Klondyke Nuggets Part 2

The total journey from Seattle to Dawson City has taken about two months. In connection with this trip from Juneau to Dawson City, it is perhaps better to give the reader the benefit of the trip of Mr. William Stewart, who writes from Lake Lindeman, May 31st, 1897, as follows:--

"We arrived here at the south end of the lake last night by boat. We have had an awful time of it. The Taiya Pa.s.s is not a pa.s.s at all, but a climb right over the mountains. We left Juneau on Thursday, the twentieth, on a little boat smaller than the ferry at Ottawa. There were over sixty aboard, all in one room about ten by fourteen. There was baggage piled up in one end so that the floor-s.p.a.ce was only about eight by eight. We went aboard about three o'clock in the afternoon and went ash.o.r.e at Dyea at seven o'clock Friday night. We got the Indians to pack all our stuff up to the summit, but about fifty pounds each; I had forty-eight pounds and my gun.

"We left Dyea, an Indian village, Sunday, but only got up the river one mile. We towed all the stuff up the river seven miles, and then packed it to Sheep Camp. We reached Sheep Camp about seven o'clock at night, on the Queen's Birthday. A beautiful time we had, I can tell you, climbing hills with fifty pounds on our backs. It would not be so bad if we could strap it on rightly.

"We left Sheep Camp next morning at four o'clock, and reached the summit at half-past seven. It was an awful climb--an angle of about fifty-five degrees. We could keep our hands touching the trail all the way up. It was blowing and snowing up there. We paid off the Indians, and got some sleighs and sleighed the stuff down the hill. This hill goes down pretty swift, and then drops at an angle of fifty-five degrees for about forty feet, and we had to rough-lock our sleighs and let them go. There was an awful fog, and we could not see where we were going. Some fellows helped us down with the first load, or there would have been nothing left of us. When we let a sleigh go from the top it jumps about fifty feet clear, and comes down in pieces. We loaded up the sleighs with some of our stuff, about two hundred and twenty-five pounds each, and started across the lakes. The trail was awful, and we waded through water and slush two and three feet deep. We got to the mouth of the canyon at about eight o'clock at night, done out. We left there that night, and pushed on again until morning. We got to the bottom of an awful hill, and packed all our stuff from there to the hill above the lake. We had about two and a half miles over hills, in snow and slush. I carried about five hundred pounds over that part of the trail. We had to get dogs to bring the stuff down from the summit to the head of the canyon.

"We worked two days bringing the stuff over from the canyon to the hill above the lake. Sat.u.r.day we worked all day packing down the hill to the lake, and came here on a scow. We were out yesterday morning cutting down trees to build a boat. The timber is small, and I don't think we can get more than four-inch stuff. It rained all afternoon, and we couldn't do anything. There are about fifty boats of all sorts on Lake Bennet, which is about half a mile from here. I have long rubber boots up to the hips, and I did not have them on coming from the summit down, but I have worn them ever since.

"We met Barwell and Lewis, of Ottawa, to-day. They were out looking for knees for their boats. They left Ottawa six weeks ago, and have not got any farther than we have. There was a little saw-mill going here, and they have their lumber sawn. We have it that warm some days here that you would fairly roast, and the next day you would be looking for your overcoat. Everybody here seems to be taking in enough food to do them a couple of years.

"We are now in Canadian territory, after we pa.s.sed the summit. I will have to catch somebody going through to Dyea to give him this letter, but I don't know how long before I can get any one going through. This is the last you will hear from me until I get down to the Klond.y.k.e."

Mr. Stewart adds: "I wrote this in the tent at 11 o'clock at night during twilight."

If you take this trip in winter, however, you have to purchase a sled at Juneau, and sled it over the frozen waterways to Dawson City.

For the benefit of my readers in Canada and for parties leaving for the great Northwest Territory for the gold fields, I take pleasure in quoting the following description of a Canadian route:--

"Canadians should awaken to the fact that they have emphatically 'the inside track' to their own gold fields, a route not half the distance, largely covered by railways and steamboats, with supply stations at convenient intervals all the way. By this route the gold-fields can be reached in two months or six weeks, and the cost of travel is ridiculously cheap--nearly anybody can afford to go even now, and by the spring it should be fitted out for the accommodation of any amount of traffic.

"The details of the information in the following article are given by Mr.

A.H.H. Heming, the artist who accompanied Mr. Whitney in his journey towards the Barren Lands, and the data may be accepted as correct, as they were secured from the Hudson Bay officials.

"The details of the inland Canadian route, briefly, are as follows: By C.P.R. to Calgary, and thence north by rail to Edmonton; from there by stage to Athabasca Landing, 40 miles; then, there is a continuous waterway for canoe travel to Fort Macpherson, at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, from which point the Peel River lies southward to the gold region. The exact figures are as follows:

MILES.

Edmonton to Athabasca Landing 40 To Port McMurray 240 Fort Chippewyan 185 Smith Landing 102 Fort Smith 16 Fort Resolution 194 Fort Providence 168 Fort Simpson 161 Fort Wrigley 136 Fort Norman 184 Fort Good Hope 174 Fort Macpherson 282 ----- Total 1882

"There are only two portages on this route of any size--that from Edmonton to Athabasca Landing, over which there is a stage and wagon line, and at Smith Landing, sixteen miles, over which the Hudson Bay Company has a tramway. There are four or five other portages of a few hundred yards, but with these exceptions there is a fine "down grade"

water route all the way. It is the old Hudson Bay trunk line to the north that has been in use for nearly a century. Wherever there is a lake or a long stretch of deep water river navigation the company has small freight steamers which ply back and forward during the summer between the portage points or shallows. With comparatively little expenditure the company or the Government can improve the facilities along the line so that any amount of freight or any number of pa.s.sengers can be taken into the gold region at less than half the time and cost that it takes Americans to reach it from Port St. Michael, at the mouth of the Yukon to the Klond.y.k.e, exclusive of the steamer trip of 2500 miles from Seattle to Port St. Michael.

"Canadians can leave here on a Monday at 11.15 A.M., and reach Edmonton on Friday at 7 P.M. From that point, a party of three men with a canoe, should reach Fort Macpherson easily in from 50 to 60 days, provided they are able-bodied young fellows with experience in that sort of travel.

They will need to take canoes from here, unless they propose to hire Indians with large birch bark canoes to carry them. Birch bark canoes can be secured of any size up to the big ones manned by ten Indians that carry three tons. But birch barks are not reliable unless Indians are taken along to doctor them, and keep them from getting water-logged. The Hudson Bay Company will also contract to take freight northward on their steamers until the close of navigation. Travellers to the gold mines leaving now would probably reach Fort Macpherson before navigation closed.

"The letter from Rev. Mr. Stringer, the missionary, published in the Spectator on July 2, shows that the ice had only commenced to run in the Peel River, which is the water route south-east from Fort Macpherson into the gold region, on September 30 last year.

"Any Canadians who are anxious to get into the Klond.y.k.e ahead of the Americans can leave between now and August 1, reach Fort Macpherson, and if winter comes on they can exchange their canoes for dog trains, and reach the Klond.y.k.e without half the difficulty that would be experienced on the Alaska route. The great advantage of the inland route is that it is an organized line of communication. Travellers need not carry any more food than will take them from one Hudson Bay post to the next, and then there is abundance of fish and wild fowl en route. They can also be in touch with such civilization as prevails up there, can always get a.s.sistance at the posts, and will have some place to stay should they fall sick or meet with an accident. If they are lucky enough to make their pile in the Klond.y.k.e, they can come back by the dog sled route during the winter. (There is one winter mail to Fort Macpherson in winter.) Dogs for teams can be purchased at nearly any of the line of Hudson Bay posts that form a chain of road-houses on the trip.

"Parties travelling alone will not need to employ guides until they get near Fort Macpherson, and from there on to the Klond.y.k.e, as the rest of the route from Edmonton is so well defined, having been travelled for years, that no guides are required.

"You don't need a couple of thousand dollars to start for Klond.y.k.e to-morrow by the Edmonton route. All you need is a good const.i.tution, some experience in boating and camping, and about $150. Suppose a party of three decide to start. First they will need to purchase a canoe, about $35 or less; first-cla.s.s ticket from Hamilton to Edmonton, $71.40; second cla.s.s, ditto, $40.90; cost of food at Edmonton for three men for two months (should consist of pork, flour, tea and baking-powder), $35; freight on canoe to Edmonton, $23. Total for three men from Hamilton to Fort Macpherson, provided they travel second-cla.s.s on the C.P.R. will be $218.70. These figures are furnished by Mr. Heming, who has been over the route 400 miles north of Edmonton, and got the rest of his data from the Hudson Bay officials.

"If three men chip in $150 each they would have a margin of over $200 for purchasing their tools and for transport from Fort Macpherson to the Klond.y.k.e. This is how it may be done on the cheap, though Mr. Heming considers it ample for any party starting this summer. Prices will likely rise on the route when the rush begins. If the Hudson Bay people are alive to their interests they will forward a large amount of supplies for Fort Macpherson immediately and make it the base of supplies for the Klond.y.k.e during the coming winter.

"Parties should consist of three men each, as that is the crew of a canoe. It will take 600 pounds of food to carry three men over the route. Pa.s.sengers on the C.P.R. are ent.i.tled to carry 600 pounds of baggage. The paddling is all down stream, except when they turn south up Peel River, and sails should be taken, as there is often a favorable wind for days.

"There are large scows on the line, manned by ten men each and known as 'sturgeon heads.' They are like ca.n.a.l boats, but are punted along and are used by the Hudson Bay people for taking forward supplies to the forts.

The return trip to the United States is usually made by the Yukon steamers from Dawson City direct to St. Michael via the Yukon and Anvik River, thence by ocean steamer from St. Michael to San Francisco."

The following letter is interesting to the prospector as showing the difficulties to overcome up the Taiya Pa.s.s to Lake Lindeman.

_Winnipeg_, July 27, 1897.

A letter has been received from George McLeod, one of the members of the Winnipeg party of gold hunters that left here recently for the Yukon.

He wrote from Lake Lindeman under date of July 4, and states that the party expected to leave on the journey from the river a week later. They had a fine boat, with a freight capacity of two tons about completed.

The real work of the expedition started when the small steamer which conveyed the party from Juneau arrived at Dyea. The men had to transfer their goods to a lighter one mile from sh.o.r.e, each man looking after his own packages. After getting everything ash.o.r.e the party was organized for ascent of the mountain pa.s.s, which at the hardest point is 3,000 feet above sea level. McLeod and his chum, to save time and money too, engaged 35 Indians to pack their supplies over the mountains, but they had to carry their own bedding and grub to keep them on the road. It is fifteen miles to the summit of the pa.s.s and the party made twelve miles the first day, going into camp at night tired from climbing over rocks, stumps, logs and hills, working through rivers and creeks and pushing their way through brush. At the end of twelve miles they thought they had gone fifty. On the second day out they began to scale the summit of the mountain. Hill after hill confronted them, each one being steeper than the last. There was snow on the top of the mountain, and rain was falling, and this added greatly to the difficulties of the ascent. In many places the men had to crawl on their hands and knees, so precipitous was the mountain side. Time after time the men would slip back several inches, but they recovered themselves and went at it again.

Finally, the summit was gained, McLeod being the first of the party to reach the top. After resting and changing their clothes the descent was commenced. McLeod and his chums purchased sleighs, on which they loaded their goods and hauled for five miles. This was extremely laborious work, and the men were so used up working in the scorching sun that they were compelled to work at nights and sleep during the day. Two days after the descent began the sleighs were abandoned, and the men packed the goods for three miles and a half. They were fortunate in securing the services of a man who had two horses to convey the goods to Lake Lindeman.

McLeod says the worry in getting over the pa.s.s is terrible, and he has no desire to repeat the experience. He advises all who go in to have their goods packed all the way from Dyea to Lake Lindeman. It costs 17 or 18 cents per pound for packing.

McLeod expected that Klond.y.k.e would not be reached before July 25.

I think it specially valuable for the reader to give him the approximate distances to Fort Cudahy, which is below Dawson City via the various routes.

This table of distances has been prepared by Mr. James Ogilvie, and I also give a number of his notes which will be of great value to the traveller when making the trip from Juneau to Dawson City.

APPROXIMATE DISTANCES TO FORT CUDAHY.

VIA ST. MICHAEL.

Miles.

San Francisco to Dutch Harbor 2,400 Seattle or Victoria to Dutch Harbor 2,000 Dutch Harbor to St. Michael 750 St. Michael to Cudahy 1,600

VIA TAIYA Pa.s.s.

Victoria to Taiya 1,000 Taiya to Cudahy 650

VIA STIKINE RIVER.

Victoria to Wrangell 750 Wrangell to Telegraph Creek 150 Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake 150 Teslin Lake to Cudahy 650

DISTANCES FROM HEAD OF TAIYA INLET.

Miles Head of canoe navigation, Taiya River 5.90 Forks of Taiya River 8.38 Summit of Taiya Pa.s.s 14.76 Landing at Lake Lindeman 23.06 Foot of Lake Lindeman 27.49 Head of Lake Bennet 28.09 Boundary line B.C. and N.W.T. (Lat 60) 38.09 Foot of Lake Bennet 53.85 Foot of Caribou Crossing (Lake Nares) 56.44 Foot of Tagish Lake 73.25 Head of Marsh Lake 78.15 Foot of Marsh Lake 97.21 Head of Miles Canon 122.94 Foot of Miles Canon 123.56 Head of White Horse Rapids 124.95 Foot of White Horse Rapids 125.33 Tahkeena River 139.92 Head of Lake Labarge 153.07 Foot of Lake Labarge 184.22 Teslintoo River 215.88 Big Salmon River 249.33 Little Salmon River 285.54 Five Finger Rapids 344.83 Pelly River 403.29 White River 499.11 Stewart River 508.91 Sixty-Mile Creek 530.41 Dawson City--The Princ.i.p.al Mining Town 575.70 Fort Reliance 582.20 Forty-Mile River 627.08 Boundary Line. 667.43

"Another route is now being explored between Telegraph Creek and Teslin Lake and will soon be opened. Telegraph Creek is the head of steamer navigation on the Stikine River and is about 150 miles from Teslin Lake.

The Yukon is navigable for steamers from its mouth to Teslin Lake, a distance of 2,300 miles. A road is being located by the Dominion Government. A grant of $2,000 has been made by the province of British Columbia for opening it.

"J. Dalton, a trader, has used a route overland from Chilkat Inlet to Fort Selkirk. Going up the Chilkat and Klaheela Rivers, he crosses the divide to the Tahkeena River and continues northward over a fairly open country practicable for horses. The distance from the sea to Fort Selkirk is 350 miles.

"Last summer a Juneau butcher sent 40 head of cattle to Cudahy. G.

Bounds, the man in charge, crossed the divide over the Chilkat Pa.s.s, followed the sh.o.r.e of Lake Arkell and, keeping to the east of Dalton's trail, reached the Yukon just below the Rink Rapids. Here the cattle were slaughtered and the meat floated down on a raft to Cudahy, where it retailed at $1 a pound.

"It is proposed to establish a winter road somewhere across the country travelled over by Dalton and Bounds. The Yukon cannot be followed, the ice being too much broken, so that any winter road will have to be overland. A thorough exploration is now being made of all the pa.s.ses at the head of Lynn Ca.n.a.l and of the upper waters of the Yukon. In a few months it is expected that the best routes for reaching the district from Lynn Ca.n.a.l will be definitely known.

"It is said by those familiar with the locality that the storms which rage in the upper alt.i.tudes of the coast range during the greater part of the time, from October to March, are terrific. A man caught in one of them runs the risk of losing his life, unless he can reach shelter in a short time. During the summer there is nearly always a wind blowing from the sea up Chatham Strait and Lynn Ca.n.a.l, which lie in almost a straight line with each other, and at the head of Lynn Ca.n.a.l are Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets. The distance from the coast down these channels to the open sea is about 380 miles. The mountains on each side of the water confine the currents of air, and deflect inclined currents in the direction of the axis of the channel, so that there is nearly always a strong wind blowing up the channel. Coming from the sea, this wind is heavily charged with moisture, which is precipitated when the air currents strike the mountains, and the fall of rain and snow is consequently very heavy.

"In Chilkat Inlet there is not much shelter from the south wind, which renders it unsafe for ships calling there. Capt. Hunter told me he would rather visit any other part of the coast than Chilkat.