DSPACE7
Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush collection
Ogilvie, William, 1846-1912
Copy of the report of William Ogilvie, Commissioner of the Yukon Territory, in connection with the administration of affairs in that region.
33 pages
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& is hP tpaietiee Feee __ 68 VICTORIA SESSIONAL PAPER No. 33u f A. 1900 J CoPyY [334u ] Of the Report of Mr. William Ogilvie, Commissioner of the Yukon Territory, in connection with the administration of affairs in that region. CommIsstonErâs OrFICE, Dawsox, Y.T., September 20, 1899. To the Honourable the Minister of the Interior, Ottawa, Ont. Sr,âI submit for your information the following report of my official doings since my appointment as Commissioner of the Yukon Territory, in connection with the adminâ istration of affairs in this region. Immediately after you informed me that I had been appointed Commissioner by Order in Council bearing date 5th of July, 1898, I set about making preparation for the journey and securing the outfit which was deemed necessary. This, in connection with getting the staff which was to accompany me together and their outfits secured, occupied me pretty well until the last days of the month. During this interval, as you know, I had many conferences with yourself on questions that were . likely to arise in connection with my administration and the policy to be pursued with regard thereto. All these cireumstances combinedâand I may say that they were inevitableâdelayed my departure from Ottawa until the evening of August 2nd. I travelled via the Canadian Pacific Railway, by the Lake route, remaining over at Toronto one day, attending to some necessary matters there and awaiting the boatâtrain which left that city for Owen Sound. At Rat Portage I remained over, as you know, to have the last conference with yourself that it was possible at that time to obtain. I also remained over in Winnipeg two days, attending to some matters there in connection with my duties as Commissioner of the Yukon Territory. Arriving at Vancouver it was found necessary to make a rather prolonged stay there in connection with official matters, and also because we could not opportunely secure a boat convenient for our purposes. _A visit was paid to Victoria and some disâ cussion was had with the Premier of that Province, Honourable Charles Semlin, in conâ nection with the position of the new gold discoveries at Atlinâat that time it was doubtful as to whether they were in British Columbia or the Yukon Territoryâand it was arranged between that gentleman and myself that if on arrival in that region, inquiries elicited facts sufficient to justify me in doing so, I was to make a hurried visit to some point on Tagish Lake (near the Atlin region) to make an approximate latitude determination, from which it could be inferred satisfactorily whether or not the new digâ gings were under the control of the Commissioner of the Yukon Territory or under that of the British Columbia Government. f All things at these points being satisfactorily concluded, as far as they could be under the cireumstances, we took our departure from Vancouver via steamer Horso on the evening of the 20th of August, reaching Skaguay four days thereafter, where we remained several days securing transport for our outfit over White Pass. At that time the railway (now completed to Bennett) ran out a distance of four or five miles from Skaguay, and the rest of the journey had to be made on foot or on horsebackâpreferâ ably the former. The impedimenta accompanying myself and party was pretty extenâ sive and weâhad to do considerable waiting, so that it took some time, under the then existing conditions, to get over, A part of it arrived at Bennett in time for our deparâ 2 REPORT OF MR. WILLLAM QOGCILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 _ ture down stream on the steamer Nora of the Bennett Lake and Klondil?e Navigation Company, and a part of it was delayed on the way somewhere, and I detailed two trustâ "worthy members of the party to go back and have it brought on down with them on the following trip of the boat, or as soon thereafter as they possibly could. I desire to mention the aid extended to us by Superintendent Wood, of the Northâ west Mounted Police, who met us at Skaguay and secured our transport, and made the arrangements before mentioned, and acted as our escort from Skaguay to Bennett ; this he di(? in a very thorough and efficient manner. I desire to call attention to his watchâ fulness, care and devotion to duty all the way throu_gh. That a part of the 'stuf.f was delayed on the trip was not at all his fault, but I think was owing to a combination of carelessness on the part of the freighters, with more or less accident. The trip from Bennett to White Horse was uneventful. We stopped at Tagish for an hour or so, in order that Colonel 8. B. Steele, who joined us at Bennett, might confer with Inspector Strickland at that point. After the necessary conferences had passed between these officers and myself, the journey was resumed and from there to Dawson nothing of particular interest occurred. Dawson was reached on the evening of September 5. Quarters were provided for me at the Barracks which at that time were crowded. es Iimmediately after my arrival I was beset by a great multitude, each individual of whom expected that he or she was going to secure everything. that was just and right and, of course, their own views were just and right, as compared with the views of those opposed to them. â For weeks after my arrival I was beset by this multitude daily ; not one moment of the long dayâgenerally from eight in the morning until well towards midnightâwas I at peace. Some one was complaining to me or arguing with me about their rights or their claims, or whatever their grievances or expectations were. ° It appears it was thought that I was armed with exceptional powers, such only as the most absolute autocrat on the face of the earth could have ; it was expected I would reverse _ decisions without hearing anything but a simple statement made by one partyâthe party who felt aggrievedâand because I couldnât do this, great disappointment was expressed. For five or six weeks after my arrival I had no quarters other than a room in the Barracks, and when I say that between Colonel Steeleâs room and my own there was only a one inch board, and that every word spoken in one or the other could be plainly heard all over the house, you will realize somewhat the awkwardness of the situation. Many of Colonel Steeleâs visitors were speaking on subjects that he wished to be strictly private, which was the same in many cases with myself. Privacy was out of the question. To set about building new offices at that late date was almost impracticable, besides it was found absolutely necessary to provide for the erection of other buildings, notably, buildings in connection with the police force, as their quarters were very inadequate. It was found also absolutely necessary in aid of the Northâwest Mounted Police to have a number of the Yukon Field Force brought down from Selkirk to Dawson, and quarters had to be provided for them. : Heretofore the sittings of the Territorial Court at Dawson were held in the barracks orderly room or in a borrowed hall. The orderly room was very small and intended only for office use in connection with police work. In this room also the magistrates sat trying petty offences; it was deemed imperative, therefore, to have a new courtâhouse erected and a residence for the judge, who was expected to arrive before the close of navigation ; this was immediately set about. T learned a few days after my arrival, from Colonel S.B. Steele, that a prison was in course of erection at Cudahy, in which to retain the long term prisoners. The Colonel and myself, after some discussion, decided that this was not the proper place for such a prison ; the principal prison of the territory should be where the principal force was maintained. At Cudahy there was only a small detachment, consisting of eight or nine men, who would be inadequate to control and keep in order any large number of prisoners, such as we then had, and which numbers it was expected would increase, knowing that a percentage of the population consisted of criminals from all parts of iennnee en mgrnpn en roa ce o um areman en e n nanennmermemnnamerrepmprstems enememmemnmnmmmromesmencmmemnprmmmenmranmmmmemmmncs ConunMIssioNERr or THE YUEON TERRITORY. 3 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 33u the world. The erection of this prison at Cudahy was, therefore, stopped and an addition to the one at Dawson started. The erection of the courtâhouse and judgeâs residence, the barracks necessary for the quartering of the members of the field force ordered down and the increased prison accommodations, taxed the building resources of the town at the time almost to its limit, and it was found almost impracticable to proceed with the erection of more buildings. When these were finished winter had set in and the erection of offices necessary to prosecute the business of the country after winter had set in, was not warranted for the reason that most of the building logs available had been absorbed in the construction of the buildings aforesaid. The construction of log houses at that time of the year involves a very great expense, as compared with what it would in the summer months, besides buildings cannot be properly finished in the winter. Confronted by these conditions, I set about securing office accommodations in another way : that is, by renting, but, after a thorough search of Dawson had been made (which, by the way, did not take very long), it was found that only two buildings which would be of any practical use were available. Neither of these was finished. The necessary steps to secure them by renting was made, but it was well towards the end of October before either of them was fit for coccupancy. One of these was converted into an office for the accommodation of the Registrar of the Territory, and the Dominion Lands Office, and the upper storey was used as quarters for the officers and clerks. Only oneâhalf of the other building was rented, which was converted into an office for myself, my secretary and clerks and the offices of the Comptroller of the Territory ; the second storey over these offices being used for my living rooms. This was, at that time, about the most commodious building in Dawson, with the exception of the two stures of the two trading companies. The other half of this house was occupied as a hotel, and the noise incidental to the keeping open of a hotel until all hours of the nightâit may be said practically the whole day and nightâwas very uncomfortable and annoying to us in our work, because sounds could be heard through the board partitions, practically as if there had been no partitions. _ _ The buildings so rented are still occupied, and as I have been informed by the representative of the Department of Public Works, that it will be impossible to have the buildings which we have in contemplation, as necessary for the due administration of affairs in the country, before May next, we have found it imperative to continue the occupancy of these buildings as no others can be found to suit us as well as they have done, although they are very inconvenient and the inconveniences are very serious. A few evenings after my arrival I was waited upon by a deputation of members of an association styled "The Minersâ Association of Dawson;" these men read me an address of welcome and then proceeded to relate to me the scandals which I had heard so often before. They asked that I would immediately undertake the investigation of the conduct of the officials. I may say, however, that they did not mention any one in particular, nor did they make any specific charges, but assumed, apparently, that all were guilty of overt acts, and requested that I undertake the investigation of the matâ ters laid before me by them. I informed them that when they laid specific charges before me, and submitted evidence to justify the charge of such a character, and of such an extent as would warrant the assumption that a conviction might be procured, I would proceed with the investigation, but that I was not going to proceed on any hearâ say evidence ; nor would I undertake an investigation unless something specific was laid before me, as to do otherwise would be simply to make a laughingâstock of myself. I therefore set about examining into the truthfulness of all the statements made to me, which involved considerable work, vexation and loss of time. I might, by way of illustration, cite two or three incidents in connection with this matter. One of the members of the deputation aforesaid which waited on me, made a posiâ tive charge criminating an employe in the Gold Commissionerâs office, and referred me to a person whom he named as competent to give evidence substantiating the charge. The charge was that the employee was paid by a certain firm sums of money ranging from ten to thirty dollars per day for attending to their business in connection with 33uâ1} 4 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 mining matters during office hours, and that the witness to whom I was referred was compehtent to establish this factâhe was the party who made the arrangement with the aid the money. empltggif Ii]icxlc]ï¬ng the witnezs who was to substantiate this charge, I learned from hi@ that no such condition ever obtained. He admitted frankly that an et{]ployee was paid money for working for their firm after qtï¬ce hours, and further assured me that it was particularly specified by the employee hupself that he was not to be asked to attend to any matters of businesss in connection with the aï¬"a-ws of_ the firm except after oï¬ï¬ce hours, and that no compensation was ever to be paid to him for anything done during office hours. The witness admitted frankly that payments to thlS' clerk re?nged from ten to thirty dollars per day, as stated, but that not one cent was pald to him for having done anything except after office hours : that is, after fourâthirty in the aftern9on and before nine in the morning. When I pointed out to this witness that even that was culpable, he pleaded that he did not know that ; that he considered a Government employeeâs time was his own out of office hours, anfl that he might utlllzg it for his own â benefit if anyone saw fit to take advantage of his knowledge or services When I inquired why they paid such large sums of money for the .work_ (.lonq, .he- explained that owing to the rush of work at the (Gold Comissionerâs office during office hours, it was impossible to have their work attended to and that they resprted to th.ls means to expedite their business ; he remarked, â the sums seem large but it really paid us to give it, because it called the attention of the public to our office for promptness and expedition in our work, and we gained by it.â f . A few days before this conversation the official who was guilty of this conduct had left the country for the outside. i Another instance : A lady came to my office one day very much excited, and stated that a gentleman acquaintance of hers, who was then just taking passage to the outâ side, on one of the last outâgoing boats, had paid a sum of money to one of the clerks in the Gold Commissionerâs Office for work which he was entitled to as a member of the public, and boasted of his success in bribing the official. The lady felt annoyed because she had been waiting for days to gain admission to the office and could not owing to the rush of business, and the crowd waiting at the door. At the time she called on me and made this complaint, I enquired if she had learned the clerkâs name ; she had not. I immediately sent my Secretary with the lady to the steamer, on which it was alleged that this gentleman was leaving, with instructions to learn from him if possible the truth of the rumour, and if there was anything in it to hurry back and inform me that I might take steps to have the matter investigated before he left the country. They reached the boat in time and she pointed the individual out whom she alleged had given her this information. Upon being questioned by the Secretary, he indignantly denied the charge. and denied that he had ever given the lady any such information. A few minutes later she called upon me and apologized for the intrusion, and, with tears in her eyes, said " she never would believe a word a man said to her after this." Before closing my remarks on this question, I will refer to a charge of a more serious nature which was made against Mr. Albert Hurdman, some time in the month of November. A man, whom we will "L," came to my office and assured me that a person, whom we will call " M," had, in conversation with him that morning, assured him that he, " M," had been working in collusion with Mr. Hurdman and through him obtained information which led to the acquisition of very desirable properties. immediately asked " L " if he would make a solemn declaration to that fact. His reply was " Yes." I at once wrote out one, declared him to it, and sent a copy of it to the then Gold Commissioner, Mr. Fawcett, with a letter asking him to confront Mr. Hurdâ man with the declaration. Mr. Hurdman indignantly denied the charge and came to my office to explain, (to which he offered to make a solemn oath). Immediately after he left, " M " having heard of what I had done, came to the office and repudiated in the most solemn manner the whole statement, asserting that he had no connection with Hurdman. That he had acquired no information from him other than any one else might have acquired as one of the general public and that he was willing to make solemn oath to this. Being comMIsSSIONER OFP THR YUKON THRRITORY. 5 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 38u very busy at the time, I told him to call again and I would take his declaration, as I would also that of Mr. Hurdman. Before I had time to attend to this, a trial concerning a case came before the Gold Commissioner in, which " M " was one of the witnesses. During the trial of the case, «M " in his evidence testified that three parties were interested in the claim and when pressed for the names he mentioned Hurdmanâs as one, The Gold Comunissioner immediately brought " M " before me and stated what he had sworn to. I asked Mr. " M" why he had denied this a few days before, and when I pressed him for a direct answer he stated that he would swear there was no collusive âknowledge between him and Hurdman. He made a very rambling explanation but persisted in stating that there was no collusive understanding with Hurdman, and that he had given Hurdman the one third interest in the claim for the purpose of acquiring the benefit of his good will in the future, but that he did not in any way inform Hurdâ man of the fact that he intended doing so, or had he any intention of continuing that line of conduct in the future. He said he thought it was good policy to secure Mr. Hurdmanâs good feelings in this way. I at once suspended Mr. Hurdman until the matter was cleared up. Mr. Hurdman was given a few days to prepare his defence, which was to the effect that the conveyance to him of a oneâthird interest in the claim was handed in with other papers, that he did not know that it was being prepared and if he had he would not have accepted it ; that immediately upon receiving it and recogâ nizing its import he burned it. f f The office records shew that no such paper had been registered. One of the other clerks who gave evidence corroborated Mr. Hurdmanâs statement to a certain extent. His evidence being to the effect that on the evening of the date on which the assignâ ment had been handed to Mr. Hurdman, he (Mr. Hurdman) had mentioned the fact to this clerk as a joke, and told him that he had burned the document. The evidence of the two witnesses in the case before the old Commissioner went to show that this assignment bhad been made in favour of Hurdman, and had been handed in to him, but both of them were positive that Hurdman was not privy to any arrangement, they simply thought it would be good policy to secure his good offices in this way, and they had done it accordingly. This corroborated Mr. Hurdmanâs story so that the case against him fell to the ground for lack of evidence to sustain the charges of fraud or fraudalent knowledge on his part. â Accordingly he was reinstated. I may say that Mr. Hurdman has quite recently resigned his position in the office. This was the most serious case brought to my knowledge until the Royal Commission sat, the proceedings of which I will refer to later on. To allay as far as possible this irritation and discontent, I felt it my duty, as far as lay within my power, to investigate every statement made to me, no matter how trivial it might be, because, though it appeared trivial to me it was very serious to the one giving the information and I may say that in no case have I yet found that anything could be proven ; in fact, I may say that in a great measure the statements made, when traced to their foundation, were proven to be simply hearsay, the party making the asâertion generally shielding himself or herself by some one else, though that some one else often proved ignorant of the whole matter. One thing soon became apparent and that was that whatever srookedness there might be in the office, there was a great deal of crookedness outside of it. It soon became evident to me that men were obtaining record of claims in improper ways, and in ways that were criminal. It was nothing unusual for men to resort to the Gold Commissionerâs office and obtain record for a claim which they had never seen, though, in their affidavits of application, they swore that they in their own proper person staked out the grounds for which they had applied. This affidavit was held in contempt by a great measure of the people around Dawson, and no more was thought of perjuring oneâs self in that way than saluting a comrade on the street. It often happened that people resorted to the Gold Commissionerâs office for information and on the strength of the information given them they would visit a certain section of the country and locate a certain claim, and after locating it return to the Recorderâs office to obtain record, only 6 REPORT OF MR WILLIAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 to find that some one had recorded akead of them, though, while on the ground, they saw no evidence of any other person having been near it.. How this occurred they could not fathom. The only valid explanation to them was that improper information had been given in the office; that some one had learned that a certain piece of ground was vacant, learned its dimensions and resorted to the office and made the necessary affidavit that they had staked the ground in question, and then obtained record. These cases, of course, seemed to the general public to imply that the officials in the CGold Commissionerâs office were corrupt. 1 believe that the true explanation of a large amount of this lay in the fact that there was no privacy in the Gold Commissionerâs officeâthe accommodation being too limited. . Crowds were within the doors and it was perfectly easy for a byâstander to hear answers to every question that was asked ; the answers to these questions reaching the ears of many others than the questioner, some one of them a few hours afterwards returned to the office and obtained record of the ground described, while the party who had sought the informaâ tion with the object of locating the ground properly was on his way to do so. Of course, the official could not know that this person was perjuring himself, and the public would not take it for granted that the official was ignorant in the matter ; it was generally thought that the ground had been obtained with his connivance. In some cases, men were sent out by parties to locate claims on creeks, which they did in accordance with the provisions of the regulations, returned to Dawson and reported to the clique for whom they were acting, that they had staked certain claims and put certain names on the stakes. The parties whose names were thus written went to the Cold Commissionerâs Office and recorded the claims though they had never been upon the ground. f I learned of many instances of this kind and sought dilizently to secure informaâ tion enough to proceed with a charge of perjury against the participants in the affair; but except in one case, could not secure evidence conclusive enough to justify me in making the charge. The exceptional case was in connection with claims on a branch of Twelveâmile creek, which empties into the Yukon eighteen miles below Dawson on the right side. This branch it appears had been staked almost from one end to the other by three men ; one or two of them returned to Dawson with a list of the claims, and the names written on them, and the creek was recorded wholesale by the parties so located. I employed a detective to work up the facts in this case and laboured diligently with his aid from early in November until January before sufficient data was obtained to justify us in making an arrest. There were some sixty cases involved, and it was intended to deal first with the leaders in the transaction and thirteen arrests were made. These were held over for trial on the charge of perjury, and also for obtaining improper record. As the decision in the matter would be most important, great care was taken in the prosecution to have the cases properly presented and leave no stone unturned to secure a conviction if the parties were guilty. Two of the cases were tried and the individual in the first case was acquitted by the jury for the reason that the evidence did not conclusively indicate his guilt ; in the second, the jury disagreed, thoush the evidence was conclusive, and it was laid over until the next assize for re trial, and the jury disagreed again. It was then felt that it would be hopeless to continue the prosecution of these cases as it would be practically impossible to secure a jury that would convict, for in the second case we felt that the evidence was most conclusive as to the guilt of the party on trial. As some of the delinquents had confessed perjury and admitted the charges made against them, the officers of the court and myself, after conference, felt that we had secured the object of our attempt. That is, we had established the fact that perjury had been committed in this case and that we were justified in making the arrests and carrying on the prosecution. f Tt was decided that it would be a waste of time and money to carry on any further prosecution and the matter was dropped. Those who had confessed their guilt were let off with a small fine in consideration of their acknowledging their guilt, and also, in considesration of the fact that they could not secure bail and had laid in jail for a conâ COMMISSIONER OF THE YURON TERRITORY. 7 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 331 ' siderable period of time. I have no doubt, nor have the officers of the law any doubt, that these occurrences are now going on, but to secure conviction is practically impossiâ . ble under the conditions which at present exist in Dawson. Post OrpricrE. On my arrival in Dawson, I found the post office department in a very awkward condition. _ The building occupied as a post office was loaned from Messrs. McDonald & Morrison, by my predecessors in office. For this loan no rent was demanded, but the cccupancy was subject to twentyâfour hoursâ notice to quit, which created a very awkward position for us. I immediately set about securing a proper building, if posâ sible, as the owners of this building assured me that they required it and wished us to vacate it, but did not insist upon our so doing. It was found impossible to secure a building of the proper size at the time, and after several conferences with Mr. Morrison (one of the partners of the firm), 1 succeeded in securing a lease of the building for one year at a rental of $1,000 a month. As soon as this was done, steps were taken to fit up this building in a manner becoming the requirements of the mail service at this point. The fittings consisted of some sixteen hundred boxes, made of the lumber and appliances then available. _ I need hardly say that these were very crude. As soon as these fittings were finished, they were put in the building, and the post office service immediately began to improve to an extent that only those who had been in Dawson before that period could appreciate. t We were getting this service into satisfactory condition, and the papers were making numerous favourable comments on our doings, when the extensive fire of the 14th of October occurred, and the building occupied was one among the many burned. Fortunately for us, all the letters were gotten out, and all the inside fixings, though they were considerably damaged in the process. This rendered it imperative that we should either build a post office or secure some other building. To build one at that time of year of the necessary dimensions, was felt to be practically impossible owing to the want of lumber. The owners of the building which I was in part occupying, as commissioner, and which contained the comptrollerâs office, my secretaryâs office, and . my residence, were willing to lease the other half.â This was done, and on the 16th we began moving in the fixings and establishing a post office in the new building. On the morning of the 17th, Mr. I. J. Hartman, the new postmaster, arrived, and took control of affairs. You will see from his report (hereto attached) what his impression of things was at that time, and I may say, that, though the accommodation and room are sadly lacking, we may justly claim that under the conditions our postal service is eminently satisfactory. When we take into consideration the fact that there is an adult populaâ tion in this vicinity of 20,000, many of whom have extensive correspondence with the outside world, and that Dawson is the one post office in the district, we may, I think, congratulate ourselves on the success achieved. It may be justly claimed that this post office entails as much work as that of a city of 150,000 inhabitants elsewhere, because there is no city delivery as in other cities, and every resident of the territory has either in person or by proxy, to resort to Dawson for mail. The result is that after the arrival of a heavy mail for a day or two a line of men, upwards of a hundred yards in length may be found waiting their turn to secure their mail. Before our arrival it was said (and I believe it was true) that men have been known to stand in line three days without obtaining access to the office. I think we can honestly affirm a man never stands more than two or three hours in line now, and that only during the period following the arrival of a very heavy mail. Owing to the want of room the post office has to be shut up for a day or so after the arrival of such a mail and the whole staff turned to assort it.. This creates some dissatisfact.on and not unreasonably so, because people who come down from their claims on the creek, many miles, for the purpose of securing their mail, and have to remain over in Dawson at an expense of from $3 to $10 per day, naturally feel aggrieved, and though the public, I 8 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE j 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 believe as a rule, is prone to give credit where credit is due, they sometimes give vent to their resentment under these conditions. 5. f I was in hopes that we would have secured the erection of proper post gï¬ice accomâ modation at an early date this season, but owing to the fact that the building of brails and the erection of public buildings has been handed over to the Department of Public Works, an unavoidable delay has ensued, and it appears from statements made to me by Mr. Charleson, superintendent of public works for the Yukon "Iâerrlt'ory, that we cannot hope for the occupancy of any buildings before May next. Thl.S is disappointing. However, it appears to be unavoidable and we have to accept the position as gracefully as possible, and I will proceed to make arrangements with 1.;he conveniences available to have the postal service kept in as satisfactory a condition as possible by improving existing conditions as far as practicable, while waiting the erection of the proper building. ' Gonp CommIssiornkrâs OrrickE. On my arrival, the small building occupied by the Gold Commissionerâs staff was also the office of the registrar of the Territory, and of the accountant as well.. As soon as the buildings which I rented were available the registrar moved into new offices, and the comptroller into the building with myself. This relieved the Gold Comâ missionerâs office of these two officials and their staff, and increased the room there. The records were found to be in a very inconvenient condition for the proper transaction of the official business. This was not the fault of any one, and I do not mean it as a reflection in the slightest degree on any one in the Territory. When we consider the number of claims that are on record at Dawson and the greater number of transfers, assignments, mortgages, &e., that had to be looked after in connection with these claims, I think it will be readily admitted that the task of administering mining interests in the Yukon Territory in the vicinity of Dawson is at present simply stupendous. When Mr. Fawcett arrived in J une, 1897, he found less than eight hundred claims on record. When I arrived in September, 1898, there were upwards of seventeen thousand, and with many of these several transfers, in some cases as many as forty were on record. In one instance a seventyâsecond interest was recorded _ I do not mean to say that the claim was divided into seventyâtwo parts, separate and distinet, but in that particular case I believe there were upwards of forty documents on record in connection with the claim. These figures convey somewhat of an idea of the tremendous load on the shoulders of the old Commissioner and his staff, and when we consider the very inadequate means at their command, the very limited office accommodations that they had, it will be readily admitted that confusion and complications were only a natural result. I think it can be further stated and that with truth, that perhaps there is a less percentage of complications in connection with this large number of claims in view of the facilities at command at the present time, than has ever occurred in any other part of the world. As scon as possible after my arrival, extra hands were employed to get the records into proper shape so that they might be available for public inspection. A staff of clerks was kept at work during the evening hours, it being impossible for them to work during the day time, as all the records were constantly in requisition by the clerks in the office for reference in connection with the recording of new claims, the filing of assignments, mortgages and other documents. As far as practicable a record was made for public use, but after completion it was found to be defective for many reasons, one of the principal ones was the transfers, mortages, &e., had not been entered up as fast as they were taken in. This was owing to the fact that the clerks who were attending to that duty could not do this. The documents were simply taken in and a receipt for the fee in connecâ tion with such admission given. To have placed them on record in the proper manner would have entailed the services of an additional number of clerks, and this was found to be impossible, owing to the limited space at our command. To put these clerks in another building would break up the continuity of the work, as while the documents were being recorded in the proper manner, it might be found that they were urgently COMMISSIONLR OF THE YUKON THRRITORY, 9 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 8338u required in another office. These questions were very fully discussed between the Gold Commissioner and myself and it was concluded that the only thing that we could do was to employ an extra staff to do the work during the evening hours. This was done as already stated. Soon after my arrival, I received information that Mr. Edmund C. Senkler was coming to succeed Mr. Faweett as Cold Commissioner. That gentleman, however, owing to adverse circumstances, did not arrive until about December 6, the greater portion of his journey having been made in the drifting ice. After his arrival, it was arranged between him and myself that he should have a holiday of two or three weeks to become acquainted with the conditions in the country, meet the miners and learn their views, and study the position of affairs in the country before he began to assume his duties ; that after acquainting himself pretty thoroughly with the conditions around him and the business he would have to conduct, he would then gradually take over the work from Mr. Faweett, who was working his way out, as the new commissioner was working his in. It may truthfully be said now that while the records of the office are not in as complete and lucid a condition as they should be, they are so far as possible with the conveniences at present existing. During the winter months after Mr. Senklerâs assumption of office, it was found that the material on which to make proper record was entirely lacking, and could not be secured in Dawson. The necessary forms and books had been ordered from Ottawa, but they did not arrive until after the opening of navigation this spring, which means that they did not arrive until towards the middle of June. Since that time the staff of clerks has been hard at work under the direction of Mr. Pattullo, clerk of records in the office, putting everything in such shape that the public business can be properly and expeditiously attended to. I may say here that Mr. Pattullo has proven himself an intelligent, painsâtaking and industrious official and I have no doubt that before many weeks it can be truthfully said that the records in the office at Dawson are in as good condition as those of any other office in the country. To say this is saying a good deal when we consider the vast number of documents that have to be handled. Gonp CommisstonErâs OrricE NEEDps. It has already been intimated that there is considerable to be desired in the adjustâ ment of this office. At present the staff comprises twentyâtwo clerks of which Mr. T. D. Pattullo is in charge of the records, Mr. W. H. Martin in charge of quartz locations, and Mr. Oswald 8. Finnie in charge of the Placer Creek locations. Several of those who were in the office when I arrived in Dawson, Messrs. Clarke, Craig, Bolton, Hurdâ man, Muir and McCleland, and others have left the service. Both the Gold Commissioner and myself are of the opinion that with increased office accommodation and better facilities several of the present staff can be dispensed with and still the work be just as efficiently carried on. This, of course, we hope to do when the new office is erected. _A very essential part of any office is a fireâproof vault for the protection of the documents recorded. Were a fire to occur at present and destroy all the dozuments in the office the result would be pandemonium. I have already asked you to send in the material for a fireâproof vault in which the documents in the Gold Commissionerâs office may be saved from destruction should a fire occur. The only safeguard we have at present is the presence of a sentry whose duty it is to guard the Bank of Commerce, which immediately adjoins the Gold Commissionerâs office, and who watches the Gold Commissionerâs office as well. In case of fire his instructions are to rouse the people in the vicinity as speedily as possible. One very essential requisite in the Gold Commissionerâs office, is an assistant comâ missioner, to give information, answer questions and do other work incidental to the office. It is not at all desirable that clerks should do this until it is thoroughly underâ stood that they have mastered the intent and purpose of the regulations, and have some knowledge of the decisions that have been given where disputes have arisen, as to the true meaning anâd purport of the regulations. This at present is understood to be 10 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 the Gold Commissionerâs province, but the old Commissioner at Dawson is occupied fully sevenâeighths of his time in hearing disputed cases, and his services are very rarely available to the public for the purposes above stated. The result of this is that a great deal of this work falls upon myself, and in attending to it I have to be very careful in order to give an opinion that does not conflict with that of the Gold Commissioner. In all cases where I am referred to I make notes of the consultation of the consultee and myself and afterwards discuss the matter with the gold commissioner, after which I give the required information or advice to the one applying for it. This very often results in considerable delay. Of course, in many cases where I know beforehand what the Ctrold Commissioner has ruled, I give the information at once, but it may be claimed that very few cases are precisely the same. 1 would, therefore, urge that an assistant commissioner be appointed at as early a date as possible to relieve the commissioner and myself of this important duty. j After my arrival in Dawson I was besieged by parties seeking advice and informaâ tion so much that I found little time to do anything else; much of this information concerned the records and other matters of official routine. 1I, therefore, looked about me to find some person who would be intelligent enough to perform that work and found the party I desired in Mr. Henri Martinâhe is FrenchâCanadian by birth, but has lived in the northâwestern part of Canada so long that his English is faultless, and he understands French perfectly. â I appointed him to the position of inquiry clerk, to answer inquiries, at the same time instructing him to be very careful about the answers he gave, and never in any case to venture an opinion or advice upon questions of disâ pute or give his opinion on the meaning of the regulations. _ I may say he carried out this advice and filled the position very satisfactorily until it was found desirable to place him in charge of the quartz location records. _ He was succeeded by Mr. Pacaud, also a FrenchâCanadian. As at present constituted, the staff consists of nineteen English and three FrenchâCanadian clerks. Rroisprarâs OFFICE. The staff of the registrarâs office consists of the recorder, Mr. J. E. Girouard, and his clerk, Mr. J. U. Richard, both FrenchâCanadians. Mr. Richard was taken on temporarily last fall soon after my arrival and has remaine1 in the office ever since. The duties of this office are not onerous at the present stage of the development of the country ; the day will come, however, when they will be much more so than at present. Mr. Girouard is, at the time of writing, on leave of absence for three months. Crowx TmiBeEr anp Laxp OrFICE. On my arrival I found Mr. J. W. Willison, in charge of the crown timber & land office with Mr. T. D. McFarlane as his assistant. Shortly after my arrival Mr. McFarlane applied for leave of absence to visit his home, which was granted ; he has not yet returned to the office. , Three clerks accompanied me to act on the staff of this office : Mr. George Layfield, Mr, W. H. Montgomery, and Mr. R. C. Conklin; and Mr. Duncan McRae, as timber inspector, with Mr. F. Beauchene as timber ranger. Soon after I arrived at Dawson, intelligence came to me that Mr. F. X. Gosselin had been appointed crown timber and land agent, and would upon his arrival take â charge of the oftice. Heaccompanied Mr. Senkler during the earlier part of the journey, but being delayed by inclement weather he did not arrive until the January 11th, 1899. After his arrival he took some days to acquaint himself with the conditions of the country and acquire much needed local knowledge before entering upon his duty. After entering the office Mr. Willison and he, jointly, conducted the affairs until June 24th, when Mr. Willison, having asked for leave of absence, left to visit his home in the east. Mr. CGosselin has proved a very faithful and efficient manager of the crown timâ ber and land office and gives satisfaction to all with whom he comes inâcontact. » COMMISSIONER OF THE YUKON TERRLTORY. 1 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 33u In connection with work done in this office and also in connection with application for hydraulic rights, it was found very necessary to engage the services of a draughtsâ man and I employed a young man named Henry Tobin for some time during the winter months to attend to this, but he became dissatisfied with it and wished for a change which was granted him. At his own request he was placed on duty in connection with the collection of royalty. Some time ago I found a person to take charge of the draughtâ ing in the crown timber and land office, Mr. Wilfred Thibaudeau. This gentleman is now engaged in plotting, on a suitable seale, all the applications for hydraulic mining and bedârock flumes, and I will have him as soon as he has finished it, make plans of the ground applied for by the applicants for quartz locations. In order to properly and expeditiously attend to these applications it is absolutely necessary that this should be done. ComMPTRroLLERâs OFFICE. âThe comptrollerâs office is in charge of Mr.J. T. Eithgow, with Mr. âIEhomas H. Hinton as clerk. The manner in which he has conducted the affairs of his office hardly needs any comment from me, as I think the proper officers at Ottawa realize the fact that we have in him a firstâclass man in every respect for the duties assigned him. NortHmâwest MountEp Pourcs. The Northâwest Mounted Police under the command of Lieutenant Colonel 8. B. Steele, has maintained its reputation for efficiency and usefulness. It is unnecessary for me to refer to the commanding officer, as his reputation is as wide as the continent of America ; but I may say that the force under his control has a large field to fill, numerous duties to perform and vast interests to protect, and when I say that the field is filled, the duties performed and these interests protected in the highest possible manner and with the greatest efficiency, I am simply stating what everyone in this territory knows. The police rendéred very efficient work in connection with the mail service last winter. â The steamers plying on the river carried the mail at irregular intervals during the summer months, the last steamer outward bound left Dawson about the middle of October, and from that time until the end of November it was impossible for any material quantity of mail to make its way outward from Dawson. A few straggling letters were brought in by parties coming down the river, who came down with the ice at considerable risk, but for letters to go out while the river was running ice was practically impossible, except the carrier travelled overland, and this but few would attempt to do ; and fewer succeed if they did. From the time the first outward bound mail started until about midâwinter, a fortâ nightly mail was carried by the police both outwards in inwards. It was expected that the mail contractor would also run a fortnightly mail, and provision appears to have been made for that purpose, but the provisions of the contract were never carried out. It% was arranged that the police mail should alternate with the contractorâs mail and thus secure Dawson a weekly mail, but, as time went on, it became apparent that the contractor was going to fail in carrying out the provisions of his contract entirely, and as soon as that was understood thoroughly the police undertook to carry the mail weekly. This mail was carried by the police on largely the same lines as the Hudson Bay Companyâs Packet (as it was termed) used to be carried in the early days in Manitoba and the Northâwest. It was carried from post to post by relays of dogs and men, and never stayed longer at any post than a few minutes, the orders were that, weather permitting, there was to be no more delay at any relay post than twenty minutes. In this way the mail has been carried from Dawson to Skaguay by the police on several occasions (a distance of over six hundred miles) inside of ten days. These words convey to the ordinary reader no idea of the prodigious task alloted to these men. During the early months of the winter the trail was exceedingly rough, owing to the uneven surface of smm omm snntmeâmmnsrmâmpos= 12 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 the ice, snow drifts were frequent, and in winter the nights rendered travel during the greater part of the twentyâfour hours difficult and irksome. To those who know the conditions, a realization of the task is natural and at the same time imbues respect for the men who performed it ; to those who do not know it, it would be very difficult to convey an honest and proper appreciation of it. I would here say, I think it would be well in the public service, that the Northâ west Mounted Police should be entrusted with the carrying of the mails during the winter months at least while they remain in the territory, as I think they can do so with satisfaction to the public and with gain to the country. It is a military organizaâ tion, and delinquents can be promptly and quickly brought to task whenever and wherever discovered along the road, whereas under the contract system this can hardly obtain, as numerous considerations enter into the carrying out of a contract, which it is needless here to specify, which miliiate against as complete and expeditious performance of the mail duties, as compared with the same service of the Northâwest Mounted Police. Besides orders Aave to be obeyed by the police and not absolutely necessary so by civilians. POST OFFICE. The post office is at present in charge of Mr. I. J. Hartman, with eleven clerks. A great hboon to the public has been attained in the establishment of a money order office which has been placed in charge of Mr. Fraser McDonald. This was much needed here and has given a great deal of satisfaction. During the winter, I asked the Postmaster General for the necessary appliances for three post offices to be sent in; one for a post office at âThe Forksâ of Eldorado and Bonanzo Creeks, to be known as â Bonanza,â another on Dominion Creek to be â known as âDoiminionâ and one on Thistle Creek to be known as âThistle.â These outâ fits have arrived and the offices are being established, at as little expense to the country as possible, and they will prove a great benefit to the people in these vicinities. An addition to the postal conveniences in Dawson has been the putting up in Klonâ dike City, immediately south of Dawson, on the south side of the Klondike river, a mail box for the reception of letters and another near the northerly limit of Dawson. These boxes are emptied every morning and have proven of considerable service to residents near them. A new, more extensive and better fitted office is needed in Dawson and if we were in possession of such, the only opposition that could be raised against the postal system would be the delay in the transmission of the mails. In this connection, I may say, there is some complaint, but the fault appears to lie with the postal authorities at Skaguay or Bennett, it is not certain at present which. In explanation of this delay, it might be argued that much of it was owing to the imperfect condition of transport between Skaguay and Bennett, but now that the railway is completed between these two points, I apprehend there will be little complaint in that direction in future. Outside of the immediate vicinity of Dawson, a post office has been established at Selkirk, named âPelly,â and there should be one at White Horse. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. in this department minor cases are taken charge of by the officers of the Northâ west Mounted Police, who act as justices of the peace, and deal with such cases as come under the department of the administration of justice. In the Superior Court we have the Honourable Mr. Justice Dugas, who arrived in Dawson last October, and immediately after his arrival took charge of his official duties. He succeeded Mr. Justice McCGuire, of the Northâwest Territorial Court, who entered the Territory in February, 1898, and remained until July. During that period, I underâ stand he was very busy. A great accumulation of cases having occurred between the date of the entry of the Gold Commissioner, Mr. Fawcett, and his (Mr. Justice McGuireâs) arrival, much of this business he disposed of, but much remained to do when Mr. Justice Dugas arrived, and much remains still to be done. COMMISSIONER OF THE YUKON TERRITORY, 13 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 38u Both of these gentlemen worked faithfully and assiduously at their duties, but no one man is competent to handle all the business of the Yukon Territory, and I would earnestly urge that another judge be sent into the country at the earliest possible date. As soon as Mr. Justice Dugas arrived and the Yukon Council (of which he is a member) was formed, several local ordinances, chiefly framed by that gentleman, were passed. I may say all of these have been framed with the intent to facilitate local business and serve the administration of justice in an expeditious manner. LEGAL ADVISER. The legal adviser, Mr. W. H. P. Clement, arrived in Dawson on January 11, 1899, in company with Mr. Gosselin, the crown timber and land agent, and immediately assumed the duties of his office, taking charge of the preparation of documents in conâ nection with public business and framing ordinances and attending to the duties Jaid down in the order in council defining the duties of that official in the Territory. Early in June, 1899, it was deemed expedient that Mr. Clement return to Ottawa in order to advise with the government as to changes required in the Yukon Act, and advise it in connection with other matters pertaining to the Yukon Territory. This leaves the council at present with a bare quorum, consisting of the Honourable Mr. Justice Dugas, Colouel 8. B. Steele, and myself. THE YUKON COUNCIL The duties of the council as defined in the Yukon Act ure the control of local matâ ters, local expenditure and local receipts. No far no part of the Yukon Territory has been vested with incorporation of any kind. The council has to act in the capacity of mayor and council for the town of Dawson, thus much increasing the duties of myself at present. The duties of mayor and city engineer have fallen to myself as well as those of fire commissioner. This adds much to the work I have to do and requires considerable care and watchfulness to keep the city in proper order. Among the tasks that have fallen to us as administrators of the affairs at Dawson has been the drainage of it. Dawson is situated in a flat surrounded on two sides by high hils, and on the other two by the Yukon and Klondike rivers respectively. These hills rise from 300 to 1,900 feet above it. The foundation of the ground on this flat is gravel lying on the original bed rock. The gravel is overlaid by a deposit of 8 or 9 feet of semiâdecayed vegetable matter locally known as âmuck.â. This, during the summer months, thaws to a depth of a little more than a foot. Now, melted snows and rain, falling on the adjacent hills percolates through the clay and gravel on the hillsides and inundates the flat ; heretofore this was a veritable bog, so much so that it was genâ erally impossible to walk dryâshod over any part of the flat during the dryest portion of the year unless one was provided with a pair of rubber boots. When the proper time came last spring, council voted myself, as engineer of Dawâ son, a sum of money with which to construct ditches. The plan I formed was to dig a main ditch around the base of the hill and provide it with sufficient number of outlets to the Yukon river. This work was accomplished at a cost of about $5,500. It received all the water coming down the hill, which originally accumulated on the flat, and carried it into the river. This during the early spring often attained a depth of a foot or so on the flat, but is now carried off, leaving the flat comparatively dry. The ditch was made while the ground was still frozen in April, it being considered far more desirable to perform the work when the ground was in that condition than while it was soft and muddy, as the work in summer is retarded by the oozing in of water from the adjacent peat bed (as it might be termed), keeping the work in such a muddy condition that digging was a very unsatisfactory and laborious process. Therefore the idea was adopted of digging the ditches while the ground was still frozen. This was found to 14 REPORT OF MR WILLIAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 work to good advantage, and by the time the water begin to come gown the hillâsides, in abundance, the ditch was open to receive it and carried it off. Since that time, additional ditches have been dug, as local conditions were found to require them, and toâday, at a cost of little over $13,000, in a country where labour ranges from $5 to $10 per day, we have succeeded in drying Dawson to an extent Pllat the most sanguine did not dream of, Only those who have known Dawson in previous years can realize the difference between then anfl now. f As an illustration of what has been done, it may be said that twelve months ago it was impossible for a team of horses to make its way across the flat without becoming mired in some place or other; toâday it is no uncommon occurrence to see teams of horses with heavily loaded waggons travelling all the streets in Dawson. Considerable improvement has been made in the way of paving the streets and building sidewalks in Dawson. A good and substantial bridge has been built across the slough on government reserve near the police barracks, at a cost of less than $5,000, and has been a great boon to the city, and another over the same slough on Fifth Avenue. The method of paving the streets here is something unique. It consists, first, of levelling off the irregular surfrce (which consists of clumps of grass roots, known as ânigzer heads,â which protrude from the ground a foot or so in height). These are cut off, chopped up and pressed down ; then three or four layers of slabs are depoâited for a width of twenty feet or more in the middle of the street and on top of this from three to six inches of sawdust is deposited. This makes a very nice, clean roadway, but when a fire occurs it is a menace to the safety of the other side of the street. It is only a question of time and means when the streets of Dawsonâwill be covered with gravel whish lies on a bar at the mouth of the Klondike ; this could not be more conveniently situated for the pavement of the roads in and around Dawson, and just as soon as funds will permit, this work will be done. To day, all the buildings in Dawson are wood, nearly all of logs. At present there are a few frame houses and more in course of erection. Some of these frame buildings are roofed with corrugated zinced iron. A brick house is started at time of writing and will be finished ere this is published. For heating purposes, stoves are the only means at command, and stove pipes are at present universally used, but I am glad to be able to say that a fair quality of clay for brick making has been found quite convenient to Dawson, and a considerable quantity of these useful building articles have been manufactured. Another brick yard has been started about two and oneâhalf miles from Dawson, so that the residents will soon be in a position to have brick chimneys, which will very much increase the safety of their dwellings from fire, as compared with the old stoveâpipes. A fire ordinance has been passed for the city and is being rigidly enforced. The fuel of Dawson heretofore has been wood, but coal is found in abundance along the Yukon river at various points, and last winter the North American Trading and | Transportation Company opened up and dug out several thousand tons from one of its coal locations which it had acquired, and is now placing coal for sale in Dawson. The same company has imported a considerable number of coal stoves so that I expect coal will form an important item of fuel during the coming winter in this city. This coal has been reported on several times by the members of the Geological Survey and myself, and an analysis of it given in our reports. I[t is a very superior quality of lignite, has an abundance of inflammable gases and makes a very hot fire. Several tests were made with it in the steam fire engine in Dawson recently. One test I had made was to learn its efficiency for steaming purposes. The engine was run continuously for one hour and forty minutes, the steam gauges set to blow off at 120 pounds pressure. It was found that except when cold water was being pumped into the boiler, steam was easily kept at the blowâoff point even when the engine was going fullspeed. The engineer, by way of trial, pumped cold water direct from the pumps into the boiler which reduced the pressure from 120 pounds to 90 depending on the time he was pumping ; in a very few minutes after the pumps stopped, the steam again reached the blowâoff point. After the hour and forty minutesâ running, it was COMMIsSSsIONER OP THE YUKON TERRITORY. ; 15 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 38u found there was no ashes in the grate and no clinkers, and during the run it was not necessary to use the poker once. The two firemen who officiated in this connection have seen and handled a great deal of coal ; one of them was a fireman on the Grand Trunk Railway for eighteen years, and p1 onounces it one of the best steaming coals he has ever used ; the other one, a younger man, thinks it makes the hottest fire he ever saw. Approximate tests have shown that a ton of this coal is equivalent, for heating purposes, to two and oneâhalf cords of wood. Now, wood in Dawson last winter was worth $15 per cord, and the cost of cutting was from $3 to $5 making it worth from $18 to $20 a cord when fitted for the stove. 3 The manager of the North American Trading and Transportation Company, I think, intends placing this coal on the market this winter in small quantities, for about $30 per ton. For large orders a reduction in this rate may be procured. From this it may be seen that the equivalent of one cord of wood can be procured for dfrom $12 to $15 with a saving of considerable space in storage, a ton of coal occupying only 40 cubic feet as against 128 occupied by a cord of wood. The heating is also much more satisfactory, and in every way the use of coal as well as being imperative will be a great advantage and a great boon to the residents of the city. Next year I will not be surprised to see coal sold in Dawson at $10 to $15 a ton, as the initial expenditure in connection with the opening of these mines (which has been pretty heavy) will have been met ; and there will be competition, no doubt, as other firms are arranging for the development of coal lands. It is only a question of time until coal will be used on the creeks in connection with mining. Even during the coming winter I apprehend that coal will be used on the lower reaches of Bonanza and Eldorado instead of wood which costs about fifty doliars a cord at these points. A ton of coal can be laid down at Grand Forks at a much lower figure than that, which would probably mean that the equivalent of a cord of wood can be placed there for about $25. GRAND FORKS. â Grand Forksâ as it is locally known, is a little town at the confluence of Eldorado and Bonanza creeks, and is attaining quite respectable proportions,. A survey has been made of the town lots there and arrangements have been made to segregate a portion of ground for mining rights, so that the town may not in future be disturbed. As sjon as this is done, the lots will be sold and proper title issued. This will tend to produce stability in the place. As soon as a tramway or wagon road is constructed up Bonanza, this place will be the emporium for all mining operations on Eldorado creek and that part of Bonanza adjacent to it, and there is every indication at present that these operations will be extensive for many years, so that Grand Forks is sure of quite a respectable future. STEWART RIVER. Last fall there was considerable excitement on the Stewart river and a goodly number squatted on ground at the mouth. I deemed it necessary to have a survey of a town site made there to avoid, as much as possible, complications of claims to lots. This was done, but the place has been practically abandoned since. SELKIRK. Owing to the location of the Yukon field force here, a good many settled at this point ; but here also excitement has subsided and the removal of the foree to Dawson has, for the time being, killed Selkirk. A survey was also inade at this place and a number of lots sold. commenecmmmmim 16 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 CANON AND WHITE HORSE. Those obstructions to continuous navigation have necessitated villages at the head and foot of these places and a survey has been ordered and is being made. . As soon, however, as the British Yukon Railway is completed to the foot of the White Horse, the Canon will expire. White Horse will.like}ly be a place of note, owing to the disâ covery of extensive copper deposits in its vicinity. , FORTY MILE AND CUDAHY. These two places were eclipsed by Dawson and have not extended any since it was established. New discoveries on the head of Fortyâmile river have renewed interest in them and it is probable they will be restored to some of their original importance. Arrangements have been made to allow foreign goods to pass to the head of Fortyâmile river through Fortyâmile in bond. This will prove a boon to the mines on upper Fortyâ mile and insure the permanency of the town. NEW DISCOVERIES. About the time of my arrival in the country, and since, several new discoveries have been made. Shortly before my advent, a creek known as Selwyn creek was prospected, and many claims located on it, and for a few weeks there was quite an excitement, but this seems to have subsided. While it is generally conceded that there is gold on the creek, there is hardly enough to warrant placer mining, but it would pay very well if worked on a large scale by the hydraulic, or some similarly extensive process. Shortly after I arrived, Thistle creek received a good deal of attention, and the rumours which reached Dawson from that point were numerous and conflicting. One day the creek was held in high estimation ; a few days after, it would be considered next to worthless. The fact seems to be that there is considerable coarse gold found at points along it, but there has not been sufficient prospecting done as yet to establish its exact character. This will probably be done next fall and winter. _ There was quite an excitement in connection with the headwaters of Coal creek, which flows into the Yukon river about four or five miles below the town of Fortyâmile. Some one started a rumour that gold was found on the upper reaches of the southerly fork of this stream. I was never very sanguine about this myself, knowing something of the geological character of the surfaces on the upper reaches of both forks of this creek ; and knowing that extensive coal deposits existed on both branches, and also that the general character of the rock in the range of mountains from which the creek emanated precluded the idea of gold being found in them, according to the generally accepted geologic knowledge. However, there was quite a rush. A great many people experienced a good deal of hardship, but that seems to have been the total result. It is held, however, that gold is found on the upper reaches of the creek in small quantities. I may say that the lower parts of this creek have been prospected for several years in succession, and nothing at all found. From this I seriously doubt the existence of gold on any part of the creek. A discovery of gold was made on Kentucky creek, a tributary of TwelveâMile and on TwelveâMile river itself. For some time it was thought that this was a real find, but it is generally admitted now that, while gold is found there, it is only in quantities which would pay for working on a very extensive and economical scale. Several new finds were reported at great distances up the Klondike River, but none of them have so far resulted in anything definite. In fact, in one or two cases it is pretty well established that the statements regarding them were fabrications made to create a stampede ; for taking part in or exciting which, a great many people seem to have a penchant. : Indian river and its tributaries have been pretty. well prospected, and their character pretty well established. COMMISSIONER OFP THBE YUKON TERRITORY. 17 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 334 Between the headwaters of the Klondike and Stewart rivers a gravel plain has been d1§covered, which is supposed to be, and was originally called by the discoverers, the ancient bed of Stewart river. Later explorations show that it is entirely too wide to be the bed of any such stream as the Stewart, and it is altogether likely that it was the bed of an extensive lake at one time. This area is, according to report, from 30 to 50 miles in length and 3 to 7 miles wide, and gold can be found averaging from 1 to 2 and 3 cents on the pan, pretty well all over it. There are not many streams running through this ground, but a great numâ ber of small ponds exist in it, which seems to have been depressions in the bottom of the original lake. _A great many applications have been made for hydraulic berths in this locality and, if the reports are only approximately correct, there is room for a very large number of them, and, if water is at all convenient, I have no doubt that this area will be a very important one in the history of this country. Considerable prospecting was done along the Pelly river, but nothing startling has been found as yet. j On the creeks tributary to the MacMillan River, a branch of the Pelly, extensive deposits of low grade gravel are found, and applications for two or three hydraulic berths have been made in that direction. From the information furnished me by those who made the discovery, I have no doubt that this also will prove an important district.* Quite lately a find was reported on a stream tributary to the Big Salmon River, on its upper reaches. This created quite an excitement, as the discovery was alleged to be rich, but the excitement in connection with it has subsided, and it is now generally believed that the discoverer much magnified his prospects for the purpose of securing a little money in helping miners to reach that region. â However, as this district is in the direct line of the gold zone which runs from Alaska through the Klondike country, crossing the Stewart and the Pelly well up, and finally reaching British Columbia at Atlin, I have no doubt but that important discoveries will yet be made in that region. There is also considerable excitement concerning a discovery of gold on streams in the Pacific watershed, near the southâwest boundary line. Of this I have no doubt. You, sir, have heard more from reports than what has reached here, and it may be said that, while gold has been found there is nothing of such a startling character as was at first reported here. 7 f Low grade gravel has also been found in the region through which the Dalton Trail passes, and several applications for hydraulic mining berths have been made in that region. From information I have gathered from some of the applicants, I have no doubt that these will also prove an important figure in the assets of the Yukon Territory. GOLD BEARING QUARTZ. At present upwards of seven hundred quartz locations are on record in the CGold Commissionerâs office at Dawson. _ Samples of some of thesg have proved very rich, but so far it does not appear that the general average is very high. It appears from some assays made that some lodes will average from six to ten dollars per ton of roqk. This, under existing conditions, would not pay to work., but I have no _doubt that with better facilities, cheaper produce, cheapened labour and 1mproved facilities, many of the quartz locations now recorded will yet be worked at a profit. _ Quite recently a find has been reported on a creek commonlyâ called Rock creck (the proper name, as reported to me by the Indians, is ©Sock creek ). Some specimens of this rock have assayed $36 to the ton and others have gone up into the hupdred.s. The lode is reported to be quite extensive. âThe width, though not yet determined, is considered to be not less than forty to fifty feet. This created quite an excitement herg, and a great many locations were recorded upon it. I hope that what is stated about it is true. i rl?[emamy say that the quartz locations so far recorded are scattered pretty well over the whole country. * Since the above was written evidence has been offered to prove that these places are rich enough for placer mining. awââ2 18 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE. 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 One very rich sample of quartz was found on a tributary of White river, near its head, but the lode from which it came has not yet been located, in fact, information concerning it is rather indefinite, and it may be that the report is an invention. A piece of quartz was exhibited by an Indian to some men who reported it to me, the Indian saying that he had found it in the bed of a creek,. which he did not name. _The men who showed it to me assured me they were determined to resort to that vicinity and spend a considerable time bhunting for the lode. One of them had been in the neighbourhood for some months last winter, and describefi the cognt?y as very favourâ able in appearance for quartz lodes.. He also spoke of fair placer indications there, but did not consider that it would pay to undertake to develop the ground on that line at present, as the distance was so far from the base of supplies and the road to be travelled so difficult. COPPER. Specimens of native copper are found pretty abundantly in the region of the head of the White river, aud, while the extent of the copperâbearing region is at present unknown, we do know that it is found there. One party of white men attempted to reach it in the summer of 1898, but were unsuccessful. OUne of them, in conversation with me, related his experience and assured me that he found drift copper in the bed of a small stream, tributary to White River, and that some Indians, who were associating with him on the expedition, informed him that the local Indians reported that three daysâ travelling from the point where they then were, a creek would be found in which masses of native copper, the size of oneâs fist, were quite numerous, and that two days further on, there was another creek in which larger pieces of copper were more numerous than in the last, and two daysâ travelling still further on, would bring them to another creek, the drift of which.the Indians described as native copper entirely. My informant described to me a range of very high mountains, running generally in an easterly and westerly direction, from which the streams forming the White River came. At a distance he could see some extensive glaciers in the gorges of the mountains. He described the country in that vicinity as being very gravelly and almost barren of vegetation. In my conversation with the person who related to me the find of the rich quartz referred to in this region, I gave him this information and he promised me that if he possibly could he would test the truthfulness of it, so that we may expect, in the near future, to learn something more definite of this region. | Copper ore has been found a short distance from White Horse Rapids, and I have no doubt but that the ore found there is in the copperâbearing zone which runs from that point northâwesterly crossing the headâwaters of White river and the bheadâwaters of the Tannanah, where native copper is also found in very large masses. There is no doubt but that this region in future will be a most important one, and I look forward to the construction of a railway from White Horse Rapids through this zone at no very distant date. PLATINUM. Platinum _ has always been found associated with gold in the Yukon Vailley, but whether it will prove extensive enough to form a separate industry has yet to be determined. Last winter quite an excitement was made by the discovery of platinum in connection with black sand or pulverized magnetic iron ore, at several points in this country ; notably one near the mouth of Teslin, where it was reported that platinum to the value of $800 to the ton of black sand had been discovered. Further, that associated with this platinum in the black sand was gold to the value of $200, thus making a value of a ton of black sand $1,000, less the cost of extracting these precious metals. This assay, which appears to have been genuine, was not corroborated by subsequent ones. I may say, before closing this subject, that it was reported that there were about eight pounds of black sand to the cubic yard of drift, from which it COMMISSIONER OF THE YUKON THERRITORY. 19 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 38u can be inferred how much of the drift would have to be worked to secure $1,000, apart from any free gold that might be found in it. At one time it was reported that an iron pyritic sand which is found in abundance on Sulphur creek, a tributary of the Indian river, was very rich in gold, assaying into the thousands of dollars per ton. How much a cubic foot or a cubic yard of the deposit in this creek valley would yield to the ton (of pyritic sand) I did not learn. It was also asserted that gold had been found much more rich in the soâcalled bed rock beneath the drift in this creek than in the drift itself. A few words here on the order of deposit will not be amiss. Over all the surface of the valleys in the country there is quite an accumulation of semiâdecayed vegetable matter and silt, locally termed â muck.â This varies from 2 or 3 feet in depth to 10 or 12. Below this is found a deposit of gravel, sand and clay, which varies from 3 or 4 feet to nearly or quite a hundred in places. Generally, however, it is not more than 10 to 20. Below this is found the soâcalled bed rock, the term here not meaning, as the general reader would infer, the solid rock of the country, but disintegrated rock in angular blocks. In the interstices between these we find clay and sand. This comâ position of rock and clay is locally termed â bed rock.â . How deep this bed rock extends is at present unknown. The result was that quite a stampede was made to that creek to locate quartz ledges. At present this question is in exfenso gquo, and it will not be learned what the value of this bed rock, as goldâbearing matrix, is until next winter. Speaking for myself, I may say that I look forward to gold being found in this soâcalled bed rock, but not so startâ lingly rich as set forth above. Before dismissing this subject, I may say incidentally that rich finds of gold have been made on a creek tributary to FortyâMile, on a creek in the vicinity of the interâ national boundary line. This creek is known as âJack Wadeâ Creek, and from reports received, which are reliable, it would appear to vie with Bonanza and Eldorado in richness. â The fact of this discovery shows how long a region may be explored and prospected, and yet new finds made in it. The headwaters of FortyâMile river were first worked in 1887. âJack Wadeâ Creek has been known, though not by that name, for upwards of ten years, and, I believe, prospected, yet it was not until a few months ago that its value was established. I have no doubt that similar discoveries will be made years hence, in the Indian river and Klondike valleys. This, apart from quartz mining, establishes the future of Dawson for a period, in my estimation, of at least twenty years, and once quartz mining has begun, the duration of Dawson cannot be even approximately guessed. HYDRAULIC MINING. A great many applications have been made for hydraulic berths all over this territory, principally in the Indian river and Klondike mining divisions, and the supposed ancient bed of the Stewart river. Leases will be issued for many of these under the provisions of the hydraulic mining regulations in the near future. In two or three instances machinery is now in the country and placed in position to begin work, and I look forward with anxiety to the result. Personally I feel hopeful, and I may say confident, that the attempts now made will justify the expenditure. This proving true, it is only a question of a year or two until hundreds of miles of ground, now conâ sidered worthless as placer mining, will be worked at a greater profit than the richest placer mines are being worked, as they will be worked on a different basis and at a much less expenditure to the cubic yard. The first attempts will be made on the headâwaters of the Indian river, notably on a creek known as Australia creek and in that vicinity. DREDGING. Although a large area was leased as dredging rights in the Yukon Territory during the season of 1898, no attempt was made to test the value of these rights until Mr. 33uâ2% yorqmmmegnpmmmmmerencm 20 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM QGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 John A. McPherson, a native of Canada, from the vicinity of Kin.gston, W.ith some associates brought in, during the month of July last, a dredge specially designed for working deep subacqueous gravel deposits. This dredge h.as been in operation a few weeks and I look forward with anxiety to the result of .hls ope.ra,t.lons. L conï¬c!ently expect that they will prove remunerative, and this being so it is only a question of months I may say until hundreds of miles Qf our river beds will be worked in this way, and the gold output of the territory vastly increased.* § Much of the ground leased is in deep water, upwards of 20 feet in depth, and. 3 WOU.l.d warn those who contemplate this kind of mining to_determ.m.e, l_)efore ordering thel.r' machinery, just what depth they will have to operate it. This is important and on it may turn the profit or loss of operating the leasehold. PLACER MINING. Before closing this subject I might shortly refer to the work on the creeks .by the ordinary placer methods. The vast expenditureof wood for burning purposes, which has been unavoidable heretofore, was much lessened last winter by the introduction of steam thawers, and I expect that during the coming winter it will be still more decreased. These thawers work the ground much more expeditiously than by firing and with only a small percentage of the wood consumed by the old process. This is a great improve« ment, as wood is fast disappearing from the placer creeks and now has to be brought a distance of several miles in many cases. If some process of thawing such as the electrical one could be introduced here I think it would prove a still greater saving, as it would obviate the necessity of lifting up the water which forms from the condensed steam from the thawing process, and also obviate the necessity of hauling wood such great distances as is now requisite, as the dynamos for generating the electricity could stand on the bank of the river at Dawson or in its vicinity and be supplied with fuel from the coal mines near by, the current being conducted by wires as is done in electric lighting. This, I think, would be an improvement on steam thawing, and I apprehend would be cheaper. Certainly it would reduce the labour of operating the mine considerably, as the miner would save all the bother of handling fuel, and I believe some reduction in cost of working. In any case, before many months, I expect to see coal used on the creeks in working the thawers at a saving in cost as compared with that of wood. During the winter of 1900 and 1901 I expect that coal will be very largely consumed in that way on the Klondike and Indian rivers and their tributaries, if the present system of working conâ tinues. MODE OF WORKING AND PROBABLE CHANGES. At present, as has been heretofore intimated, the mode of working placer mines is by thawing out the frozen gravels. During the first year of operation this was done by building wood fires on the ground, which thawed a few inches. âThe thawed ground was removed after the first fire went out and another fire built, and so on. It is hardly necessary to say that this method was very slow and very expensive, and the great bulk of the heat evolved from the burning of a given quantity of wood was wasted in the air. Steam thawers are now generally employed. By this method steam is developed in a boiler raised to the pressure of from twenty to forty pounds. It is then transmitted through steam hose to the point where the work is to be done. At the end of the hose is an iron pipe with a small aperture at the outer end. Through this the steam is admitted to the ground. The ground is gradually thawed and softened and the pipe descends by its weight, or is bored down until a depth of three or four feet is obtained. Then the steam is allowed to pass through long enough to thaw out a bulk of gravel of about half a cubic yard in extent ; it is then removed to another point, and so on. Even _ * Since writing this Mr. McPherson has operated his dredge for upwards of a month and has deterâ mined, from the test, that it is not a practical success. Considerable alterations have to be made in it to save all the gold, much of which is too fine to be caught by it in its present form f COMMISSIONER OF THE YUKON TERRITORY. 21 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 838u this method is tedious and slow. If this ground could be worked on an extensive scale, by running water over it, it would be much more cheaply and economically operated ; but there is a dearth of water in the creeks, and several projects have been proposed by which to bring water from some plentiful source and work the ground on an extensive scale. _ Once this method is carried out, of course wood thawers and steam heaters will be at a discount. As this latter process can be employed to work ground which would not pay by the thawing system, it is only a question of time until it is put into active operation, and then extensive areas which are now considered too poor to be worked by the ordinary placer mining methods will pay well. In fact it is the opinion of a great many, based upon actual observation (and I consider this opinion reliable), that all the ground which has been, as it is termed, â worked outâ by the placer mining methods, will be reâworked by the hydraulic principle. With the hydraulic principle in extensive operation there will not be the demand for wood or coal that has heretofore existed, still these hydraulic systems will require a large number of hands to attend to them and, as they will have to live on the ground adjacent to the operations, they will require coal for ordinary domestic purposes, and in considerable quantities, too. CoAL. In my report of 1889, and also in the Official Guide published in 1898, I referred to the existence of coal at several points, notably on Coal creek, in the vicinity of FortyâMile, and at several other points in that region ; also on Twelve and Fifteen Mile Creeks, between FortyâMile and Dawson. Since that time several discoveries of coal have been made, which I will not speak of, but simply state that they show beyond doubt that the coal bearing zone runs through our country, crossing the Yukon river in the vicinity of the international boundary line, and continuing southâeast along the base of a range of mountains named the âOgilvyâ range, to the Stewart river. Quite recently, in conversation with a miner who had prospected considerably on the Pelly river, I was assured that a distance of 60 or 70 miles up that stream, on the southerly side, he had, during the process of putting down a prospect hole, run across a seam of coal which he described as being 22 feet thick. This shows that fuel will not be wanted for future mining operations in that district. Mr. McConnell, of the Geological Survey, has made an examination of part of the Indian river district, during the past season, and assures me he has discovered in the upper parts of the same some of the tertiary measures. This being so, it is not improbâ able that coal may be found there, of course in limited areas. T consider the existence of these coal areas most important in the development of this country ; in fact it might be considered one of the most important factors in conâ nection with the industrial development of the country, and I am happy to be able to state that the exposures are convenient, easily worked and inexhaustible, As to its quality, I have already referred in this report to a test made of it in the steam fire engine at Dawson, and I may safely say that it will suit all ordinary requirements. TIMBER. As I previously set forth in my reports of the country, the timber available for immediate use is situated entirely in the flats along the different streams, and the area of the timber landâthe word âtimberâ being understood in a commercial senseâis very limited, compared with the whole area of the country. A good deal of what at present exists is reserved for use on the river steamers, yet it is only a question of a year or so until our timber supply is exhausted. ; The native timber, consisting principally of spruce, is not of a very good quality for building, being very knotty and apt to twist and crack.] §Fortunately, there is an abundance of good timber on the coast, and I believe that in fthe near future it will be imported and sold at a cost probably less than what the native lumber is now sold for in Dawson. _A year ago lumber sold for from $125 to $150. Now about $85.> ergnspmmene e iotints drait tcalihons) dn redichantare 22 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIH : 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 During a recent trip up river from Dawson as far as Cassiar Bar, a distance of 350 miles, I noted with extreme regret the fast disappearance of timber. Last fall I made a rule that no trees would be cut for fuel exceeding seven inches in diameter at the butt, but even with this rule in force the timber is fast disappearing, as the majority of the trees are under that size. When we consider that we have on the river, between Dawson and White Horse, steamers plying which consume upwards of a hundred cords of wood for each round trip, and that the average trip takes about ten days, we see that during the four and a half months of navigation the amount used aggregates upwards of 13,000 cords. I state it with regret, but I feel positive that I am within the bounds of truth when I say that twelve months from this date there will be very little fuel for the steamers available adjacent to the river, and, as has already been remarked in this report, away from the river a short distance the timber consists almost entirely of poles only a few inches in diameter, and a considerable area would have to be gone over to collect a cord of wood. It is therefore imperative that the development of coal areas be facilitated and every encouragement offered to that industry. The native lumber is, I regret to say, not at all suited for house buildling, as as it warps and cracks very much in drying and besides is very knotty. I would therefore call attention to the importation of well seasoned dressed lumber from the outside which I believe to be very necessary and would, I think, prove a paying commercial venture. In any case it is only a question of a few years until our timber supply is exhausted and we can look forward with no hope to a renewal, as the growth of trees here is so slow on account of the continually frozen state of the ground, that it would require a century to renew a forest of trees 6 or 8 inches in diameter. LIME, CLAY, COAL OIL, MINERAL SPRINGS, ETC. Incidentally I might mention that limestone has been discovered close to Dawson, a small exposure of it being immediately in front of the city across the river. Brickâmaking clay has been discovered in Dawson and at points in the vicinity and several kilns of brick have been made and burned. As soon as the limestone exposures have been developed and the limestone burnt, we will then be in a position to build chimneys and buildings of brick. Some of this clay is pronounced, by experienced men, as being very good. Last winter some men called upon me to learn in what way, and to what extent, petroleum lands could be secured, averring that they had found petroleum on the west bank of the Lewes river above Five Finger Rapids. One of them made affidavit that he had discovered where this petroleum exuded from the rock ; that he had collected a bottle of it, and submitted it to all the tests that he knew of in connection with the determining of its nature, alleging that he had been for many years associated with the working of oil wells and that this was true coal oil or petroleum. Their application was received and favourably considered, but since that time I have heard nothing more of the matter. There are many mineral springs in the country more or less of an effervescent nature, some of them being strongly charged with gas and rather pleasant to the taste. A crude analysis made of one of these on Bonanza creek, near Dawson, showed the presence of lithia, sulphur and iron, its water is clear, pleasant to the taste and the gas with which it is charged gives it a somewhat pungent flavour. These springs are so numerous that if they possess any medicinal value the country ought to be very healthy. AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS. Several applications have been made for agricultural lands and several small patches of ground have been worked this summer ; notably one on the northerly bank of the Klondike river about two miles from Dawson, which is on a steep slope facing the south. . It is operated by a Mr. Acklin, who applied for a piece of land in this vicinity for agricultural purposes He cleared off a portion of it, planted it with flowers and COMMISSIONER OF THE YUKON TERRITORY. 28 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 338u | small patches of oats, barley and wheat. He also had a considerable patch planted with the ordinary garden vegetables such as radishes, lettuce, turnips and cabbage. It may be said that the lettuce and radishes were excellent, but at the time of writing the cabâ bage is not large. The turnips, though small are of a fair quality. The flowers are a surprise to every one, and certainly could not be grown more successfully or appear more beautiful in any other part of Canada. â The varieties, of course, are suited to the latitude in which they are grown. I inclose herewith a list of the kinds grown and the time of their planting furnished me by Mr. Acklin. The oats, barley and wheat, have matured to an extent which surprised me and which I never saw equalled in any other part of the district, though I have seen speciâ mens of grain which grew in other parts of the Territory. I attribute this to the fact that the surface of the slope on which they were raised consists of gravelly clay, which absorbs and retains the warmth of the sun for a considerable period. It is so inclined that the rays of the sun strike it perpendicularly and in this way it absorbs and retains more heat than if it were lying horizontally, becoming sufficiently heated during the day to prevent the action of freezing during the night. It is not improbable that on such spots as this the ordinary vegetables may be grown successfully. Of course, I do not think that they will develop to full ripeness, but sufficiently so to be of considerable use, though whether or not they can be produced at a low enough cost to compete with imported vegetables from the south remains to be determined. That they will ever be grown to any important extent, I very much doubt, but I do not doubt but that they can be grown extensively and developed enough to constitute very good fodder for cattle and horses. The area over which shis can be done is rather small in proportion to the extent of the country. I have pointed this out in previous reports and will not refer to it further here. HAY. Coarse hay is found surrounding ponds and in the flats along the streams. It does not form very good fodder, but horses and cattle subsist on it during the winter. A very goud quality of red grass is found in abundance on the mountain slopes adjacent to the streams, and I have no doubt but that with cultivation it could be improved to a considerable extent. This season a large amount of fodder has been imported, as horses, mules and asses are daily used in packing to the mines. Packing is an important indusâ try in this region and will always continue so, though much of it will be obviated by the construction of wagon roads, tramways and railways from central points such as Dawson to the more important mining fields. wWAGOoN ROADS. At the time of writing a wagon road is under construction ; in fact it might be said to be almost finished, from Dawson to Dominion creek, with branch lines down to the Forks of Eldorado and Bonanza and to Hunker at the mouth of Gold Bottom creek, and it is probable that one or two others will shortly be built to other points of imporâ tance. â This road is the trunk line of the country, as in the very near future it will be continued to the vicinity of Stewart river, and I am assured by those who have passed over the intervening country from Dominion creek to the supposed ancient bed of the Stewart river, which has already been referred to, that a wagon road can be built at comparatively small cost, over very favourable ground. This fact was a very important factor in deciding me to have a road built on the summit of the ridge. The followâ ing reasons also influenced me, viz., the summit of the ridge would have to .be reached at some point by a road to Dominion. The engineers whom I sent to examine into that question, reported that the best slopes to ascend to the top were found in the valley of Thomas gulch which joins the Klondyke valley about a mile above the mouth of Bonanza creek. â Here easy grades were found, the steepest not exceeding one in ten, and that at very short intervals, the average being one in twelve. Once on the summit, the surface is much better for road construction, consisting of gravel and clay. Drainage 24 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 facilities are much greater, and most important of all, the road is removed from interâ ference by mining operations. w8 s td In the valleys of the creeks the miners naturally object to being interfered with in working their claims. To put a road across their claims almost insures its destruction within a few months. To my knowledge three roads have been constructed from Dawâ son up the valley of Bonanza to. The Forks,. The first was built in the spring of 1897, and was simply a pack trail. Ere many months it transpired that this road was broken up in places. Of course one interruption blocked the whole road. In the spring of 1898 I am assured that another road was constructed partly on the old site, and on this the sum of $18,000 was expended. On my arrival in September, 1898, this road was pronounced impassable, or broken up in places, as had been the previous one. In Sepâ tember of 1898, a few weeks after my arrival, a wagon road was constructed up the creek, on which it was intended to put a tramway. This was known as the OâBrien Tramway. It was a boon to the country at the time. Legal steps were taken to prevent Mr. OâBrien from collecting toll for passage over his road. These were successful and the result was that Mr. OâBrienâs connection with it ceased indefinitely. As he was not allowed to collect toll, he naturally gave up taking care of the road, and although the road at the time was pronounced a good one, it is toâday practically impossible to find more than bits of it here and there, the rest of it being under tailings or washed away in mining operations. Now, we have no assurance that any road constructed in the valley of the creek would not be similarly treated. In discussing this matter with a reliable, honest miner, when he was asked the question, would he respect a road conâ structed along the valley crossing his claims, he stated that he would not if his pay ran under it. Several men with whom I was discussing it one day stated that they would object to the government locating a road on their claims, and claimed that they themâ selves, they thought, should locate the road. I pointed out to them that, while one man might consider the road advantageously situated on one side of his claim, those on the next claim might want it on the other, and so it would be impossible to locate a trail that would satisfy the claimâholders. This was admitted. Then when 1 asked them, âadmitting that the road was satisfactorily located and constructed, would they respect it if they found that their pay dirt ran under it,â they assured me most positively they would not. When I inquired whom they considered should make a new trail in lieu of the one they had found it desirable to work out, some of them thought they might themâ selves, while others were strongly of the opinion that the Government should make a new trail, This would simply mean that the Government would be continuously buildâ ing trails to suit the needs of miners, and this again means that they would have no trail. _ For these reasons it was determined to put a trunk trail high on the ridge, where there is little danger of it ever being interfered with by mining operations. This has been done, and I feel satisfied that, although there is a good deal of objection to it on the part of the creek claimâholders at present, it will in the end be found to be of wide use. Another objection to building it in the creek was that the Local Council has no control over the public lands, and unless miners are unanimously agreed to grant a right of way, no permanent right of way, for the reasons aforestated, would ever be obtained across the claims. I understand that Mr. OâBrien has been granted a charter to conâ struct a tramway up the Bonanza Creek from Dawson. One of Mr. OâBrienâs associates in this venture was in Dawson recently, and discussed this with me. He proposed that I build a wagon road up the valley of the creek, making it wide enough to serve for wagon road and tramway, and that the tramway company would make an arrangement with me to recoup the Government for the expense of building the trail. This gentleâ man had not his charter with him, and before his road was built he would have to enter into an agreement with the claimâholders and compensate them for any damage that might be done, at least he informed me that these were the conditions on which the charter was granted. I pointed out to him that we could not possibly proceed with the construction of a road until the question of right was settled, as each individual claimâ holder along the road would have to be settled with, and this would possibly take . months. In the meantime we wanted our road as speedily as possible and could not await this delay, so went on with the road on the ridge. RRirradrnrtnatrnntstinmme stt annsmas on smm ons onmmmemmmemneoos ComMIssIonNER OF THE YUKON TERRITORY. 25 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 33u ROYAL COMMISSION. The charges against the officials in the Y ukon Territory led you, sir, to issue a Royal Commission to myself to conduct an investigation as to the truth or falsity of these charges. Intimation of such an appointment was conveyed to me through a private source by the last incoming mail before winter set in last year, but I did not receive official intimation of it for some months after, and the delay of the arrival of the commission itself, and, further, of the arrival of the legal adviser, prevented any action in that direction until the month of February. As soon as I possibly could, I held a sitting in the Court house at Dawson. This was intended to be simply a preliminary meeting for the purpose of arranging with the public how and where the business should be conducted. This sitting passed off very quietly and agreeably. The public were invited to present any views they might see fit at this meeting. I stated particularly that my one desire in connection with this investiâ gation was to have such a complete and full examination, that there would be no reason for any discussion after its labours were concluded, and I invited all those present to make any charges or to give the names of any witnesses they had any reason to suppose . would be able to give any information of importance. Notices were printed calling on the public generally to submit charges and furnish the names of witnesses in support of their charges. Every aid was offered and it was guaranteed to any one who might wish to submit any charge, that the investigation would be as full and complete as possible. The papers of Dawson discussed the matter pretty fully and invited the public to respond to the invitations sent out. The Nugget especsially called on all those who had any statements to make or evidence to offer, to âcome forth and do it, or forever after hold their peace.â It touched at considerable length on the importance of the investigation and the serious nature of the charges which had been made ; and invited the public most earnestly to attend to the matter at once. j The editor of the Nugget (Mr. George) saw me once or twice, and I offered that gentleman every aid in my power to have the investigation made as full and conclusive as possible. He was furnished with blank summonses signed by myself, in which he could fill the name of any witness he saw fit ; all I asked him to do was to acquaint me with the name of the witnesses, the charge in connection with which they were sumâ moned, and the date when they were expected to reach Dawson. I offered the same privilege to any one who might wish to act in the same way. j The first sitting of the investiâation was held in the Court house in Dawson on February 22, and continued from time to time until all the charges which had been submitted were disposed of. The sittings were then adjourned until the arrival of Messrs. Wade, McGregor and Norwood whose names had been brought in as guilty of malfeasance. They arrived in the month of April and another sitting of the Commission was held soon after their arrival. The evidence submitted at these sittings and my report thereon have long ere this been printed, and I simply wish to put myself on record here as showing that my one desire, and I am quite sure the desire of the other officials in conne:tion with the investigation, was to have the truth established. To this end, every possible facility was offered complainants. _ They had the fullest and freest opportun.ity.of examining all the witnesses ; and, after I had examined them myself, I would invite anyone in the court room to ask the witnesses any questions they might see fit ; deeming it expedient that the public generally should have the opportunity of asking such questions. On a few occasions this request was responded to and a few questions asked ; but, generally, the witness was examined by the party who summoned him, and myself, the public seeming to take no other interest in it than attending and occasionally laughing at the expense of the witnesses and at the questions asked by some of the complainants, whose object, it appeared to me, from many questions asked, was to play to the galleries 26 RE/ORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 and attract a little public attention. During the course of the proceedings, the utmost latitude was allowed everyone, and I think I can say, without fear of successful contraâ diction that, in an ordinary court of law no such procedure as was allowed in this case would obtain for one second. I was remonstrated with by several, in regard to the latitude I allowed complainants, but my reply was, that it was better to do this than appear as restraining the course of justice. As these people, I was fully impressed, had made statements which they could not substantiate, I felt it incumbent on me to allow them as much liberty as possible, in order that they might convict themselves. This, I might say, proved to be the case ; but instead of placing the blame where it properly belonged, many of them still persisted in stating that the charges were true, and, in discussing it, took a very oneâsided view of the evidence presented, drawing from it conclusions which they were certainly not warranted in doing. My belief, now, is that the sittings of the Commission were rather a disappointment to those who asked for it. It swept from under them their vantage ground, that is, the possibility of being able to make statements which they not expect to be called on to prove. In order to get out of this they took advantage of what is termed, the Limitaâ tior of Commission ; that is, no charge made after August 25, could be entertained. As has been stated in my report, submitted along with the evidence, I induced the complainants to take up one charge made after that date, that is, the KellyâMiner case. Of course oaths could not be administered to the witnesses in this case, but they agreed that they would made a Statutory Declaration to their evidence. â This was done in one or two instances, but, to have it done in every case, would involve so much delay, â that it was deemed desirable to abandon it and send the evidence out as it was. From the evidence submitted, I think any unprejudiced person would consider that the charges made against Mr. Fawcett on this occasion totally failed. References have been made to the farcical nature of this investigation by the newsâ papers here and others ; I readily admit the charge ; it certainly was farcical, but not in the way they put the term ; it was farcical in this, that it utterly failed to show any ground for the accusations made, more than common rumour ; and that, I regret to say, is entirely irresponsible in Dawson, perhaps more so than elsewhere. Considered from a proper and honourable standpoint the investigation certainly resulted farcically ; but the term âfarcical â does not apply to the honest endeavours of the officials connected with it to have it conducted properly and have it as conclusive and reliable as possible, under the conditions. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. The climate of the Yukon has been generally understood to be extremely cold durâ ing the winter months, the duration of the winter exceedingly long, and the greater part of it exceedingly trying. âThe thermometer reaches extremely low points in this region, it is true,âfor illustrationâI bave spent four winters in the country and every winter the month of November was shown thermometer readings close to 40 below zero. During my first three winters, December showed readings below 50, January and February several as low, and also two or three in March ; while in April, readings between 30 and 40 have occurred several times. During the winter of 1895 and 1896, the thermometer, during the month of J anuary, sank below 60 five times, and during the month of February three times. The past winter, 1898 and 1899, was an exceedingly mild one. The lowest temperature shown by my thermometers furnishedâ from the Meteorological Service, Toronto, and Standard, was 47. The winter proved to be unusually mild and has been much written about and spoken of by people who have been in the country for the first time, as a very pleasant one ; and they are reasonably justified in speaking of it as such ; but, I wish to warn the public generally to accept their reports of the beautiful winter months here with caution. : It was the mildest winter by long odds I have experienced in the country, and all the oldâtimers agree with me in this. _ As to the portion of daylight during part of the months of December and J anuary, I may say that we here have, during the shortest days, about four hoursâ daylight. This continues for about one month, when the days Orrmnnnnntninte nsc mnnttrnnrntnaatinens m inemtprmmmetmsmncate un ns nmsnmnnnmentm eroncniwonn o COMUMMISSIONER OF THHE YUKON TERRITORY. 27 â SESSIONAL PAPER No. 338u begin to lengthen out again, and, in the latter half of February, the daylight is of sufficient length for all ordinary purposes. Travelling in the country is at times very disagreeable, owing to the high winds which often prevail in the valleys, especially in the large valleys, such as that of the Yukon River. The winds, of course, are confined to the high hills bordering it and have to follow the course of the river bed, Someâ times the air is so choked, so to speak, that it rushed through the narrow parts at a very high rate of speed ; and, if the thermometer happens to be 30 or 40 degrees below zero, and one is out on the river at such a time, it is extremely disagreeable, not to say dangerous. Last winter we had very little wind in the vicinity of Dawson, nor was there much, I believe, along the river, between Dawson and other points, so that, in this respect also, the season was unusual. In another respect the river disappointed all the old timers. Generally, as the ice is forming in the winter, considerable damage is inflicted to property by jams. These jams dam up the water and it rises to a considerable degree. I have witnessed, on one occasion, its rising five or six feet in as many minutes.. The ice suddenly gives way with the pentâup forcee of the accumulated waters, rushes on, filling up the basin to heights that people in more favoured climates could hardly credit. Last winter, in the vicinity of Dawson at least, this did not occur. Again, during the break up of the ice in the spring, damage is often done to property by the ice jamming in the same way as in the fall ; but on a much larger scale, making its way with uncontrollable force, piling up along the beach, tearing away the trees along its edge, and causing great inconvenience in the country. No ordinary structures, built on the side of the river bank, can withstand the force of the onârushing ice in the spring. This makes steamboat owners and others very cautious about building wharves or docks, as there is no guarantee that they will not be crushed and destroyed by the rush of ice in the spring. In this regard, too, the river disappointed the oldâ timers, the ice breaking up and running out so quietly that newâcomers credited the old one generally with a desire to âstuff them.â The rule which obtains in the breaking up of the ice in the spring is that it does so in the upper reaches first, then rushes down concentrating and accumulating its force the further it goes. During the last spring this rule did not hold good. The ice in the vicinity of the Boundary Line, seventy or eighty miles below Dawson, broke up and ran out on the 16th of May, while at Dawson it broke up on the 17th, and at Selkirk on the 21st, thus relieving this whole course of the river of the strain of the accumulated ice of the upper river. I call attention to these facts, because the past season was so unusual, and also to guard the public against the impression that the past season was an average one. My experience does not at all justify me in claiming that it was, and in this I may say that all the oldâtimers, that I know of, agree. During last winter and a considerable portion of the summer, a great many idlers were in the vicinity of Dawson. Of these, I have no doubt, many were seriously anxious to obtain work, but could not, and I have no doubt that a great many of them would not work under any conditions but were here simply to live on their wits Some of these made their way out of the country up the river, but a reported discovery of gold at Cape Nome in Alaska, drew many of them down the river. The result is, that the country has been relieved of the overplus of workers, and, I think with advantage, as âwe can very well do without a great many of them now. I do not say that all these were not desirable citizens ; but I do say that a large percentage of them can well be spared. ROYALTY. â__This tax, like every other, being unpopular, and it being felt that every reasonable means would be taken to avoid it by even the best thinking, and very improper means by those not of that kind, I set about devising some means of collection which would more clearly represent the true returns than what I believed had been heretofore âcollected. 28 REPORT OF MR. WILLILAM OGILVIE 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 In discussing this matter with Colonel Steele he suggested to me that the Police Officers would better answer the purpose than ordinary civilians. One thing was certain, the Mining Recorder could not attend to it. P ; § If every miner was absolutely honest and law-obs.er.zlng we might expect someâo.hmg like a true payment to the Mining Recorders ; but this idea could not be entertained, so I, at once, availed myself of Colonel Steeleâs offer, and placed Inspector Belcher at Grand Forks, Inspector Scarth on Hunker and Inspector Starns on Dominion ; the latter officer being succeeded by Inspector Cartwright. These Inspectors had at their command members of the Police Force whose duty it was to examine into the operation of the mines, test the value of the gravel, and keep notes generally of all mining operations. At the same time one or two detectives were employed to see that no stealing was done, either from the miners themselves, by laymen or watchmen, or from the Government. The following return to September 1st shows $635,183.75, being nearly double the amount collected last year. The total production as shown is $8,106,024.24 of which 1,744,706.00 was exempted. The number of claims shown as paying is 443 on which the extra exemption of $2,500.00 per claim amounts to $100,750.00 which, added to the sum collected, makes $735,933.75. Had there only been an exemption of $2,500.00 as was last year, to make the comparison just, we have to deduct $16,000.00 deferred payments, from last âyear, also payments due on several claims under the ruling of the Minister of Justice, which were recorded less than one year previous to the Order in Council imposing the Royalty. I do not wish to be understood from the above remarks as condemning the increased Royalty ; far from it. s I do not think we can reasonably assume that the above return represents the true output as we can hardly doubt much concealment was made and it is probable the amount of output was near $10,000,000. In the case of the great number of claims which did not pay royalty, we might assume that at least half as much has been taken out, so that we might have an output this year of about $15,000,000.00 or may be nearer $20,000,000.00. Last year I do not think the output was much less than this summer. Men who made a careful examination during the winter months and again in the spring, assured me that they believed it totalled $18,000,000.00, and from the facts they placed before me I have reason to believe that they are nearly correct. The collection of the royalty is a task in itself and requires the energies and strict attention of one man, with a staff of subordinates. That the Police will be able to conâ tinue to act in that behalf in future is doubtful. It might happen that their services would be urgently required in some other direction just at the time they were needed for this work. I therefore would suggest that a Royalty collector be appointed to reâ main in office as long as that tax is imposed. This man should be in the first place a good accountant, and, secondly, a good judge of human nature, with the knack of handling men. . It is a disagreeable task to impose on any one and requires considerable tact to avoid friction. I therefore, sir, would ask you to take this into your serious consideration and appoint some one to this office for next yearâs operations. EDMONTON ROUTE. Shortly after my arrival in Dawson people began to reach this point from the lower river, having gone down the Mackenzie, crossed over to the Porcupine, down it to the Yukon, and thence up to Dawson. They straggled in a few at a time, during Septem:â ber, October, November, and until J anuary, 1899, when the last parties that I know of reached here, having come that way. They reported having come up the Porcupine instead of down it, crossing over to the head of the Taton duc, down it to the Yukon, thenceâup to Dawson. The parties who came this way were some five or six in number, and after considerable hardship in ascending the Porcupine, divided near the head of that stream. _Two or three of them being hopeless of getting through remained at a COMUMISSIONER OFP THE YUKON TERRITORY. 29 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 338u ; point marked on my map of that route as Fishing Camp. The others came on, and finding the head of Taton duc, returned to induce their comrades to come on with them ; but when they reached that point nearly a month after separation, they learned, from 4 note left in the clift of a tree, that the others had, soon after the separation, turned back to Lapierreâs house. Though they knew they were very short of provisions and had actually killed a dog to replenish their stock, they could not follow them, as they themselves were almost worn out and realized that their lives depended on their reachâ ing some point on the Yukon River as speedily as possible. They, therefore, anxiously retraced their steps, reaching Seventy Mile Post on the Yukon a few miles above Taton duc, and reported there the facts here stated. It appears no attempt was made there to rescue the unfortunate ones who had turned back to Lapierreâs house. The others made their way as speedily as possible to Dawson, reaching it the last days of Decemâ ber, and immediately reported the facts to me. I had a conference with Col. Steele on the possibility of reaching these people, and after discussing the situation, we came to the conclusion it was much too late, and at that time of the year impracticable and might possibly involve the loss of the rescuers. The case stood thus : At the time we received the information, we could not possibly organize a rescue party before January 5 or 6. Now the unfortunate ones who returned to Lapierreâs house turned back on November 5, so that they had two monthsâ clear start, and at the time of our discussion were either dead or at Lapierreâs house, or it may have been, had met with Indians. Before a rescue party could reach the point where they turned back, a distance of about 275 miles, it would be well towards the beginning of February, and the snow would then be very deep and travelling difficult and tedious. This would make it nearly three months after the missing party had turned back until the rescuers reached that vicinity, which rendered it more certain that the rescuing party would never find them. If they had died on their return soon after they started back, all traces of them would be lost in the heavy snow falls, and it would be the merest accident in the world that the rescuers would find any trace of them ; besides, the rescuing party would likely be absent nearly three months, and to outfit it with a three monthsâ supply of provisions for themselves and their dogs, and the necessary clothing, would require a very large train of dogs, so much so, that it was considered practically impossible to do it, as those who are accustomed to dogâteaming will realize. For these reasons it was felt it would be hopeless to attempt to rescue them, and we would have to wait for information from that quarter during the following summer months which, by the way, has reached us, to the effect that Indians report these people dead, having seen or heard something of them. The information is, however, too vague to give as authentic. I simply cite it as rumour. : f y In August an expedition of policemen and Indians was sent out to ascertain, if possible, the fate of these poor people. They have not yet returned, although reports have reached us of their onward progress. Some of the people who left Edmonton for the Yukon via the Mackenzie, instead of crossing to the Porcupine, ascended the Peel to its head waters. These did not succeed in reaching Dawson until June and July of the present yearâothers again left the Mackenzie at Fort Norman, or at the mouth of a river a short distance above it commonly known as Gravel River, marked on the maps of that region as the Dahadina River, which I have been informed is the Indian word for Gravel, the river receiving this name owing to its broad, flat bed being covered with gravel and having very shallow water. Parties who ascended the Peel gave me an account of the river as far as they came, describing its difficulties and the adaptability for navigation. They report that it may be navigated in high water by stern wheelers as far as the first canyon, which they describe as being dangerous for craft of any dimensions in high water, but easy of descent in low water. This consists, according to their account of it, of a very sudden turn in the river in a canyonâlike gorge, and although the fall is not very much, yet the return of the waters after striking against the side of the cliffs creates an immense whirlpool which, it is stated, would engulf any small boat and render it completely impossible for any large boat to think of passing. 30 REPORT OF MR. WILLIA M OGILVIE j 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 Above this there are several small rapids which seem to consist of ripples over gravel bars. § I have already sent to the Surveyor General of the Interior Department a map compiled under my direction by Mr. Thibadeau, which was made from two maps furnished me by some of the gentlemen who came that way, notably Mr. A. J. McGregor from Ontario and Dr. John Connelly from Chicago. In addition to the information laid down on these two maps much more was gathered verbally from those who came through that way, aqd altogether I feel that this map fairly represents that section of the country and fills in a large void space in our map of Canada. Mr. McGregor corroborates my report of 1887 that the head of the Peel (at least one of its branches, and it appears to be the larger one) rises close to the head of the Porcupine, this stream being marked by the then geographer of the Deâ partment of the Interior as âOgilvie River.â ' § In my report of that yearâs operations, I mentioned that the Indians described to me a very bad canyon which existed on that river and pleaded with me not to descend . it, as I was thinking of doing, as I would be lost in this canyon. Mr. McGregor described this canyon to me and speaks of it in a way which corroborates the account given by the Indians. Below that, he tells me, I would hz.we found no difficulty in naviâ gating the river providing ordinary care was exercised until I reached t}he lower canyon, where a portage of a mile or so would have taken me past the obstruction. These people ascended the branch of the Peel, which they call Wind River, which rises within a few miles of a branch of the Stewart, know as © Beaver River.â The portage from one watershed to the other is only some thirteen miles, and the interval between the head waters of the two systems is spoken of as much less. Those who ascended Gravel River confirm the reports of it which we have already had, that is, as to its broadness and general shallowness. It rises in the watershed common to the Mackenzie and Stewart and the portage from one water system to the other is very short. They struck the Stewart on what is known as the south branch, and where they reached it they found it a stream of considerable size, indicating some distance from the head. They came down it nearly 200 miles and describe it as very difficult of navigation. At that time they thought they were on the McMillan branch of the Pelly and learned to their agreeable surprise some distance above the Forks of the Stewart, from an inscription on a tree that they were on the south branch of the Stewart. â These people reached Dawson in J uly. I have already forwarded to the office of the surveyor general, notes taken by me during my interviews with these people. Those who came up the Peel River speak of that country as containing gold, both placer and quartz. They described to me a piece of quartz containing gold which an Indian exhibited to them. He alleged it came from the upper reaches of the stream known as âBonnet Plume.â Fine gold they found in the gravel, but as none of them were miners they did nothing more than surfaceâprospecting, and though they found gold, they did not find enough on the surface to justify them in pronouncing it rich. Immediately after their arrival in Dawson, they pronounced the country generally worthless, but, after being some time in the vicinity, and seeing how mining operations were conducted and where the gold came from, they admitted to me they knew practiâ cally nothing about the country they passed through and that it might be, for aught they knew, just as rich as Bonanza or Eldorado ; that, in fact, they had not prospected it ; and they further admitted had they gone over Bonanza or Eldorado originally, they vl;ould possibly have made the same report of these two creeks that they did of Peel iver. I do not wish to appear to pronounce this country rich, but I wish to state their honest conclusions after a little experience. Tt is just possible that the upper reaches of the Pelly may yet prove remunerative to the miner, but I would warn those who would, through reading this, think of resorting to that country for mining, to be careful what they do. They should not attempt to do so, except in an organized band, conâ Nemmnimiminncnmnniominininienmenintmensoncs COMMISSIONER OF THE YUKON TERRITORY. 3l SESSIONAL PAPER No. 38u taining amongst its numbers, members of various trades, some physicians and an ample supply of provisions and medicines. I would further warn them against thinking the trip an easy one. They can reach Fort McPherson on the Peel River with ease. In fact, it might be called only a holiday trip compared with what would follow. After reaching McPherson, they should make their way by boat up che Peel as fir as the first canyon, or possibly past it. By the time this point was reached, or some short distance above it, in fact, by the time they were ready for operations, winter would be upon them, and their first care should be to set about preparing for it so that they need not expect to conduct any mining operations for about one year from the time of their departure from Edmonton. â These parties also report the Wind River and the Peel, in places, as having abundance of iron pyrites and pyritic sand, which is another indication that gold may yet be found there. Those who came up the Gravel River, speak of the drift as consisting generally of limestone ; though those to whom I spoke did not seem to possess much geological knowlâ edge. ¢ I simply mention this as their impression. Near where the river debouches from the mountains, they speak of immense deposits of sulphur and of a warm spring on the left hand or northerly side of the river, a short distance from which it brings down that mineral in abundance and deposits it along the course of the small stream which empties the waters of the spring and for _ some distance the course of the river itself in masses which they describe as containing thousands of tons of pure native sulphur. - No one took the temperature of this warm spring, but one of them assured me that the temperature of the water where it joined the river, about half a mile from its source, was 76. Now, this temperature was taken during the cold months of the winter and of sourse the water must have cooled down considerably in travelling the half mile at that time of the year in that country, Of one thing all whom I saw were positive, and that was that the spring was hot, but the only attempt to get the temperature was in the way I have mentioned. Above this point, nothing of importance was seen, though one witness spoke of a mountain which appeared to him to be a solid mass of copper because it dbore that colour. This is of no importance, as many rocks are seen in the country of a reddish colour owing to the presence of a vegetable growth on their outer surface : besides native copper would not appear red after exposure to the atmosphere for some time. Some of these parties reported to me for the first time in an intelligible way the discovery of metailliferous rock in the vicinity of Great Slave Lake, and exhibited to me a specimen of galena which they pronounced rich in silver which came from the southâ erly shore of that lake near its west end. I hope that their statements, (which I need not repeat here, as they have long ere this been made public outside) as to its extent and richnes, are true.* * Since the foregoing was written I have learned of a party of miners who made their way from the head of the Klonkike to the head of one of the branches of Peel River (they think the Blackstone), down which they went, passing the bad canyon referred to, which they report as very bad, confirming what the Indians told me of it. The report goes to show that it is not far from ths head of one river to the uther ; but I could not get any definite idea of the distance. 32 REPORT OF MR. WILLIAM OGILVIE | 63 VICTORIA, A. 1900 FINANCIAL STATEMENT. I submit for your information a statement of the local receipts and disbursements in this Territory from November 1, 1898, to September 27, 1899. LOCAL REVENUE, YUKON TERRITORY. September 1, 1898, to September 27, 1899. Dr. Cr | uy | Revenue. | $ cts. Expenditure. i $ cts. ! I | | : p nea ..l.).gk.., .. |_54,577 60 || By paid administration of justice..... 492 35 To %ggï¬ilgt%?«sfâlfergiiration fees:." tC.. | â57 0 00 P;}.s;sagp paid for indigents out of Mquor permite? â................. 63,486 14 n Ferfibofy a..oulkl. e h l 3,882 26 Peddlersâ licenges................. 1,200 00 Board of license commissioners.... .600 00 ranehise account................. 150 00 Subsidies to roads and trails ...... 280 00 Matrinse licenses ................ 149 00 Contingenciesâ..:.....". 174. 426 00 BilhGiard table lieenses ............ 50 00 Burial of indigent persons......... 8,021 90 Transient tradersâ licenses ........ 300 00 Printing and stationery........... 5,848 76 Incorporation fees account........ 50 00 balariesmccount..!â...........1. 3,}16 78 Mquor licenses.."...............% 84,170 81. Law library. ... .. friesaly esns en 781 â%4 MAiuctionceersâ licenses.............. 850 00 Fire department, Dawson ........ 17,380 70 Slaughterâhouse licenses .......... 150 00 M(_zdlcal board of health ........;, 1,674 00 Ferry licomses".....0......}.l..... 250 00 Pridges, Dawson.,...........=/*. 7,202 61 Rents, Dawson water front... .. ... 4,T12 75 â Sifrects, Dawson...............2l. 8,701 28 Dog pound> L.i.lalllst y ies 3 00 | Care of insane........ nje en es 105 00â | Trails, Bonanza, Dominion, &e....| 37,062 65 | Drains and ditches, Dawson . ... 15,418 11 Engineerâs expenses .............. 1,100 00 Travelling expenses, license inâ spector .........milantacatiee 844 90 Living allowance, license inspector. 429 00 Donations to hospital, care of indiâ gentsick .......l ... l2 a 0s 88,437 97 palance : i.il.lles ie 13,823 99 210,668 80 210,668 80 Certified correct, J. T. LITHGOW, Comptroller. From this statement you will see that $95,391.23 was expended on account of sick and indigent ; that is, more than 45 per cent of our income went in that way. In connection with this item, I may say the Council found it absolutely necessary to make this expenditure, as men were lying sick in Dawson and all over the mining districts and no one to take care of them. The great majority of people seemed to be perfectly heartless in this matter. We, as a civilized Government, could not allow these men to die like beasts, consequently we had to take. care of them. â The hospitals made vain appeals to the people for support, but all to no effect ; the universal ery seemed to be, © Let the Ctovernment look after the sick ; they get all the taxes and they should attend to these matters.â In the early days when there were comparatively few miners in the country, nearly every one knew every one else and no such condition would be allowed to obtain for a moment ; if a man became sick, the neighbours helped him and generâ ously contributed to his support. The great inrush of the spring of last year changed these conditions ; very few of the people were acquainted with one anotherâevery one was eager to make all he could, and so humanity, and nearly every other consideration which enters into every day life, were utterly wanting. & us yere ® " mempmmemermeemmes yââ Gess ârâ«rr in it i0 COMUMISSIONER OF THE YUKON TERRITORY. 33 SESSIONAL PAPER No. 33u Since the foregoing statement was made, an outstanding sum of nearly $5,000 has been paid one of the hospitals, making our total a little over $100,000, or nearly 48 per cent of the receipts. You will see from this expenditure that the cost of the roads to the mines has been set down as local. This is because it has, so far, been paid out of the local revenue, though I have your assurance, which is very gratifying to the people of this Territory, that the expenditure in connection with the highways to the mines will be met by the Federal Government. ' ' I beg herewith to forward a statement of the correspondence received and sent in connection with my own office for the year. My secretary has forwarded to your departâ ment from time to time copies of the minutes of all the council meetings held during the year, and also copies of the ordinances passed, which, of course, are not included in the following report :â DOCUMENTS SENT AND RECEIVED IN THE COMMISSIONERâs OFFICE, DAWSON, FROM sEPTEMBER, 1898, to sEprEMBER, 1899. Number of general letters recelved...............}...>>.. 1,643 Number of departmental letters received . ..............s .. 654 Fotal ......l..lâ. . uen ie u. oi v e 2,297 Number of general letters sent.,............ es y y 2,287 Number of departmental letters sent.................. ult 029. Total..;......d.as.aul stt w . fate o 3e 2,912 OTHER CORRESPONDENCE,. Agrescments, clharters, &o...........irlul.0..l..ul.er.. 2. . 30 Afadavits, &Go.............{ ce avaaala ns o uty i â Sualay Jsw. 100 Petitions ....~.......... oi e ols orerent e o_ 30 ApplicationsâBridges, ferries, water supply, roadways, &c..., 150 Applications, miscellancous.......... .+. a. .2 .ls sls cn. 66 sg c 50 Fenders, specifications, &o...... .. i...c..l. ol ul saclened. 100 Baists, schemes, &e.............t.s}ress .. 6a0 tigis s se vtie 25 Reports of various kinds...............slr ag>s 660. 5aselss 75 Public notices, forms, &o...:....1...........2s. Td (ide e e sls 25 425 The above represents only a fraction of the work performed in the office, the greater part of my time being taken up in receiving applicants for various concessions, discussâ ing with them their applications, their plans, schemes and other questions incidental to the industries of the country, also questions beyond my province altogether, such as giving advice, imparting information and dealing with other matters âtoo numerous to mention. ; . The accompanying reports from Colonel Steele, commanding the Northâwest Mounted Police, Mr. Edmund Senkler, Gold Commissioner, Mr. F. X. Gosselin, Timber and Land Agent, and Mr. Hartman, Postmaster, are not brought up to date. Regretting my inability to have this report sent out sooner, I have the honour to be, sir, Your obedient servant, WILLIAM OGILVY, Commissioner. 3guââ8
Pamphlets ; Miscellaneous Documents
Yukon
English
Vancouver: University of British Columbia Library
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Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush collection. RBSC-ARC-1820-13-14
Yukon--Politics and government
Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Gold discoveries
Gold mines and mining--Canada
Sessional paper No. 33u
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