, and is so swift and rough that navigation is out of the question.

"Lake Lindeman is about five miles long and half a mile wide. It is deep enough for all ordinary purposes. Lake Bennet[3] is twenty-six and a quarter miles long, for the upper fourteen of which it is about half a mile wide. About midway in its length an arm comes in from the west, which Schwatka appears to have mistaken for a river, and named Wheaton River. This arm is wider than the other arm down to that point, and is reported by Indians to be longer and heading in a glacier which lies in the pass at the head of Chilkoot Inlet. This arm is, as far as seen, surrounded by high mountains, apparently much higher than those on the arm we travelled down. Below the junction of the two arms the lake is about one and a half miles wide, with deep water. Above the forks the water of the east branch is muddy. This is caused by the streams from the numerous glaciers on the head of the tributaries of Lake Lindeman.

[Footnote 3: A small saw-mill has been erected at the head of Lake Bennet; lumber for boat building sells at $100 per M. Boats 25 feet long and 5 feet beam are $60 each. Last year the ice broke up in the lake on the 12th June, but this season is earlier and the boats are expected to go down the lake about the 1st of June.]

"A stream which flows into Lake Bennet at the south-west corner is also very dirty, and has shoaled quite a large portion of the lake at its mouth. The beach at the lower end of this lake is comparatively flat and the water shoal. A deep, wide valley extends northwards from the north end of the lake, apparently reaching to the cañon, or a short distance above it. This may have been originally a course for the waters of the river. The bottom of the valley is wide and sandy, and covered with scrubby timber, principally poplar and pitch-pine. The waters of the lake empty at the extreme north-east angle through a channel not more than one hundred yards wide, which soon expands into what Schwatka called Lake Nares.[4] Through this narrow channel there is quite a current, and more than 7 feet of water, as a 6 foot paddle and a foot of arm added to its length did not reach the bottom.

[Footnote 4: The connecting waters between Lake Bennet and Tagish Lake constitute what is now called Caribou Crossing.]

"The hills at the upper end of Lake Lindeman rise abruptly from the water's edge. At the lower end they are neither so steep nor so high.

"Lake Nares is only two and a half miles long, and its greatest width is about a mile; it is not deep, but is navigable for boats drawing 5 or 6 feet of water; it is separated from Lake Bennet by a shallow sandy point of not more than 200 yards in length.

"No streams of any consequence empty into either of these lakes. A small river flows into Lake Bennet on the west side, a short distance north of the fork, and another at the extreme north-west angle, but neither of them is of any consequence in a navigable sense.

"Lake Nares flows through a narrow curved channel into Bove Lake (Schwatka). This channel is not more than 600 or 700 yards long, and the water in it appears to be sufficiently deep for boats that could navigate the lake. The land between the lakes along this channel is low, swampy, and covered with willows, and, at the stage in which I saw it, did not rise more than 3 feet above the water. The hills on the south-west side slope up easily, and are not high; on the north side the deep valley already referred to borders it; and on the east side the mountains rise abruptly from the lake shore.

"Bove Lake (called Tagish Lake by Dr. Dawson) is about a mile wide for the first two miles of its length, when it is joined by what the miners have called the Windy Arm. One of the Tagish Indians informed me they called it Takone Lake. Here the lake expands to a width of about two miles for a distance of some three miles, when it suddenly narrows to about half a mile for a distance of a little over a mile, after which it widens again to about a mile and a half or more.

"Ten miles from the head of the lake it is joined by the Taku Arm from the south. This arm must be of considerable length, as it can be seen for a long distance, and its valley can be traced through the mountains much farther than the lake itself can be seen. It is apparently over a mile wide at its mouth or junction.

"Dr. Dawson includes Bove Lake and these two arms under the common name of Tagish Lake. This is much more simple and comprehensive than the various names given them by travellers. These waters collectively are the fishing and hunting grounds of the Tagish Indians, and as they are really one body of water, there is no reason why they should not be all included under one name.

"From the junction with the Taku Arm to the north end of the lake the distance is about six miles, the greater part being over two miles wide. The west side is very flat and shallow, so much so that it was impossible in many places to get our canoes to the shore, and quite a distance out in the lake there was not more than 5 feet of water. The members of my party who were in charge of the large boat and outfit, went down the east side of the lake and reported the depth about the same as I found on the west side, with many large rocks. They passed through it in the night in a rainstorm, and were much alarmed for the safety of the boat and provisions. It would appear that this part of the lake requires some improvement to make it in keeping with the rest of the water system with which it is connected.

"Where the river debouches from it, it is about 150 yards wide, and for a short distance not more than 5 or 6 feet deep. The depth is, however, soon increased to 10 feet or more, and so continues down to what Schwatka calls Marsh Lake. The miners call it Mud Lake, but on this name they do not appear to be agreed, many of them calling the lower part of Tagish or Bove Lake "Mud Lake," on account of its shallowness and flat muddy shores, as seen along the west side, the side nearly always travelled, as it is more sheltered from the prevailing southerly winds. The term "Mud Lake" is, however, not applicable to this lake, as only a comparatively small part of it is shallow or muddy; and it is nearly as inapplicable to Marsh Lake, as the latter is not markedly muddy along the west side, and from the appearance of the east shore one would not judge it to be so, as the banks appear to be high and gravelly.

"Marsh Lake is a little over nineteen miles long, and averages about two miles in width. I tried to determine the width of it as I went along with my survey, by taking azimuths of points on the eastern shore from different stations of the survey; but in only one case did I succeed, as there were no prominent marks on that shore which could be identified from more than one place. The piece of river connecting Tagish and Marsh Lakes is about five miles long, and averages 150 to 200 yards in width, and, as already mentioned, is deep, except for a short distance at the head. On it are situated the only Indian houses to be found in the interior with any pretension to skill in construction. They show much more labor and imitativeness than one knowing anything about the Indian in his native state would expect. The plan is evidently taken from the Indian houses on the coast, which appear to me to be a poor copy of the houses which the Hudson's Bay Company's servants build around their trading posts. These houses do not appear to have been used for some time past, and are almost in ruins. The Tagish Indians are now generally on the coast, as they find it much easier to live there than in their own country. As a matter of fact, what they make in their own country is taken from them by the Coast Indians, so that there is little inducement for them to remain.

"The Lewes River, where it leaves Marsh Lake, is about 200 yards wide, and averages this width as far as the cañon. I did not try to find bottom anywhere as I went along, except where I had reason to think it shallow, and there I always tried with my paddle. I did not anywhere find bottom with this, which shows that there is no part of this stretch of the river with less than six feet of water at medium height, at which stage it appeared to me the river was at that time.

"From the head of Lake Bennet to the cañon the corrected distance is ninety-five miles, all of which is navigable for boats drawing 5 feet or more. Add to this the westerly arm of Lake Bennet, and the Takone or Windy Arm of Tagish Lake, each about fifteen miles in length, and the Taku Arm of the latter lake, of unknown length, but probably not less than thirty miles, and we have a stretch of water of upwards of one hundred miles in length, all easily navigable; and, as has been pointed out, easily connected with Taiya Inlet through the White Pass.

"No streams of any importance enter any of these lakes so far as I know. A river, called by Schwatka "McClintock River," enters Marsh Lake at the lower end from the east. It occupies a large valley, as seen from the westerly side of the lake, but the stream is apparently unimportant. Another small stream, apparently only a creek, enters the south-east angle of the lake. It is not probable that any stream coming from the east side of the lake is of importance, as the strip of country between the Lewes and Teslintoo is not more than thirty or forty miles in width at this point.

"The Taku Arm of Tagish Lake, is, so far, with the exception of reports from Indians, unknown; but it is equally improbable that any river of importance enters it, as it is so near the source of the waters flowing northwards. However, this is a question that can only be decided by a proper exploration. The cañon I have already described and will only add that it is five-eighths of a mile long, about 100 feet wide, with perpendicular banks of basaltic rock from 60 to 100 feet high.

"Below the cañon proper there is a stretch of rapids for about a mile; then about half a mile of smooth water, following which are the White Horse Rapids, which are three-eighths of a mile long, and unsafe for boats.

"The total fall in the cañon and succeeding rapids was measured and found to be 32 feet. Were it ever necessary to make this part of the river navigable it will be no easy task to overcome the obstacles at this point; but a tram or railway could, with very little difficulty, be constructed along the east side of the river past the cañon.

"For some distance below the White Horse Rapids the current is swift and the river wide, with many gravel bars. The reach between these rapids and Lake Labarge, a distance of twenty-seven and a half miles, is all smooth water, with a strong current. The average width is about 150 yards. There is no impediment to navigation other than the swift current, and this is no stronger than on the lower part of the river, which is already navigated; nor is it worse than on the Saskatchewan and Red Rivers in the more eastern part of our territory.

"About midway in this stretch the Tahkeena River[5] joins the Lewes. This river is, apparently, about half the size of the latter. Its waters are muddy, indicating the passage through a clayey district. I got some indefinite information about this river, from an Indian who happened to meet me just below its mouth, but I could not readily make him understand me, and his replies were a compound of Chinook, Tagish, and signs, and therefore largely unintelligible. From what I could understand with any certainty, the river was easy to descend, there being no bad rapids, and it came out of a lake much larger than any I had yet passed.

[Footnote 5: The Tahkeena was formerly much used by the Chilkat Indians as a means of reaching the interior, but never by the miners owing to the distance from the sea to its head.]

"Here I may remark that I have invariably found it difficult to get reliable or definite information from Indians. The reasons for this are many. Most of the Indians it has been my lot to meet are expecting to make something, and consequently are very chary about doing or saying anything unless they think they will be well rewarded for it. They are naturally very suspicions of strangers, and it takes some time, and some knowledge of their language, to overcome this suspicion and gain their confidence. If you begin at once to ask questions about their country, without previously having them understand that you have no unfriendly motive in doing so, they become alarmed, and although you may not meet with a positive refusal to answer questions, you make very little progress in getting desired information. On the other hand I have met cases where, either through fear or hope of reward, they were only too anxious to impart all they knew or had heard, and even more if they thought it would please their hearer. I need hardly say that such information is often not at all in accordance with the facts.

"I have several times found that some act of mine when in their presence has aroused either their fear, superstition or cupidity. As an instance: on the Bell River I met some Indians coming down stream as I was going up. We were ashore at the time, and invited them to join us. They started to come in, but very slowly, and all the time kept a watchful eye on us. I noticed that my double-barrelled shot gun was lying at my feet, loaded, and picked it up to unload it, as I knew they would be handling it after landing. This alarmed them so much that it was some time before they came in, and I don't think they would have come ashore at all had they not heard that a party of white men of whom we answered the description, were coming through that way (they had learned this from the Hudson's Bay Company's officers), and concluded we were the party described to them. After drinking some of our tea, and getting a supply for themselves, they became quite friendly and communicative.

"I cite these as instances of what one meets with who comes in contact with Indians, and of how trifles affect them. A sojourn of two or three days with them and the assistance of a common friend would do much to disabuse them of such ideas, but when you have no such aids you must not expect to make much progress.

"Lake Labarge is thirty-one miles long. In the upper thirteen it varies from three to four miles in width; it then narrows to about two miles for a distance of seven miles, when it begins to widen again, and gradually expands to about, two and a-half or three miles, the lower six miles of it maintaining the latter width. The survey was carried along the western shore, and while so engaged I determined the width of the upper wide part by triangulation at two points, the width of the narrow middle part at three points, and the width of the lower part, at three points. Dr. Dawson on his way out made a track survey of the eastern shore. The western shore is irregular in many places, being indented by large bays, especially at the upper and lower ends. These bays are, as a rule, shallow, more especially those at the lower end.

"Just above where the lake narrows in the middle there is a large island. It is three and a-half miles long and about half a mile in width. It is shown on Schwatka's map as a peninsula, and called by him Richtofen Rocks. How he came to think it a peninsula I cannot understand, as it is well out in the lake; the nearest point of it to the western shore is upwards of half a mile distant, and the extreme width of the lake here is not more than five miles, which includes the depth of the deepest bays on the western side. It is therefore difficult to understand that he did not see it as an island. The upper half of this island is gravelly, and does not rise very high above the lake. The lower end is rocky and high, the rock being of a bright red color.

"At the lower end of the lake there is a large valley extending northwards, which has evidently at one time been the outlet of the lake. Dr. Dawson has noted it and its peculiarities. His remarks regarding it will be found on pages 156-160 of his report entitled 'Yukon District and Northern portion of British Columbia,' published in 1889.

"The width of the Lewes River as it leaves the lake is the same as at its entrance, about 200 yards. Its waters when I was there were murky. This is caused by the action of the waves on the shore along the lower end of the lake. The water at the upper end and at the middle of the lake is quite clear, so much so that the bottom can be distinctly seen at a depth of 6 or 7 feet. The wind blows almost constantly down this lake, and in a high wind it gets very rough. The miners complain of much detention owing to this cause, and certainly I cannot complain of a lack of wind while I was on the lake. This lake was named after one Mike Labarge, who was engaged by the Western Union Telegraph Company, exploring the river and adjacent country for the purpose of connecting Europe and America by telegraph through British Columbia, and Alaska, and across Behring Strait to Asia, and thence to Europe. This exploration took place in 1867, but it does not appear that Labarge then, nor for some years after, saw the lake called by his name. The successful laying of the Atlantic cable in 1866 put a stop to this project, and the exploring parties sent out were recalled as soon as word could be got to them. It seems that Labarge had got up as far as the Pelly before he received his recall; he had heard something of a large lake some distance further up the river, and afterwards spoke of it to some traders and miners who called it after him.

"After leaving Lake Labarge the river, for a distance of about five miles, preserves a generally uniform width and an easy current of about four miles per hour. It then makes a short turn round a low gravel point, and flows in exactly the opposite of its general course for a mile when it again turns sharply to its general direction. The current around this curve and for some distance below it--in all four or five miles--is very swift. I timed it in several places and found it from six to seven miles an hour. It then moderates to four or five, and continues so until the Teslintoo River is reached, thirty-one and seven tenths miles from Lake Labarge. The average width of this part of the river is about 150 yards, and the depth is sufficient to afford passage for boats drawing at least 5 feet. It is, as a rule, crooked, and consequently a little difficult to navigate.

"The Teslintoo[6] was so called by Dr. Dawson--this, according to information obtained by him, being the Indian name. It is called by the miners 'Hootalinkwa' or Hotalinqua, and was called by Schwatka, who appears to have bestowed no other attention to it, the Newberry, although it is apparently much larger than the Lewes. This was so apparent that in my interim reports I stated it as a fact. Owing to circumstances already narrated, I had not time while at the mouth to make any measurement to determine the relative size of the rivers; but on his way out Dr. Dawson made these measurements, and his report, before referred to, gives the following values of the cross sections of each stream: Lewes, 3,015 feet; Teslintoo, 3,809 feet. In the same connection he states that the Lewes appeared to be about 1 foot above its lowest summer level, while the Teslintoo appeared to be at its lowest level. Assuming this to be so, and taking his widths as our data, it would reduce his cross section of the Lewes to 2,595 feet. Owing, however, to the current in the Lewes, as determined by Dr. Dawson, being just double that of the Teslintoo, the figures being 5.68 and 2.88 miles per hour, respectively, the discharge of the Lewes, taking these figures again in 18,644 feet, and of the Teslintoo 11,436 feet. To reduce the Lewes to its lowest level the doctor says would make its discharge 15,600 feet.

[Footnote 6: The limited amount of prospecting that has been done on this river is said to be very satisfactory, fine gold having been found in all parts of the river. The lack of supplies is the great drawback to its development, and this will not be overcome to any extent until by some means heavy freight can be brought over the coast range to the head of the river. Indeed, owing to the difficulties attending access and transportation, the great drawback to the entire Yukon district at present is the want of heavy mining machinery and the scarcity of supplies. The government being aware of the requirements and possibilities of the country, has undertaken the task of making preliminary surveys for trails and railroads, and no doubt in the near future the avenue for better and quicker transportation facilities will be opened up.]

"The water of the Teslintoo is of a dark brown color, similar in appearance to the Ottawa River water, and a little turbid. Notwithstanding the difference of volume of discharge, the Teslintoo changes completely the character of the river below the junction, and a person coming up the river would, at the forks, unhesitatingly pronounce the Teslintoo the main stream. The water of the Lewes is blue in color, and at the time I speak of was somewhat dirty--not enough so, however, to prevent one seeing to a depth of two or three feet.

"At the junction of the Lewes and Teslintoo I met two or three families of the Indians who hunt in the vicinity. One of them could speak a little Chinook. As I had two men with me who understood his jargon perfectly, with their assistance I tried to get some information from him about the river. He told me the river was easy to ascend, and presented the same appearance eight days journey up as at the mouth; then a lake was reached, which took one day to cross; the river was then followed again for half a day to another lake, which took two days to traverse: into this lake emptied a stream which they used as a highway to the coast, passing by way of the Taku River. He said it took four days when they had loads to carry, from the head of canoe navigation on the Teslintoo to salt water on the Taku Inlet; but when they come light they take only one to two days. He spoke also of a stream entering the large lake from the east which came from a distance; but they did not seem to know much about it, and considered it outside their country. If their time intervals are approximately accurate, they mean that there are about 200 miles of good river to the first lake, as they ought easily to make 25 miles a day on the river as I saw it. The lake takes one day to traverse, and is at least 25 miles long, followed by say 12 of river, which brings us to the large lake, which takes two days to cross, say 50 or 60 more--in all about 292 miles--say 300 to the head of canoe navigation; while the distance from the head of Lake Bennet to the junction is only 188. Assuming the course of the Teslintoo to be nearly south (it is a little to the east of it), and throwing out every fourth mile for bends, the remainder gives us in arc three degrees and a quarter of latitude, which, deducted from 61° 40', the latitude of the junction, gives us 58° 25', or nearly the latitude of Juneau.

"To make sure that I understood the Indian aright, and that he knew what he was speaking about, I got him to sketch the river and lake, as he described them, on the sand, and repeat the same several times.

"I afterwards met Mr. T. Boswell, his brother, and another miner, who had spent most of the summer on the river prospecting, and from them I gathered the following: