DSPACE7
Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush collection
Spurr, Edward
"From the coast to the Golden Klondike" clipped from the September, 1897 issue (vol. XXX) of Outing.
20 pages : illustrations, black and white
application/pdf
. a & * L C 7 : 5 Pa & s s § @ f * | 3 : \na j 5 4 P E f â 3 : f s â | | | | I + | COUTING. V orm.n XXX. SEPTEMBER, 189;. No.: 0. ~â wae 4 DRIVING A BARGAIN WITH THE NATIVES. FROM THE CoAST To THE GOLDEN KLONDIKE. THE RECORD OF AN OFPFRICIAL JOURNEY. By Edward Spurr. & :: : MB question of In order to gather reliable information the veracity of the r um o+ s from time to time reaching the Government as to the mineral wealth, esâ peaally in gold, of the upper Yukon disâ triet of Alaska, and the conditions uncer and means by and times of the year at w hich the district could best be reached, were in the ecarly part of last year subjects of depattmental consideration. on the geological questions involved, and, incidentally, of conurse, some others, I, in the spring of 1596, as a member of the Unmited States Geological Survey,. was officially requested to undeftake a journey into the imterior of Alaska, I had never been west of Utah, and, judgeing from the tew accounts of trayâ elers who have written concerning this remote region of central and northern Alaska, the difficultics were conmsider able. Only one season was possible, and that was the nearâapproaching one of high summer, and ouly two routes are available.snOne must either go to St. Michae!, in the Bbehring Sea, and thence Copyrighted, ®n7, by the OUTING Publishing Company. All rights reserved. HIGH SUMMER IN THE CHILKOOT PASS. Painted for OUTING by J. L. Weston,. From a photo by the author. RrROM THBCOASF 10 THE COLDEN KLQNLIIX E. 523 up the River Yukon, from its outlet to the beginning of its headwaters, some fifteen hundred miles; or land at some point on the Pacific, cross the head of land, and tap the headwaters of the Yukon at their source, fin either event the journey must be completed before September, when the Yukon freezes, and Alaskas aAretic winter of the utmost rigor sets in and grips its vise. Y¥et the possible novelties which the country offered, both from a scientific and from a personal standpoint, were so great that the opportunity was quick!ly accepted. river as a highway, making such exâ curstons from it as became necessary. Ataska is a most difficult country for traveling, even in the only available short season of its arctic summer, there being no roads ; and even Indian trails, on account of the small number of natives, are very rare. The surface is rough, being traversed by many ranges of mountains. Even in the more level portions tsavel is hindered in the sumâ mer by the wet moss which grows kneeâ deep, and by the insect pests; in the winter it is made impossible by the inâ tense cold. In view of all these diffhâ culties, the peculiar relation of the TAGISH LAKE,. The time for preparation was very short, but when we left Washington at the end of May we carried with us so many sood wishes that our spirits rose accordinglyâfor such good wishes from such gsood hearts carry with them actual influence over evil material things, I hope and balf belfeve. From Seattle we took passage on a steamer for the southern coast of Alaska. At the little town of Juncan we left the steamer, and made preparations to turn our backs for good upon civilizaâ tion. Our proposed route lay across the coast mountains to the headwaters of the Yukon, and thence down that Y¥ukon River to the coast is such that one might fancy Nature hacg atranged it especially for a highway through this inaccessible interior, in partial compenâ sation to man for the obstacles she has put in his way. âThe hceadwaters of the nmnetwork of streams that ultimately drain into the ¥ukon Rivers fortunately lie within about thirty miles of the sea, just on the northern or inland side of a range of mountains which runs along the southern coast of Alaska. From this point the river flows north, away from the sea, far toward the Arctic Ocean : then, suddenly changing its mind, turns n oron ommc o ovmmetnnreraten i Afs% rakiin oi mss e ianainiainits s . WSPRAnneinâs: 524 OUTIINGC PUOR west ; and finally, after traversing the whole width of Alaska, armives at the Behring Sea, its entire conrse being considerably over two thousand miles. For a considerable distance it is a broad and deep stream, so that one may go quite through the center of Alaska, from sea to sea, by crossing only thirty miles or so of land. This little geoâ graphical explanation has been made so that the plan of onr trip may be clearly understood. There are various routes actoss the coast mountains to the various heads of this river. Of these we chose that over the Chilkoot Pass, which is the shortest, although the mountains which must be thereby crossed are higher than on any of the other routes, After a few days in Juneau, making the necessary preparations, we bade . goodâbye to civilization for good, and engaged passage on a liftle tug for Dyea, a more eastward point on the coast, where we were to begin our inâ land journey. The Seorawibler, as the boat was called, had been originally deâ signed for freight, but had been pressed into the passenger service without the formality of making. alterations. A dozen men might have made themselves comfortable in her, but our load comâ prised fifty or sixty. Whey were mostly miners and prospectors, with pick, goldâ pan, and flourâsacks, striking ont for the rumored Golden Land in the inâ ferior. With one of these miners, who had prospected and mined in Alaska for many years, we enftered into an agreement to travel together as tar as he was going. De Windts party of three were on the same boat. Among the other passengers were two men who had undertaken to carcy the first reg uilar mail into the Yulkom district, and a Catholic priest bound for his mission amone the Bsquimanux on the lower tiver. We were huddled together . so closely that we perforee became speedâ ily acquainted, for although the space on the floor was large enough for all of us to sit down, there was hardly room fostretch out. . When we grew weary of chatting, however, and of listening to the sound of the water as the boat threshed its way onward, we were forced by drowsiness to sleep where we could, and soon sleepers were scattered around in the most grotesque and nncomfortâ able attitudes.. I had coveted a space SELRTENL ES Ei. on or under the little table used for eatâ ing purposes, but found that choice position fully occupied before 1 made up my mind to felire ; but I finally wedged myself into a narrow space beâ tween the boiler and the pilotâhouse, where, throughout the night, passers continually stepped on my head. Howâ ever, L slept several hours. f The system of eating is worthy of note. The table accommodated about six at a time, whereas, as 1 have menâ tioned, we were fifty or sixty in all. At each meal one or tiwo, or sometimes three, sets of passengers would be fed ; then the captain, the sailor, the Chinese gook, and the dishâwasher, atter which the rest of us got our rations, in good time. As we grew very hungry during this process, we would stand around patiently waiting our chance to slip in ; but sometimes before we had tasted the tempting liver and coffee (to say nothâ ing of the beans), we would be sumâ marily ejected by the dishâwasher, who was a very young man of dashing exâ terior and peculiar vocabulary, and who would disperse us with the assertion that y , the crew is going to eat now." The day was foggy and rainy, and the sea quite rough. âThe Lyna Canal up which we were steaming, is a long, deep, narrow fjord, from which the cold, snowy mountains to . the north rise steeply to lonely heights. On this day the fog md the precipices partly from view, giving us mostly halfâveiled glimpses, strangeâ Iy distorted. At times we saw a slim waterfall leaping down ; and Rere and there stood great broad glaciers, stretchâ ing from the clouds nearly down to the sea. These glaciers, like all that I have seen in Alaska, have wonderful purity ef eolor. âThe predominatinge tint is . a Bbeautiful robinâsâegg blue, which chamnges into pure white in the upper part, where the solid ice grades imto the fess compact frozen snow. Iheir surfaces are fantastically carvedâpinâ nacled anud turreted ; and irregular masses stand out in relief, which the imagination can transform into strange groups of figures. T hese surroundings produced upon me an uncanny sensa, tion, which I thinâk was shared by others on board. It seemed a gigantic, gloomy country, a ht abode for wild beasts and wild men, but, as one of the miners exâ pressed if, " mo place for a white man to live." #AKOM THRA G0AS5! 10 NHE COLDPEaN Ki0nNnpik. 5:5 When, toward night, we approached our destined landingâplace, the surf on the beach was too heavy to attempt getâ ting ashore, so we lay anchored during the night. About noon the next day, the captain made the first trtal at landâ ing, in a small boat, and was capsized. Then the dishâ washer made himself conspictuous by his presence of mind. * Man the lifeâboat !" he cried in such stentorian tones that one might shut his eyes and imagine himself at home in a theatre. " Man the lifeâboat ; the capâ tainâs overboard !" There was, unforâ tunately, no lfeâboat to man; and the sailor, having but just come from drivâ ing a milkâwagon in San Francisco, did not know how to row well enough to ventlire out,. Meanwhile the eaptain @rifted ashore, rishted mis boat, and pulled out to the Srâawmbd/ie> again. Shortly afterward we all debarked, and that night we pitched our tent on land. The place is called Dyea:; there is a small tradingâpost, kept by a white man, around which is gathered a village of Indians or Siwash, belonging to the Clilkoot tribe. "They are by no means illâlooking people. "The men are strone and well formed ; the women (natur ally, when one considers their mode of lMte) ate inferior to the men in good looks. These women have a habit of paintinge their faces uniformly black with a mixture of soot and grease, a covering which is said to prevent snowâ blindness in the winter and to be a profection in sumimer against the mos. quitoes. Some have only the upper part of their faces painted, and the black part terminates in a straight line, givineg the effect of a halftâmask. At the time of our arrival the Indians were engaged very busily in catchinge and dfying small fish, These fish are very oily, and when dried can be lighted at one end and used as candles ; and for this purpose they are stored away against the long winter night. Early next morning we were on the trail for the pass. The trip from salt water to the head of the navigable waters of the Yukon is usually made in two stages, cach of about filfteen miles. âThe trader at PDyea had brought in a few horses, and we engaged him to transport on campâoutfit and provisions over the first stage, where the trail, though rough,. can be sonme over by packâaniâ mals Some of the miners, however, HHH ie Geadd in lat ht eleat en es uc secaprite ts Wikidiioee ooo icarnendimabionkt t c o a tz onl Nee w ies cidiinie engaged Indians immediately at Dyea to pack the whole distance ; and, as it afterward proved, this was the wiser plan. We could also have obtained sadâ dlcâanimails, but our party preferred to walk for the sake of getting toughened for the harder journeys. The trip turned out to be excepâ tonally fatigning, a farge part Of the distance being through sand and loose gravels in the bed of a stream, where it was impossible to find a firm footing ; several times also we had to wade the stream. "The valley along whose bottom we were thus traveling was narrow and canyonâlike, with steep bare mountains rising high on either side. The tops of these mountains, so far as we could see, were capped with ice ; and this great glacier stretched out long fingers down into the valley along each of the gulehes or recesses in the mountatoâwall. | Finally, crossing the tiver a last time on a fallen tree, we folâ lowed the trail up into the more rocky and difficult portion of the valley ; and some miles of this brought os, thor oughly tired, to our haltingâplace. A few miles before reaching this place I overtook one of the miners, who, with his two companions or " pardners," had started to pack over a part of their outht themselves. HMe was a stalwart young lrishman, but the load of sevenâ tyâfive pounds or thereabouts and the diffienltics of the road had exhausted him, although he had outstripped by several miles his less robust companions. After a rest, however, he was able to get to the camp, where we ate together a supper proportioned in amount to the trials we had undergone. We had brought with us from Juneau Aaumber for the purpose of puilding a boat when we should get across the pass into the Yukon waters, but the Indians demanded such high wages for carrying it over that it was left at Dyea, the more readily since there was a rumor that some white men had taken a small sawâmill across the pass in the winter and were now engaged in sawâ ing lumber at one of the lakes on the other side. In order to make sure, howâ ever, Wiborg, the miner who accompaâ mied us, started in advance actoss the pass early the next morning, taking with him an Indian, while we lay in camp till he should send the Indian back with news from the other side. 5260 We profited by the delay to climb up to the face of the glacier which overâ hung the camp. Theclimb up the monnt. ain side was difficult, there being a conâ stant succession of cliffs, the rocks of which had been so severely wrenched by glacial action that it was not safe to trust to them for handhold or foothold ; so that we depended mainly on the stout bushes or young saplings which grew in the ecrevices and on the benches. âThese trees averaged fifteen or twenty feet in lengthâI say length, for most of them grew straight out horizontally, and some even had a downâhill inclinaâ tion ; this was evidently the result of the weight of snow and ice moving dowhn hil l over theim for a largece part of the yeat. We were well paid for our trouble on freaching the glagcier, w hich exâ panded be â fore our eyes as we drew wmearer. . If was of pufre blue ice, exâ tre m e 1 be antifu 1; and its front 10se perpenâ dicularly for several hunâ dred feet. A deep chasm separated it from us as we stood on the summit of a pinnacle of batre trock, a few hnudred feet away ; and as we looked across we saw great irregular clefts and caverns of the deepâ est blue, guarded by slender towers. Curther up the great blue white field stretched till lost to sight in the mists of the mountain, its surface seamed and cracked and obstructed by Rhuge, irresâ wlar mounds, se as to be apparent!ly impassable. I have seen few things more awe inspiring than this great iceâ feld, this vast, pure, chaotic silence. As we sat we noticed a very slender spire of ice quite near which seemed as if it must topple. After awhile it began to aggravate us that it would not, so we began shooting at it with the repeating LAKE BENNETT. dUTrINe »Oox sEPTEMNRER rifle which we had brought along, firing a number of shots in frapid suecession for the purpose of knocking it over. âThis we did not succeed in doing, but when we got back to camp we found that our shots had ereatly exceited the Indians who were camped near by, and who imagined that we were quarreling with one of the great bears found in these motrntains. "Ihe idea of a sensible being shooting at a picce of ice is not readily grasped by the savage mind. From Sheep Camp, where we were, the only way to get our supplies over the pass was to get Indians to carry them,. Although these Indians are no strongser than average white men, yet they greatly excel t ie m in âpoint ~of endurance; and they willâ ingly underâ go extreme fatigue . tor an y limited period. A t this time, however, the trail was so bad, on acâ gount of the softening of the snows in the hot June s @u,. t h a t they concludâ ed to strilke for bigs her wages. This was the cause of some little delay for us, for most of the men in camp were opposed to yielding, especially the iminers, who represented that the increased cost would inconvenience them consider. ably, Soâ began a siege on both sides ; we amnmnounced our intention to the Indians of staying in this pleasant place for a month or two, and both in 6ur camp and in that of the Siwashes the most ostentatious carelessness preâ vailed.. Late in the day this state of altairs was interrupted by the action of one small party of miners, who were anxious to get at the gold which they imagined lying around thick!y in some interior gulch, waiting for the first comer to pick it up, and so went secretly to the other camp and compromised rv n mmger smmmmmmennmntime w memcugesâ ââ FKOM THE COASsT TO THE GOLDEN KLONDIK E. LOOKING with them. We were informed of this by a series of wild whoops from the Siwashes, as they poured over the hill and into cur camp. Our first thought was that it was a hostile attack, but we were reassured when we saw them begin to parcel out the goods belonging to the UP LAKE LINDERMAN, miners. It happened that these men were the very ones who had so s trongly urged holdmcr out against the mcrea:ed prlce and as it took all the available Indians to carry their outfit over, we were delayed a couple of days by tf 4 is. Finally, however, we secured packers, f LOOKING DOWN DYEA INLET,. P CC wl ) Eomcs . in litin s 38 4 ioh M m < w o B hom fad ud t ds 5¢ ma Aot 24 hop 37 P B y B tm X ] nmemare e Fexss es ©oUZIINc FOR and one afternoon they announced their intention of starting across the pass â tor they are very independent about such matters, and will wait indefinite periods till the weather or their humeor is satisfactory. Unlike the civiltzed man, the Indian has plenty of time ; he is never in a hurry. Once we saw the Siwash safely started with their packs, weset onut ourselves, at about six oâ clock in the afternoon. At this time of year the trip is usually timed by the Indians so that the deepâ est snow will be crossed between twelve oâclock at midnight and three in the morning ; for in these hours a crust forms, which in daytime is softened by the warm sun. Our way soon led us on to a glacierâlike field of snow, which often sounded hollow to our feet as we trod, and at intervals we could hear the water rushing beneath. "The grade beâ came steep, and the fog closed around us thickly, joimning with the fwilight of the Alaska Itine night to make a peculiar obscurity which gave things a weird, ghostly appearamee. As we toiled up the steep incline of hard ened sumuow, those ahead of us lTooked litke hitge glants; while those on whom we looked down were usly, sprawling dwarfs, toiling up the mountâ ain side like HMHendrik Hudsonâs sailor, whom luckless Rip Van Winkle met. As we dfew nmnear to one another, our faces seemed a pale blue color, though very clearly seen ; and we leff bright blue footprints on the pale snow. Preseutly we saw a fire a lIMttle way above the trail, and climbing up to it found a deafâandâdumb Indian and his squaw or " klutehman," who were dryâ ing their moccasins before a fire made out of a few stunted bushes. Me cxâ plained to us by signs that the trail was dangerous, aud that it was too dark to see clearly. So we wailted till midnight, when another Indian, one of our packers, came up, and we started out on the trail again. All the rest of the climb was over snow, the ascent being very steep, with cliffs on all sides, which loomed up gigantic and ghostly. It is impossible to desceribe the effect produced by these bare, jagged rocks fising ont of the snow.âfield, in the silence, the fog, and the twilight. We were forcibly reâ minded of some of Doréâs imaginative drawings. In the course of the ascent SA RREATE EL /X Goodrich and myself found ourselves abead of the party, who followed the Indian, toiling along under his pack. After a while the wellâbeaten trafl faded to almost nothing, and at the same time the snowâslope became of excessive steepmess. We were obliged to kick footholds for every step on a surface so smooth and steep that a slip would have sent us sliding into depths which we could not see. Looking down, it seemed a bottomless pit, shapeless and fathomless, in the eddying fog. Aiftet a while we gained the top, and waited till the rest should come np. When they appeared, we were surprised to find that they came from a somewhat different direction ; and we found on inâ quiry that we had neglected to turn off with the regular tsairl, which led in a roundabout way through the rocks, with a rope for handhold and safety, and had instead kept straight up the mountâ ain to the top. On the other side of the summit a short but steep declivity led down to a small frozen lake, named by the miners Efater Lake, on account of the steep craterâlike walls wihich surround it on three sides. (O)n one side, however, this wall opeus out tuto a valley, throngh which a small stream runs ; the lake is, theretore, one of the ultimate sources of the Y¥ukon, and it was with a feeling of relict that we stepped npon its frozen surface. § From here our way lay down the streamâvalley and across little lakes into wineh the stream broadened out at inâ tervals Sometimes we walked over the streatm on an archway of snow and ice, and again trod cautiously along its banks, while the river, broken loose from its covering, ftan turbulently beâ tween its icy banks. âThe upper lakes were frozen, but further down we had to wade kneeâdeep in slush for miles, putting occasionally a foot through the sotten tee beneath ; and fAinally ive were obliged to skirt along the shore, which was precipitous. â During the last few miles it rained and snowed alter» nately.. Fimally, at nine o clock at night, we reached the shore of Lake Linder man, the Arstâot the Y¥ukonâs navigable waters. § Linderman is a pretty little lake sevâ eval miles in length, and pattly shut in by the high, snowâcapped mountains over which we had come. Here we FRKoOd 1B LQOAS! T0 1/E FouLnenN ALEQOnNnNDLKRLE, 529 found Wiborg waiting for us under a shelter made of trees, and presently the Indian who was carrying our tent came along, aud we proceeded to make onrâ selves as comfortable as possible, after some fime spent in settling affairs with our packers, The endurance of these people is shown by the fact that they made this very fatiguing trip, with loads averaging over a hundred pounds each, in the same time as ourselves who carâ fied little or nothine. These Indians all have some English name, which they have sot from the mission, where they hang around when there is anything to be zot by it I find in my notes * Tom credited with carâ rying one hundred and ten pounds of meat, anud " im with one hundred and sixtyâone pounds of sundrics, | Tomâs original name was Kukâshon, and he elaimed to be a chief of the interlof, or Stick, Indians. He spent his spare time during the short space of my acquaintâ ance with him inf daubing vermilion atound his lett eye. Before starting across the pass he painted the rest of his face black with soot and grease, but carefully left the red around his eye.; and this ornamentation, together with a smile, which I think bhe meant to be enâ gaging, and which he offered on all ocâ casions as a substitute for conversation, made him a particularly villainousâlookâ ing personace. Amoug the packers were also a number of women. WThese were mostly ugly old hags, and many of them plainly suffered greatly from fatigue; yet their patient endurance was femarkable. It seeims to fall to the fot of the old womer, among these people, to do the hardest work ; but men, women and children are schooled to earrty heavy burdens. We met on the trail a whole family packing, cattyâ ing out a sort of contract mwyith some of the mmimers. Ihe man carried one hunâ dred and tmwentyâseven pounds, a boy of thirteen carried one hundred pounds, and the squaw and little girls had heavy loads. BEven the dog, about the size of a setter, carried forty pounds, with which he waddled along patiently enough. We had some very slight perplexity in settling accounts. (One woman, who started across the pass as lenmnny, turned up as Sally at Lake Linderman, having evidently made up her mind to change her name on the way ; and as she underâ stood no word of English we had a momentary difficulty in identifying bher. She and her friends seemed to haye some inklinge of political principles, for they all wanted to be paid in silver, and distrusted gold, while it was with difâ ficulty that they could be induced to acâ cept hills. Nearly all of these people on being paid started immediately back over the trail, without resting, intending to travel all night, and be in Bbheep Camp in the morning ; and this after they had already been twenty âfoutr hours on the road. Wiborg had succeeded in obtaining for us a boat already built, which saved a great deal of time, as it talkes about two weeks to whipsaw lumber and build a boat, as minets usually do. The next morning, therefore, we loadâ ed our outhit and sailed down Lake Linâ derman with a fair wind. âThe boat was a small, double â ender, flat â bottomed ctaft, fifteen feet ofr so in length, and open to sin and rain altke. Bor a sail we used our tentâfly, an article which was put to many important uses in the golrse of out trip, but never to that for which it was originally intended. De Windtâs party followed us in a similar boat ; and with De Windt came the priest whom we had encountered on the Scramblerâa genial and cultured gentleman, whose lhoht heart kept him from being long altected by the phys. ical discomforts we were all obliged to undergo. To complete the NMotilla, there was a small scow, of rather shaky conâ struction, which had just been comâ pleted by a party bound for the Ameriâ can mimus camp of Cirele City ; tims party was tremarkable for containing one of the fair sex, who seemed as well fitted as the men to make the jJourney sumecesstully. In after days we met the partty repeatedly as we all fNloated down the river, the lady always sitting in the front of the scow and six or seven men behind, all wearing flowing veils as deâ fence against the mosquitoes, and wayâ ing branches for the same purpose; and we lkened her to Cleopatra, im her barge. Just after startinge, Coopet, a frontiersman who was with De Windtâs party, sighted a mountainâgoat close to the shore, and shot at it, but failed to bring it down. The lake down which we sailed is only a few miles long ; at its fool it commects with a larger body of water, called Lake Bennett, by a short but rapid and dangerâ $ss DUTING FOR sEPTEMBERK CLEOPATRAâ$ BARGE. ous channel. For such places as this we had brought along a hundred and fifty feet of strong line ; and after unloading our outfit at the head of the rapids, leavâ ing only a few light things which would not be damaged by water, we attached the line to the bow of the boat, and let it drop down with the current. Wiborg remained on board to steer, for if a boat sheers or yaws when going over rapids, she is likely to careen and capsize. We three greenhorn geologists held the line, with which we waded in the shallower parts of the current, and scampered over EMBARKING, LAKE LINDERMAN. FROM THEXCOAST TO THE GCOLDEN KLONDIK E: 531 the rocks and cliffs where the water was deep and swift, letting run or holding firm, as Wiborg signaled. These rapids are among the most difficult to pass of all those on the Yukon, and it is cusâ tomary for miners to go below them beâ fore building their boats; so the process of lining our boat down was not devoid of excitement. Any tendency to overâ heating as a consequence of exertion was, however, counteracted by our havâ ing to wade in iceâwater up to the waist, We had unwisely put on rubber boots reaching to the hips, and strapped to the belt ; these soon got full of water, the weight of which was so great that it was hardly possible to walk, so I was obliged to take advantage of a lull in the proceedâ ings to stagâ ger as hore and inake frantic atâ ftempts fo stand on my he ad, t i l1 most of the water. C a n out o f . my boots down my back, and so made me capable of freer moveâ ment.. We were finally successin!, however, and tire : y o at shipped very Hiittle water, thanks to Wiborgâs manceuvring. Afterâ ward we named our craft the Séookuim Pete, as a compliment to the cool and determined Norwegianâséookum being a Chinook word signifying strength and daring, together with other qualities necessary to a man who lives in the woods. Peteâs modesty, however, made him erase his own name from the legend, so that the boat was, and is, if she still exist in the possession of the Indian who finally obtained her, simply the Skookum, and as such she must go down in history. The weather was cool, and our bath in iceâwater none of the most agreeable; we were thoroughly dried, however, beâ fore we finished the remainder of our task, which was to carry the outfit, we had unloaded at the head of the rapids, across the portage, which was threeâ quarters of a mile in length. We had about twelve hundred pounds in all. For this work I had brought specially made packsacks from Minnesota, where I had used and thoroughly tested them; they consisted of a canvas bag with broad shoulderâstraps of leather, and a still broader one to go across the foreâ head or the top of the head. This latter band, cailed the " tumpâstrap " in Minâ nesota, is mostly used to sustain the weight of the articles carried in the sack, the shoulderâstraps being mainly for steadying the load, and occasionally relieving the strain upon the neck. The Alaskan Indians carry packs in much ~._the _ sam s way, but use straps which they fasten to the article to be carried; w irth o ut packsacks, however, they were much pleasâ ed, and all anxious to be allowed t o carry them, in preference to more diffiâ cult bundles, mâthe tripg across tne pass. â With * $ AT SHEEP CAMP, this apparaâ tus a man can carry for half a imile or more a weight far greater than he can lift to his back unaided. When we had finished packing, we lighted a fire on the beach and cooked supper ; and presently we rolled ourâ selves in our blankets, lay down in the sand under the clear sky, and slept soundly. As the wind was blowing smartly, we piled some of our proviâ sions up as a windâbreak; toward morning the wind freshened and topâ pled over a portion of this wall. I was awakened rudely by a bag of flour fallâ ing upon my stomach ; and it took me fully five minutes to recall where I was, and how and why I came there. There was a fresh breeze blowing fair down the lake, so we soon got under zes apmadied nomare e» \
\u00E2 { 1932 OUTING FOR SEPTEMBER. way, and with our little tentâfly as a sail we went mertiây skimming along. "Ihe further we went, however, the harder the wind blew, and the rougher became the water, so that when about halfâway down the lake we made a landing to esâ cape a heavy squall. After dinner, it seemed from our snug little cove as if the wind and waves had abated, and so âmwe put out again. On getting well away from the sheltering shore we found it sougher thau ever ; but while we wefe eating dinner we had seen Cleopatraâs barge go past, its square bows nearly buried in foaming water, and had seen it apparently run ashore on the opposite side of the lake, some miles further down. Once out, thereâ fore, we steered for the place where the scow had been beached, for the purpose of giving aid if any were mecessaty. n the run over we shipped water reâ peatedly over both bow and stern, and sometimes were in imiminent danger of swamping, but by skillful handling we gaiued the shelter of a little nook about half a mile from the open beach on which the scow was lying, and landed. We then walked along the shore to the scow, and we found them all right, they having beached their ecraft voluntarily, on account of the froughnmess of the water. However, we had had about enough navigation for one day, so we did not again venture out. Presently another little boat came seudding down the lake through the white water, and shot in alongside of the Skookum. It was a party of minersâthe young Irishâ man whom I had overtaken on the trail to Sheep Camp, and mis three â parcdâ ners.* It was not an ideal spot where we all camped, beimne simply a steep rocky slope at the foot of elffis. When the time, caime to sleep we had some ditâ feulty in finding places smooth and leve! enough to lie down comfortably, but fnally all were scattered, around here and there in various places of conâ cealment among the rocks. I had clearâ ed a space close under a big bowlder, of exactly my length and breadth (which does not imply any great labor), and with my head muffled in my blankets, was beâ ginning to doze, when I heard stealthy footsteps creeping toward me. As I lay, these sounds were muffled and magâ mifed in the marvelons quiet of the Alaskan night (although the sun was still shiming), so that I could not judge of the size or distance of the ammal. Soon it goft quite close to me, and I could hear it seratching at something ; then it seemed to be investigating my matches, knmife and compass. Finally wideâawake, and somewhat startled, I sat up suddenly and threw the blanket from my face, and looked for the maâ rauding animal. I found himâin the shape of a saucy little gray mouse, that stared at ime in amazement for a moâ ment, and then seampered into his hole under a bowlder. AsI had no desire to have the impudent little fellow lunching on me as I slept, I plugged the hole with stonmes before I lay down again. Some of the same animals came to visit Sechrader in his bedchamber, and milbâ bled his cars so that they were sore for some time. As the gale continued all the next day without abatement, we profited by the enforced delay to climb the high mountain which rose precipitously above us, for this lake is shut in on all sides by a rock wall. And apropos of this climb, it is remarkable what differâ enee one finds in the appearance of a bit of country when simply surveyed from a single point and when actually traveled over., BEspecially is this true in the mountains. Broad slopes which appear to be perfectly easy to traverse are in reality cut up by narrow and deep canyons, impossible to cross; what seems to be a trifling bench of frock, half a mile bp the mountain, grows into a perâ pendicular cliff a hundfed feet high beâ fore one reaches it :; and pretty gray streaks become gulches filled with great angular rock fragments, so loosely laid one over the other that at each careful step one is in fear of starting the whole mighty avalanche, and of being buried under rock enough to build a city. Owâ ing to difficultiecs like these, it was near supperâtime when we gained the top of the main mountainârange. As far as the eye could see, in all directions, there rose a wilderness of barren peaks, covered with snow ; while in one direction lay a desolate, lifeless tableâland, shut in by higher mountains. Below and near us lay gulches and canyons of magnificent depth, and the blue waters of one of the arms of Lake Bennett appeared, just lately free from ice. Above us rose a still higher peak, covered with deep smow, steep, and difficalt of access ; and 6g PFROXM TIHE COASLI T0 THE COLDEN KLONDIICE. 533 this the lateness of the hour prevented us from attempting. Next day and the next the wind was as high as ever; but the enforced waitâ ing became finally too tedious, and we started out, the four miners having preâ ceded us by about half an hour. (Once out of the shelter of the projecting point, we found the gale very strong and the chop disagreeable. We squared of and fan before the wind for the opposite side of the lake, driving ahead at a good rate under our little rag of a sail. Although the boat was balanced as evenly as possible, every minute or two we would take in water, sometimes over the bow, sometimes the stern, sometimes amidships. I have in my mind a very vivid picture of that scene : Wiborg in the stern, steering intently and carefully; Goodrich and Schrader forward, sheets in hand, attending the sail, and myself stretched flat on my face across the provision sacks, in order not to make the boat topâheavy, and bailing with the fryingâpan. On nearâ ing the lower shore we noticed that the boat containing the miners had run into the breakers, and presently one of the men came tunning along the beach, signaling to us. Fearing that (they were in trouble, we made shift to land, although it was no easy task on this exposed shore:; and we then learned that they had kept too near the beach, had drifted into the breakers and been swamped, but had all safely landed. Three of our party went to give assistâ ance in hauling the boat out of the water, while I remained behind and fried the bacon for dinner. After dinâ ner we concluded to wait again before atteimpting the next stage, picked out soff places in the sand and sltuimbered. When we awoke we found the lake perâ fectly calm and smooth, and lost no time in getting under way. On this day we depended for our motive power solely on the oatrs, and we found the results so satisfactory that we kept up the practice steadily hundreds of miles. Below Lake Bennett came WTagish Lake, beautiful and calm, and walled in by mountains. Its largest arm is fjordâ like, and is famous for heavy gales, whenee it has been given the name of Wiudy Arm; but as we passed it we could searcely distinguish the line of division between the mountains in the air and those reflected in the sea, so completely at rest was the water. At the lower part of the lake, where we camped, we found the first habitation since lceaving the coast. Here was a party of natives, belonging to the Tagish tribe; a handful of wretched, halfâstarved creatures, who scatter in the summer season for hunting and fishing, but return always to this place, where they have constructed rude habiâ tations of wood for winter use. We bought from these people a large pike, which formed a very agreeable change from bacon, beans and slapâjacks. After passing out of this lake we enâ tered another, appropriately called by the miners, Mud Lake ; it is very shalâ low, with muddy bottom and shores. On this lake we found camping disaâ greeable, for on account of the shallowâ ness we conld not bring our father heavily laden boat quite up to the shore ; but were obliged to wade kneeâdeep in soft mud for a rod or two before finding even moderately solid ground. About this time also we experienced the first sharp taste of the terrible Alasâ kan mosquitoâor it might be more corâ rect to feverse the statement, and say that. the mosquitoes experienced their first taste of us. At the lower end of Tagish Lake they suddenly attacked us in swarms, and remained with us steadâ ily till near the time of our departure from the Territory. We had heard seyâ eral times of the various difficulties and bardslimps to be encountered in Alaska, before venturing on this trip ; but, as is offten the case, we found that these acâ counts had left a rather unduly magniâ fied image of the difficulties in our imagâ inations, as compared with our actual experionces. In this generalization the mosqitito must be excepted., I do not think any deseription or adjectives can exaggerate the discomfiort and even torture produced by these pests, at their wofst, for they stand peerless among their kind, so far as my experience goes, and that of others with whom I have talked, for wickedness unalloyed. Out of Mud Lake we floated into the river again, and slipped easily down between sandâbanks. Ducks and geese were very plentiful along here, and we practiced ifeessantly on them with the rifle, without, however, doing any noâ ticeable execution. On the second day we knew we must be near the famous ganyon and rapids of the Lewes ; and and present. 534 one of our party was put on watch, in order that we might know of its whereabouts before the swift eurrent should sweep us into ift, all heavily loaded as we were.. The rest of us rowed, steered, and admired the beanâ tfiful tints of the hills, now recedinug from the fiver, now coming close. Presently we Reard a gentle snore trom the lookout, who was comfortably setâ tled among the flourâsacks in the bow ; this proved to us that our conficGence had been misplaced, and all hands imâ mediately became alert. Soon after we noticed a bit of fted flannel fAnttering ffom a tree projecting over the banmk, doubtless a part of some travelerâs shirt sacrificed in the cause of humanity ; and by the time @UIINC FrFoR sEFPVBEBMEBEER the water was very high and turbulent ; and they thought best to run the boats through themselves. Ourown boat was selected to be experimented with ; most of the articles which were easily damâ ageable by water were taken out, leayâ ing perhaps cight hondred pounds. I went as passenger sitting in the bow, while the two old frontiersmen managed paddles and oars. Rowing out from the shore we were sucked immediately into the gorge,. and went dashing through at a rate which I thought could not be less than twenty miles an hour. Sogreat is the body of water confined between these perpendicular walls, and so swilt is the stream, that its surface becomes convex, being considerably higher in the center of the channel! we had pullâ ed into the shore woee could see the waters of the river go swirling and froating into a sudden Hatrrow canâ y oa, with high, perpenâ dicular walls. We found the patty of miners â alâ ready landed, {y. as y e waited on the bank and reâ connoitred , De Windt s party came up, and not long after Cleoâ patra, with bher barge and tetinue ; so that we wetre about twenty in all. Wiâ borg and De Windtâs guide, Cooper, were the only ones who had had expeâ rience in this matter, so all depended on their judgment, and walited to see, the results of their efforts before riskâ ing anything themselves. In former years all travelers made a portage around this yery diffiealt place, hauling their boats over the hill with a rude kind of windlass ; but a man havâ ing been accidentally sucked into the canyon came out of the other end all right, which emboldened others. In this case Wiborg and Cooper decided that the canyon could be run, although INDIAN GRAVE AT PELLY. POST. than on the sides. Waves rushing in every direeâ tion are also gemerated, tforming. a very puzzling chop.. "Tavo or three of these waves prese ntly boarded . us, so that I was thorousgs h 1y wet, and then came a broad glare of sunâ Hebt as we e uve r goe d from the first half of the camyon into a sort of cauldton which ltes about in its center,. Here we were twisted about by eddying currents for a few seconds, and then precipitated, half sidewise, into the canyon again. Tâhis fatter half turned ont to be the rougher part, and our bow dipped reâ peatedly into the waves, till I found imyself sitting in water, and the bow, where most of the water remained, sagging alarmingely. It seemed as if another ducking would sink us. T lis fortunately we did not get, but steered safely through the final swirl to smooth water. During all this trip I had not looked up once, although as we shot by we heard faintly a cheer from the rocks above, where our companions were. ) + 536. ($ J \n SsCoOow Weston. *soOMEEIMES THEYCY sAw ONLYyY THE BOFFOM OF THE Painted for OUTING by J. L. 536 . ouiive FEex Next day, after a night rendered alâ most unbearable by mosquitoes, we arose to face the difficulties of the White Horse Rapids, which lie below the canyon proper, and are still more forâ midable, Here the river contracts again, and is confined between perpenâ dicular cliffs of basalt. . The channel is full of projecting rocks, so that the whole surface is broken, foaming and tossing, and there are many strong conâ flicting currents and eddiecs At the end of these rapids, which extend for a quitter of a mile or so, is a natrow gorge in the rocks, through which the whole volume of water is forced. This is said to be only twenty or thirty feet wide, although at the time of our passâ ing the water was sufficiently high to flow over the top of the enclosing walls, thus concealing the actual width of the chute. Through this the water plunges at a tremendous velocity âprobably thirty miles an hourâforming roaring, foaming, tossing, lashing waves which somehow make the name White Horse seem appropriate. Above the beginning of the rapids we unloaded our boat, and carefully lowered it down by ropes, keeping it close to the shore, and out of the resistless main current. After having safely landed it, with considerable trouble, below the chute, we carried our outfit (about twelve hundred pounds) to the same point. De Windtâs boat, and that belonging to the miners, were safely gotten through in the same way, all hands helping in turn. When it came to Cleopatraâs barge, it was the general opinion that it would be impossible to lower it safely, for its square shape gave the eurrent such a gfip that it seemed as if no available strength of rope or man could hold out against it. As carrying the boat was out of the question, the only alternative was to boldly run it through the rapids, in the middle of the channel; and this naturally hazardous undertaking was rendered more difficult by the frail conâ struction of the scow, which hadâbeen built of thin lumber by unskilled hands. The royal setinme did not cate to make the venture themselves, but finally preâ vailed upon Wiborg and Cooper to make the trial. Reflectinge that at any future time I might be placed in similar difficulties, in this nnknown connutry, and thrown upon my own resourcees, I resolved to SELIEERNTE EIR. accompany them, for the sake of finding out how the thing was done ; but I was ruled out of active service by Wiborg, who, however, consented finally to my going along as a passenger. Two of the scowâs own crew were drafted to act as oarsmen, and we pushed out, Cooper stecering, and Wibortg in the bow, ironâshod pole in hand, fending off from threatening rocks ; and in a secâ ond we were dancing down the boiling rapids, tossed hither and thither like a cork. I sat facimg the bow, opposite the oarsman, who tugged frantically away, white as death; behind me Cooperâs paddle flashed and twisted rapidly, as we dodged by rocks projectâ ing from the water, sometimes escaping them by only a few inches, where a colâ lision would have smashed us to chips. The rest of the party, waiting below at the chute, said that sometimes they saw only the bottom of the scow, and someâ times looked down on it as if from above. As we neared the end, Cooperâs skillful paddle drove us straight for the center, where the water formed an actâ ual fall ; this was the most turbulent spot, but the safest, for on either side, afew feet away, there was danger of grazing the shallow underlying rocks. As we trembled on the brink, I looked up and saw our friends standing close by, looking much concerned. A moment later there was a dizzying plunge, a blinding shower of water, a sudden dashing, too swift for observaâ tion, past rock walls ; and then Wiborg let out an exultant yell ; we were safe. At that instant one of the oarsmen snapped his oar, an accident which would have been serious a moment before. On the shore below the rapids we found flourâsacks, valises, boxes and splintered boards, mementoes of poor fellows less lucky than ourselves. We camped at the mouth of the Tahâ keena River that night, and arrived the next day at Lake Labarge, the last and longest of the series. When we reached it at one o clock ifts watet was calm and still ; and although it is nearly forty imiles in length, we decided to keep on without stopping till we reached the other side, for fear of strong winds such as had delayed us on Lake Bennett. De Windtâs party concluded to do the same, and so we rowed steadily all night, after having fowed all day. About two o clock in the morning a FAKoll THZE COA8ST To THE COLDBEN RLUONDLIKIE: favorable wind sprung up suddenly, and increased to a gale. At this time we beâ came sepatated from the other boats, which kept somewhat close to the shore, while we, with a fag of a sail, stood straight across the lake for the outlet. As seon as we stopped rowing I could not help falling asleep, although much against imy will, for ous position was neither comfortable nor secure; and thus I dozed and woke half a dozen times beâ fore landing. After landing, we found difficulty in sleeping, on account of the swarms of hungry mosquitoes, and so we soon loaded up again. Below Lake Labarge the journey was comparatively easy., The skies were always clear and blue, and the stream had by this time ftmcreased to a fordly fiver, growing larger by continual acâ cessions of new tributaries. It is dotted with many small islands, which are covered with a dense growth of everâ green trees. Om the sides of the valley are oftéen long, smooth terraces, perâ fectly carved, and smoothly grassed, so as to present almost an artificial aspect. From tins sort of country are sudden changes to a more bold and picturesque type, so that at one time the river flows swittly through high gates of purple rock rising steeply for hundreds of feet, and in a moment more emerges into a wide low valley. The clifts are someâ times carved into butfresses or pin nacles, which overlook the walls, and apâ pear to form part of a gigantic and imâ pregnable castle, on the top of which the dead spruces stand out against the skyâlike spires and flagâstaves. Usually on one side or the other of the river is low, fertile land, where is a profusion of shrubs, vines, and flowers. In the melâ fow twilight, which lasts for two of three hours in the middle of the night, one can see nearly as far and as disâ tinctly as by day, but everything takes on an unteal air. This is something like a beautiful sunset effect further south, but is evenly distributed over all objects in the landscape. At about ten oâeclock the coloring becomes exqmisite, when the bhalf â light brings out the violets, the purples, and exquisite shades of yellow and brown in the rock, in conâ trast with the green of the vegetation. We had some difficulty in finding suitâ able campingâ places in this country. One night, I remember, we ran fifteen miles after our usual caimping â Rhour, 337 with cliffs on one side of the river and low thickets on the other. Three times we landed on small islands, in a tangle of vines and roses ; and as many times were driven off by the innumerable mosquitoes. Finally, we found a strip of shore about ten feet wide, between the water and the thickets, sloping at a considerable angle, and there made shift to spend the night. There are two. places below the White Horse Rapids, where the channel is so narrowed or shallowed that rapids are formed. At the first of these, called the Five Finger Rapids, the river is parâ tially blocked by high islets of conâ glomerate, which cut up the stream into five chiet portions. Although the cï¬ sent in each of these "Angers is rapid, and the water rough, yet we found no difficulty in runoning through without removing any part of the loads, alâ though one of the boats shipped a little | water. When we arrived at the second rapids, which are called the Rink Rapâ ids, and are not far below the Five Finâ gers, we were relieved to find that, owing to the fullness of the river, the tough water, which in this case is caused by a shallowing of the stream, was smoothed down, and we passed through, close to the shore, with no more trouble than if we had been floating down a lake. Dutring our whole trip the country through which we passed was singularâ ly lonely and uninbhabited. Atter leayâ ing the few huts on Tagish Lake, which 1 have mentioned, we saw a few Inâ dians in a summer camp on Lake Laâ barge ; and this was all till we got to the junction of the Lewes and Pelly Rivers, over three hinrndved miles from (Fagish Lake. At Pelly we found a log tradingâpost, with a single white man in charge, and a feoew Indians. There were also, three miners, who had met with a misfortune, and were disconsoâ late enough. They bhad started up the Pelly River with a two years onthit, inâ tending to remain and prospect for that period, but at some rapid water their boat bad been swamped and all their provisions lost. "They had managed to burna off logs enough to make a rait, and in that way had floated down the river to the post, living in the meantime on some flour which they had been Incky enough to pick up after the wreck. Although there are very tew people in the country, one is continually surprised 538 cuUZIINC PFOR sSsEAPTIERNMNBEER at first by perceiving a solitary white tent standing on some prominent point or cliff which overlooks the fiver. At first this looks very cheerful, and we sentmany a hearty hail across the water to such Rabitations ; but our calls were never answered, for these are not the dwellings of the living, but of the dead. Iuside each of these tents, which are ordinarily made of white cloth, though sometimes of woven matting, is a dead Indian, and neay him are®laid his rifle, snowâshoes, ornaments and other personâ al effects., I do not think the custom of leaving these articles at the grave imâ plies any belief that they will be used by the dead man in another world, but simply stgnifies that he will have no more use for the things which were so dear and necessary to him in lifeâjust as, among ourselves, articles which have been used by some dead friend are henceeforth laid aside and used no longâ er. VThese dwellinges of the dead are alâ ways put in prominent positions, comâ manding as broad and fair a view as can bhe obtained. Aft Pelly we saw several Indian graves which were surâ sounded by hewn palings, rudely and fantastically painted, and some by poles. Below Pelly we found no settled habâ itations till we reached a considerable village of the Rlundek or Clondike Inâ dians. These people were watching very eagerly for the appearance of the salmon that came up the river every year from the sea to spawn ; and at the fime of theit comine the Indian lays in a large part of his yearâs foodâsupâ ply, hunting them with spear and club ffom a birch canmoe, so narrow and so light that the operation seems a marvel of skill. On account of the swift current of the river, the canoes used by these nmatives are very narrow and shallow, having some suggestion of a facing, shellun their lines, and they are difficult to manceuvre. The day after passing the Klundek village we arrived at the miningâcamp of Forty Mile. We had reached the edge otfhe Rlondike. Our next effort would beke see the sold producing country about which we had heard so much. AN ARM OF THE DYVEA GLACIER. «l it pppnmamruer apeaApirarnmoanen nas oggan ooiaget aameie s > § & msoavmnes Painted for OUTING by the late Hermann Simon, A VANCOUVER SALMON.: mss & remmirenommmmrmmmmmaneaizns s Smsscz NT cmssls xd > ces Fomman zemess
Clippings; Periodicals
Yukon
Alaska
English
Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Gold discoveries
Northwest, Canadian--Description and travel
Vancouver: University of British Columbia Library
New York : Outing Publishing Company
Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://rbsc.library.ubc.ca
Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush collection. RBSC-ARC-1820-01-16
From the coast to the Golden Klondike
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