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This item is fMmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 12X 16X y 20X 26X SOX 24X 28X ■1^ ^V"-^ TO KLONDIKE AND BACK 'Y'%^ ♦ »^ w • ^» l^h'iitiilisiiii'iv r^ \ 'tn. MOITB m* ^^. <'h Hir «i«|, r. |i,t«i.&i«3 f t.«prd,,,« 4?m: Ctetttin.fcjii ItjRsitai 3f«n* MfffMrxo i S T R y. F. T ^{^A.\J HUijK A K' LI- 'r^> RON TO tf.'iL^ j»% *■'" f TO KLONDIKE AND BACK A JOURNEY DOWN THE YUKON FROM ITS SOUBOE TO ITS MOUTH By J. H. E. SECRETAN, C.E. OF OTTAWA AMD ^bttniji-iont lUnstraiion. Edition Imported by Z''n,VJ\\''A'' '"'"' COMPANY KING "tREET '• ■ ^'^ '"""^ TORONTO 1413.-7 ')7 DEDICATED TO ALL THOSE WHOM I LEFT BEHIND J. H. E. S. im IT^TRODUCTION I HAVE been advised by several friends -and some enemies-to write a booic describing the perils and pleasures which may be encountered in a voyage to the now celebrated Klondyke. I have agreed to comply with the sug- irestion, purely from philanthropic motives -besides which I am given to understand there is money in it. Should my feeble efforts be the means of preventing further immigration into that inhospitable region, and thus deter many an impecunious fellow-creature from either making a sudden fortune, or being miserably disappointed after much hard" ship and suffering, I shall not have laboured in vain. n CONTENTS OHAPTKB I. Temptation n. Preparation TIL Navigation IV. Damnation V. Irrigation VL Botheration VII. Transportation VIII. Elevation IX. Tribulation X. Desolation XI. Stagnatict- XII. Exhilaration XIII. Inundation XIV. Emancipation XV. Continuation XVL HiSSITATION XVII. Isolation XVIII. Occupation PAOK 1 7 11 16 20 2b 28 37 46 61 67 63 68 74 78 82 92 101 I I %: COA'TENTS HAOK XIX. Palpitation 106 XX. Dissipation 109 XXI. Privation 114 XXII. Emigration 129 XXIII. Embarkation 134 XXIV. Indignation 187 XXV. Jubilation 148 XXVI. Communication . 153 XXVII. Civilization 167 APPENDIX 171 Hints to Prospectors 17<5 A Table of Distances 216 MiNiNO Reculations 221 Dredqino for Minerals 252 Timber Regulations 269 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Portrait of Author FoRTV Mile Post Freighter starting from Circle City Mining Claim, Eldorado Creek Going uver the Chilcoot Pass Chilcoot Pass Two-and-half Miles from Summit Lake Lindermann first open Water ruKON River ; Ice breaking up in the Spring Miles Canon ; Lewes Hiver Miles Canon, looking down Stream Miles Canon, Scow running down ^ 'POKING DOWN stream TOWARDS THE DREAD ' WhITE Horse ' The dread ' White Horse ' Sleighing Boats on Lake La Barge Miners ON the WAT DOWN in the Spring '. Dawson City PAQE Frontispiece 3 4 5 43 ^5 62 64 80 82 87 89 91 96 107 109 II r :li Xll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAQB Dawson City from opposite bank of the Yukon . 118 Author's Camp below Dawson Citt . .114 Interior of Tent ; Author writing Despatches . 116 Author's Cabin, < The Bear's Den ' .119 Rich Digginos on Bonanza Ckeek . Iii2 Night on the Yukon ; End of the Run . 134 Steamer ' John J. Healt,* Yukon River . 144 Dog Team, Yukon RiTER . . . .193 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK TEMPTATION On a cold, cheerless day in the early spring of 1897, overcome by the persuasive elo- quence of a respectable, though compara- tively wealthy, syndicate, I decided to take charge of a small expedition bound for Klondyke. The main object was plunder. At this time it was not gener- ally known that many rich diggings had been discovered in the vicinity of the Klondyke River, and upon the principle B w , ^ ■'\ % TO KLONDYKE AND BACK of* first come, first served/ a soft snap was anticipated. In the event of a discovery being made, five men could control two thousand five hundred feet of creek bottom, and the result of the possible output, based upon what was already known to a select few, would soar serenely upwards into many millions. In August, 1896, an inoffensive and unprogressive ' squaw-man,' rejoicing in the name of * Stick George,* while build- ing a fire on the banks of what is now Bonanza Creek, wherewith to cook his frugal supper, had accidentally thawed out the hitherto perpetually frozen gravel, and carelessly panned out seven hundred dollars in coarse gold. This amount provid- ed the artless discoverer with a comfortable and protracted jag, which subsequently occupied much of his otherwise valuable time. During a lucid interval, this illus- nap was iscovery rol two creek possible already I soar IS. ire and ing in build- is now }k his hawed gravel, undred ►rovid- trtable lently luable illus- fi f^ UJ z o > Q Z < Uj UJ tt: u UJ o >^ U. o O U :d O Q, UJ TEMPTATION 8 trious individual, who, after the discovery, had adjourned to the more seductive attractions of Forty Mile Creek, where the old-time miner was pursuing his studies with varying success, electrified the little population one night by exhibiting the golden beauties ' big as beans.' Then followed the stampede. From the little settlement of Forty Mile, all conditions of men loaded up their boats, and tumbled over each other in their haste to pole up the ever-rushing Yukon, fifty- two miles, to the promised land. It is re- lated by the historians that men who had been harmlessly and painfully drunk for many moons were thrown into the bottom of the boats for ballast, later on to be used as stakeholders for claims destined to con- tain a million dollars worth of the precious metal ; and everything on two legs that could scrape together a sufficient grub B 2 ^^m m^m 1 I II 4 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK stake pointed the prow of its barque to- wards the new Eldorado. Even after the dread Arctic winter set in, with its long dreary darkness, and the thermometer had casually meandered away down amongst the * Sixties,' the news spread by some mysterious agency, and Circle City, hitherto a flourishing mining centre and distributing point, was deserted. A handful of women and children only were left to tell the tale of the ' has beens.' The men made their way up over the frozen surface of the mighty Yukon, many of them badly equipped and poorly pro- visioned, facing all the horrors of exposure in such a climate, helping each other onward towards the golden Klon- dyke, three hundred and fifty miles distant. Bonanza Creek was rapidly staked from its source to its mouth ; and the disap- rque to- nter set and the red away le news loy, and : mining deserted, ren only ,s beens.' )ver the n, many >rly pro- rors of ng each n Klon- miles :ed from e disap- Q '^ >j QC O ^ Q V) O UJ 0! e ^1 3^ = 8 sS O £ O oc UJ K 3: o Uj t< . -^n mm i 1 1 1 ' 11 • < ■ : i ■ ' ! i ^^ i^F^ mtm I i^'i ^ s o z :5 in Q O U. Q it: UJ oc u o Q tt: o Q •J u o 2: 5 K TEMPTATION UJ u o 2 pointed ones, who arrived too late, had to content themselves with chiims on tribut- ary streams, hoping that they too might turn out rich. Many a man passed by the mouth of Eldorado Creek with a sneer upon his face and contempt in his heart. Others, sooner than get nothing, took up a claim at haphazard on Eldorado, and the result has shown that all indications fail in this extraordinary country — for little ' Eldorado,' only seven miles long, a mere pup of the parent stream, has turned out the richer of the two. This is briefly the history of the discov- ery of the now world-famed Klondyke, the marvellous wealth of which will some day, no doubt, astonish the universe and steal the reputation of all other placer mines, making them seem poor indeed. Thus it was that I started upon my long weary journey, across the Continent, then ^^ it ■ \l M,| « TO KLONDYKE AND BACK up north from Victoria to Juneau, thence over the dreaded Chilcoot Pass, and after that through the wonderful chain of lakes forming the head waters of the mighty Yukon, ever rushing, contrary to all recognized precedent, straight north to the polar seas, there to belch forth mud and drift wood through a dozen mouths or more, covering one hundred miles, into the Arctic Ocean. ir PREPARATION On the 15th of April, at noou, the steamer Topeka sailed from Victoria, British Col- umbia, for Juneau, Alaska, with between two and three hundred passengers. She was the first vessel engaged in the rush to the Yukon gold fields. Twenty- five mounted police and my little crew about represented the Canadiaii contingent. There was hardly standing room on the decks, and the berths simply would not go round. The ship was loaded down to her 1 ■' msr^c!^ .„sj.'..u!LjL. ( r f ^ If ML i;; If i^ 8 rO KLONDYKE AND BACK guards She carried a deck-load of lumber and a full cargo of supplies. On the upper deck many Yukon miners' sleds could be seen, and the melancholy howls of numerous half-breed Indian curs, down below, made up the complement of as mixed and motley a cargo as ever was seen. The rough-and-ready old miner, with gum boots and a steerage passage, strolled about hob-nobbing with some exiled scion of a noble family — blue overalls and black broad-cloth bunked down together. The lines were cast off, and the Topeka slipped away from the sunlight and warmth of Vancouver Island to wend her way through the picturesque archipelago stretching northward towards the shores of Alaska. I did not go in this ship, but waited till the 25th for the steamer Mexico* quite con- * Since lost. She struck a rock and foundered in five hundred feet of water. No lives lost. 9 PREPARATION tent to linger a while and get a last whiff of the balmy spring breezes which float over this lovely island laden with the scent of jasmine, honeysuckle, and roses, before tackling the cold, uncharit- able blasts of that far northern country. I bought two Canadian Peterborough canoes in Victoria, also two gallons of Hudson's Bay rum-both very useful when mixed with water. And so, with Httle in the way of personal baggage, outside of a couple of pairs of blankets and two flannel shirts, I boarded the good ship Mexico on a Sunday morning. °The church bells tinkled out their invitation to the righteous, the blue waters of the Pacific sparkled in the lovely sunlight, while the distant snow-capped mountlins' looked approvingly down upon a scene so calm and peaceful that nothing but the spirit of adventure strong within the w^ mmmsmm wm KP 10 70 KLONDYKE AND BACK human system could induce a man to calmly forsake it all and face the horrors of the north. i '• ! 1 11 III NAVIGATION When all goes well, nothing ever happens on a ship. In fine weather the time slips pleasantly by, and eating, smoking, and sleeping are the only available amuse- ments. In these waters, the captain- usually of so much importance-has a sinecure. Two pilots take watch and watch and navigate the ship from one port to another, and it is only when she is entering or leaving a port that the captain is in evidence. It is then he puts on his r^ i ; ■ w^mm S;<; 12 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK brass-bound cap, and with a brief, * I'll take her, sir,' telegraphs a few remarks to the engine-room, and lays his vessel alongside the wharf. The same thing occurs when leaving port — he backs her out, puts the helm hard over, swings her head round, while the pilot stands meekly beside him on the bridge, looking as un- important as the father of brand-new twins in the presence of the monthly nurse. The captain says suddenly, ' You have her, sir,' and once again the pilot is monarch of all he survej^s, and with a rumbling grunt, which sounds something like ' Noatheasbeasearfease,' he resumes his watch, while the captain goes below to scowl at the male passengers, and make himself agreeable to those of the female persuasion. Within twenty-four hours of leaving the balmy air and soft sunshine of ill NAVIGATION |y sleepy old Victoria, the Mexico, loaded down to the guards, was pointing her nose up against a stiff nor'-wester with a rattling accompaniment of hail and snow. The steerage passengers were pictur- esque and very uncomfortable. One ven- erable gold-seeker told me he had a brindle cow for a pillow. We had one celebrated cabin-passenger. It was a lady of marvellous develop- ment and wonderful experience. One cold wintry night, on the inhospitable shores of Cook's Inlet, this brave woman succeeded in rescuing, single-handed, either three or four, I forget which, ship- wrecked mariners. She stripped off all superfluous clothing and plunged into the angry surf. The men were all uncon- scious, and Hke a big Newfoundland dog she dragged them ashore one at a time. 14 TO KLONDYKB AND BACK m i ■ ^; For this brave act she received several medals from different humane societies, and one from the President of the United States. Withal, she was modest and unassum- ing, but distinctly ponderous. On one occasion, I came on deck, and asked her if she had seen a certain glacier, ice- berg, or some little trifle of that kind which we had run past that afternoon. She re- plied with a sigh, and a pitiful disregard for Lindley Murray, * No, cap, I di'n't. / would so much like to have saw ii.^ She was a manly woman. I remember saying good-bye to her or. board a small steamer bound for Cook'.s Inlet. The cap- tain and I approached her most respect- fully, and, as she grasped our hands firmly with that muscular life-saving apparatus (i n i! NAVIGATION j^ of hers, the tears rolled down our cheeks, while she thanked us both for our great * cordiality.' .i^'jMMMWMHMdSuk I 1 f V 16 . i ; '-i i IV DAMNATION We arrived at Juneau without incident on the 28th April, at ten p.m. That is what they call an all-night town, because every- body stays up all night and sleeps all day. About one a.m., in company with three ship captains, I visited the Juneau Opera House, situated in the rear of a huge bar-room, where all kinds of drinks and games of chance were dispensed freely. Faro, roulette, stud-poker, and craps were all in full swing when we arrived. I looked f 1 I DAMNATION 17 dent on is what every- 11 day. ee ship House, |r-room, imes of Faro, ere all looked % in vain for a box-office to buy a ticket, but soon discovered that no formality of that sort was insisted upon: you simply walked in and selected a box, of which there were plenty, and invested your surplus wealth in the numerous awful decoctions to be found at the bar. There were many ladies there, and with that wild western familiarity, so very charming, they strolled about in and out of the boxes, and chatted upon the political questions of the day, welcoming the stranger and putting the pilgrim at ease almost immediately. The play was sjonstructed to blend har- moniously with the surroundings. I did not at first quite follow the harrowing de- tails of the plot, but eventually concluded the design was intended to illustrate at all costs that virtuous innocence was un- safe when inadvertently committed to the c ^^It '■ I ■? I 18 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK II ■iH ; 11. i f II! Mi t ^i f ii *f( i ' si care of a ruined gambler for any length of time. A huge muscular giant, re- presenting a miner, soon put all our doubts and fears to rest — also the ruined gambler — with the aid of a terrible -look- ing horse pistol. The play lasted till well on to the wee sma* hours, when the orchestra chairs were removed and danc- ing commenced, and was no doubt kept up with spirit by the ladies and gentlemen till breakfast-time. But what a place of business, for all this: the beau ideal of an outfitting point, where everything requisite, from a needle to an anchor, can be bought. The miners' many wants are rapidly supplied in exchange lor any sort of cash or con- vertible paper. The indispensable Yukon sleigh, suitable for either man or dog, flourishes in great profusion. The Yukon stove, which gets red-hot with so little m < n M ill! DAMNATION jg provocation, and bakes your bread, fries your bacon, and dries your socks all at the same time, is also in great demand Then we must have Mackinaw suits of many startling colours, good heavy blank- ets, the miner's kit of pick, shovel, and gold-pan, a full assortment of boat-build- ing implements, which, with a generous supply of provisions, containing all the luxuries that we may luckily be able to afford, starts us on our way, if not re- joicing, at least secure from the perils of starvation for many months to come. c 2 Y^^f^fTsmm'^m I ill '^i! I n I I n^ I {I.M f I I I H ■ i 20 IRRIGATION The temperance people will be glad to hear ihat Alaska is a very strict prohibi- tion territory ; and yet the United States Government finds it necessary to employ numerous customs officials to collect duty on contraband whisky. Licences are issued authorising the saloon-keepers to retail spirituous liquors, and if they are caught doing so they are heavily fined, at the same time paying a good big fee for their licence. I i 1 I ■n •lad to ■^^a roniDi- States * :>^uB jmploy -!'^a ;t duty g the quors, ey are y'mg a it. - - ■ -■.■,- IRRIGATION n I heard of only one instance of confisca- tion: the offender, an over-zealous cus- tom-house officer, was executed on the spot by the outraged whisky seller. Poor man! if he had only been content with inflicting a heavy fine upon the saloon- keeper, which he might easily have appro- priated, he would have been living yet. But alas ! this misguided official did his duty and paid the inevitable penalty. It is considered a heinous crime to waste whisky in that country, and the sin is seldom overlooked or forgotten. Good business-like smugglers do very well up there. When the miners come to town, they generally spare no expense to have a good time. I knew one good-natured giant, who, after indescribable toil, hardship, and misery for many weary moons, by strict attention to business bad accumu- I i^fm wi{■ - ( !''^ '• i 1 J T Hi f I I; ; •:». ©, fJ A f •¥©:?. GOING OVER THE CHILCOOT PASS [Tn tniv p. 1} •I ELEVATION 4» The day I crossed, May 8ch, it was raining on the southern, can I say slope^ in the early morning ; but this rapidly changed to snow when I was at the foot of the summit and it commenced, to blow, as is usual, from the south. I fancied that I had often heard it blow before. I have assisted at a western tornado, and been present during the first act of a Minnesota cyclone. I have also heard a patriotic orator air his eloquence on the Fourth of July. But all this experience faded into insignificance when this little southern zephyr announced its birth with a wild, mad, howling shriek. You could lean up against it. With bewildering rapidity the air became filled with particles of whirling snow, and in less than five minutes I could only faintly distinguish the heels of the man immediately ahead of me, 1 ■■' ji tn » V II ( I 1 :: J 44 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK which I remarked were generally on a level with my eye, and I could not help thinking of the words of that well-known song, so appropriate to this occasion, * The blow it near killed father/ Some enterprising individual had established a wire cable for the last six hundred foot lift, worked by two poor wretched horses, who were patiently plodding round in a circle, winding up sleigh-loads of supplies and passengers at one and one-half cents a pound. I heard casually that this gentleman was clearing one hundred and fifty dollars a day by the operation. I saw one unfortunate woman perched on top of a loaded sleigh, ready to make the ascent. She was seated with her back to the scenery, and then they passed the baby up to her to take charge of. But this was too much for her, and I Mil m on a help town sion. had six )oor itly up at ird ing by ed ke er id •f. I i' i- I i f< o UJ (M in 10 5 o o u -J «. s 5 o -4 ELEVATION heard her distinctly refuse to 'resk the life of the child;' and so the juvenile Yukoner was carried up by one of the men as the careful mother slowly ascend- ed the almost perpendicular height and disappeared into the clouds. The maternal instinct is certainly sometimes wonderfully developed, parti- cularly in woman. I s (M (O 10 K O O U -I y^lp- ii , ] 1' i i ( i fi (■ i ; ' i; ! i I i;l 46 IX TRIBULATION Once at the summit of the Chilcoot Pass, three thousand five hundred feet above the sea, crowded into such a short horizontal space, the danger and difficul- ties ahead appear to dwindle into insignificance. Elevation having been accomplished, elation follows, and the downgrade plunge is most welcome, but how it did storm up there ! Far above the timber line, without shelter, it is a very wise move to seek the lower levels as rapidly as possible. TRIBULATION 47 There is little difficulty in this, as the descent on the northern side is almost as abrupt as the southerly approach. It is about five hundred feet vertically to Crater Lake, and not much more horizon- tally. The usual method of getting there is to sit down suddenly on the summit. You have arrived when you stop. The summit is not the sort of place to linger at. There are no attractions of any kind. Many tons of supplies, however, have to be left there to the tender mercies of the elements, till you can send back for them, sometimes only to find them buried deep beneath the drifted snow, when, after prodding carefully round in the supposed vicinity, you may be able to locate your provisions and dig them out. The day I crossed, an enterprising dentist bound for Dawson City lost his whole kit of tools, and never recovered them. r -. fi ■1m i f (' ll:i I i i/:i I H, ■! 48 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK The wind comes roaring down throuj^h the pass, the dazzling glare of the sun reflected from the snow literally tears the skin off your face, the exertion of con- tinuous climbing throws you into a violent perspiration, and, when you stop for a moment to collect your thoughts and breath, the icy blast strikes through your very marrow, chilling you to the core. Visions of pneumonia and other kindred complaints flit through your be- wildered brain, with the accompanying panorama of a highly respectable funeral procession, as you wearily drag one leg after another, and make afiidavits with yourself that this shall never occur again. It is true that there are distinctly dis- couraging moments in the vicinity of the summit. Only nine miles to Lake Lindermann, the very head waters of the Lewes, Pelly, I i' 49 TRIBULATION Yukon Waterway, and all down-hiU After miles and miles of ten steps and a breather, the luxury of a few hundred feet of level can hardly be explained. If It .3 only a slight incline, which in cmhzed society would undoubtedly be regarded as quite steep, it feels like going down-hill, such is the comparative effect. From the summit to Lake Lindennann has been described by one well-meaning historian as ' only a pleasant run.' I envy him his powers of description. It is a mistake to bring people up to middle age with an idea that it is the correct thin, to tell the truth. ° r did not try ' a pleasant run,' although the pamphleteer distinctly promised it, but I have a large-sized impression of having accomplished a very unpleasant walk, through chains of frozen lakes, over E Hi I "if lit ? »!.1 1 » I ill i'i il,-- r^ 50 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK ridges, down valleys clothed in soft mushy snow, beneath icy precipices, till at last Lake Lindermann hove in sight. This might all have been considered a pleasant run if the conditions had been favourable ; but, a? as I in my case, the snow was melting, the ice was marked dangerous, the cafion was reported im- passable, and altogether there w"s nothing very pleasant except the novel sensation of once more going down-hill. 61 DESOLATION And thus followed my banishment. Twenty-one long desolate days and dreary nights, camped upon a gravel bar at the head of the lake, profusely decorated with boulders of all sorts and sizes, surrounded by a human mob of most diverse profes- sions, all anxious to reach the golden Mecca to ply their varied trades and in- dulge in their different avocations for the benefit or ruin of the honest, innocent miner. 1 I „* i »i • '•"; '' I ^" 62 ro KLONDYKE AND BACK Misery likes company, and poverty makes strange bed-fellows. These two well-worn adages are most appropriate in a stampede of this kind. The * right sort ' issist each other in difficulties which of course cannot be experienced in civil- ization. It is when the grim monster has to be faced and a timely stroke of the paddle averts calamity, or a kindly help- ing hand snatches us from a fatal header into some fathomless abyss, that the true qualities of men come to the front and can be really appreciated. Charity too, and the general principle of ' dividing up,' is most conspicuous amongst those who get accustomed to suffer untold hardship together. 1 was surrounded by contraband whisky pedlers, gamblers, Jews, Gentiles, ladies whose briefness of skirt barely equalled the briefness of their characters, old DESOLATION 01 miners, young gentlemen, escaping mur- derers, returning Yukoners, safe in the happy possession of rich claims, always oracles to be looked up to and respected. 'See that old fellow over there with them two black dorgs, that's his wife with him, say he owns twenty-eight Eldorado, he took out sixty thousand dollars last year and went after his wife;' and the chances are you would see as miserable a specimen of the genus homo as ever dis- graced a pair of blue overalls. I struck up quite a comradeship with a small wiry Israelite, who was taking in a mixed cargo of whisky, supplies, and clothing. He invariably addressed me as ' Cap,' but at other times, when not in a familiar vein, he would call me 'Mr. Sextant,' evidently looking at the two as being synonymous from a nautical point of view. # u 'i '^mmm w^mm^^mm m^i^ ' 54 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK H If / ii w^ ^i»' I ! v-H t He had been over this route several times before, and had made a trip from Circle City to Dyea, something over a thousand miles, on the ice in the dead of winter. He had thirteen dof^s, iive men, and a partner with him. The dogs Avere beauties. My favourite was surnamed ' Shaggs,' on account of the imxnense crop of wool he possessed. There was no doubt in my mind that some of his ancestors had been indirectly compromised by a black bear. He had a perfect bear''s head; he was absolutely blr.ck, with a white spot over each eyebrow ; the wool upon his ^orehead was about eight inches thick, and he was always on the broad grii. He waa the handsomest dog and the most nondescript I ever saw. ' Shaggs ' had a chum in the team who rejoiced in the name of ' .linger.' He was the Mgliest animal imaginable. His 1 I DESOLATION 66 ancestors seemed to have had the same difficulty with the bear family, evidently being more partial to the Cinnamon variety. These two were inseparable. They worked together all day, ate together in the evening, and slept together at night. 'Ginger' played Damon to perfection, while old ' Shaggs ' was an exemplary Pythias. Woe betide the dog that in- dulged in any breach of etiquette at dinner time, or attempted any familiarity with either of the ' pardners.' The gentle smile would fade from the lips of Shaggs,' and with a low threatening growl he would warn the intruder to retire. This was generally sufficient. There were many other splendid specimens in this train, ' Bob,' ' Charley,' ' White Horse,' ' Jack,' and little ' Yukon,' the leader, a native born dog, a smug- f! ( I'll ; t 1 t I 1 1 ■ ' 1 1 TO klojsdyke and back faced little beast, jet-black with a perfect white collar, and on account of this an4 ki« innocent inane expression, so often found j^ curates, we christened him ' the parson.' On many a stormy night, when the wind was howling and the snow drifting, the little stove-pipe rattling, and the tent surging and trying to break away from its moorings, I have noticed my friend ' the parson ' quietly insinuate hi>m»elf into the shelter and meekly sit Wt upright before the remnants of the fire, looking the picture of genteel poverty, with a beseeching expression almost human, which plainly said, ' I hope I don't intrude ' — while outside in the howling blast, a large black ball of wool and a similar one of yellow, close together, located the position of the sleeping ' pardners.' • «i i'' i XI STAGNATION Three weeks is a long pause, made com- pulsory by stormy weather on the summit of the coquettish Chilcoot, where the Goddess of Wind, if there is such a virago, would gently flirt her fan for a moment and obliterate the landscape; where strong men would slave and toil for weeks harnessed to sleighs loaded with the necessaries of life, ever struffo-Hno- onward towards the golden goal, the iaint-hearted often turning back in dis- 'I f fin- 11 m w^^^ ■m« 1 I r. 58 ro KLONDYKE AND BACK gust, the stronger and more aggressive persevering in their self-imposed task, only perhaps to meet a watery grave beyond. There was much food for reflection for p philosopher at the head of Lake Linder- mann, if nothing else. The little camp was daily increased by the arrival of many curiosities, all hopeful and absolutely positive of success. As the sun rose earlier each day and set later each night, he rapidly gained on the ice-encrusted scenery, and rendered travelling over the lake uncertain and unsafe. There was nothing for it but to wait. Impatience to reach the mines had to be curbed in defer- ence to the physical 'conditions of the climate. Many variety women, taken in by poly- gamous bar-tenders, began to arrive. An occasional broken-down comedian,, with a '* if J STAGNATION 6D tired expression and an assortment of well-worn clothes and jokes, would swell the merry multitude, and make the short night hideous with piteous appeals to ' Just tell me that you love me,' etc. : an absolute impossibility under the circum- stances. Amidst all the grotesque features of this combination, there could always be seen the profoundly pathetic side of life. I remember one poor unfortunate woman, who had accompanied her husband, and brought the new-born baby along, sooner than leave him to the care of strangers, after having successfully dragged herself and the boy across the icy barrier, was fated to pursue her weary journey with heavy heart, and eyes all dimmed with weeping, alas ! without the poor little innocent adventurer, and nothing but the little wooden cross way up on the hillside I' I. li : I 4 ll! II '• i 60 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK amidst the pines to remind her of the hostage she bad given to fortune. All things come to those who wait — but there is no regular time-table. The days got longer and the nights shorter, until the strange novelty of chronic daylight became a regular estab- lished institution. In these latitudes, after the latter part of May, there is no such thiii^; as dark- ness, which is a nuisance, and causes no end of complications. Unless a man keeps a diary and checks off each twelve hours as it is produced, he very soon loses track of the day of the week, which, al- though of no vital consequence, might enable him to distinguish between night and day, which would help him some- what. The day of the laonth is soon lost sight of, and not much required outside of civil- l H 0-f STAGNATION 61 ization; but with the day of the week gone too, and nothing to fall back upon but the year, a properly brought up church member becomes discouraged and confused. He finds himself or herself having breakfast at ten o'clock at night, and innocently going to afternoon teas at five a.m. This would undoubtedly lead to confusion anywhere except in Alaska, where everything goes, even the night. It is at first most difficult to sleep when the sun is high in the heavens, and most annoying, after getting up, to find that everybody else has just gone to bed. This climatic absurdity is responsible for wholesale hideous irregularity, which ends up by everyone doing just what they feel like. They eat when they are hungry and drink when they are dry, sleeping between meals if necessary. At last the hot sun and warm wind slowly .11 I ^ w 4' f) 62 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK but surely melts the ice in the lake, and it lazily moves off towards the Arctic. All this time we have not been idle, and many a weary trip back to the sum- mit has been made, ever bringing down supplies. My two Canadian oanoes, four thousand miles from their home, looked well as they were launched from the ice into the first open water on Lake Lindermann. .!' I! ) 'J O u UJ u. o UJ o Q o '^ 2: Q: uj Q UJ u H : 'I I It f M i| XII EXHILARATION June the 1st, and a warm bright sunny day, the horrors of the Chilcoot behind us and almost forgotten, the last of the ice rushing frantically down to the Arctic Ocean, grinding along the moss-covered banks and scrunching past rocky cliffs, great floes of fast-rotting honeycombed ice reluctantly leaving their winter quarters and sailing majestically along, to be rent asunder with a terrible crash by the first rock encountered in the stream. Ice everywhere, ice to burn! sometimes piling I. 1!^ I;:: iMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ■-I M 125 '- IIIIIM ill 1.8 ^ IIIIIM IIIIIM %. o^ ■<*#, ^^- .V ■'•> Photographic Sciences Corporation M S •s? \\ <* rv c^ «? 23 WEST MAIN SlAEET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ,V^< J [1 ' 61 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK A high up on the banks, gigantic cakes of many acres forcing themselves on top of the smaller fry and leaving their mark away up on the bark of the spruce-trees, ever hustling northward to the mouth of the mighty Yukon, there to lie in wait and harass the early spring steamers, until dis- solved by the scorching rays of an almost vertical sun. A little miserable wheezy portable saw- mill was puifing away day and night at the head of Lake Bennet, tearing spruce logs to pieces for one hundred dollars a thousand feet. Everybody was building a boat, lumber was hard to get, and, as each plank was worried off the log by the un- sharpened screeching teeth of that wretched little circular saw, there were a score of applicants ready to take it away, and in ten minutes that plank was rapidly being trans- formed into some sort of craft. a. Q. UJ O UJ o: QQ UJ u Uj 2 o ID ira m ♦ (»" ^ E2LHILARAT10N 6ft One of the proprietors of this little gold mine, who also possessed an unpronounce- able name, said to me, * Spose I no gettee de logga, I no makee de lorn.' He was a picturesque scoundrel, evidently of Irish extraction on the mother's side, and had given up washing since attaining his majority — he was not much over forty at this time. There muat have been about four hun- dred people, making four hundred different varieties of death-dealing conveyances. Once in a while you would see something resembling a boat, but not often. As a general rule, the soap box and coffin combination was the most popular pattern. Anything that would float was at a premium, and it was not an uncommon sight to see two men in an alleged boat jauntily leaving the head of Lake Bennett with all sails set in the morning, to be 06 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK found quietly sinking the same afternoon. Some men could not wait to be supplied by the mill, but went in for whip-sawing their own lumber. This is apparently an innocent and harmless amusement, but it leads to suicide or insanity. One man stands on top of the log and the other below, the saw is then pushed up and down along a chalk mark until the lower operator's lungs are filled with sawdust, when the work has to stop. There was a story going the rounds of the different shipyards, that two * pardners* commenced whip-sawing, when afber work- ing awhile the lower one excused himself for a moment, and, having hired the first man he met to take his place in the pit, disappeared. The sawing proceeded, until the uppermost * pardner,' all unconscious that he was working with an entire stran- ger, bethought him of a similar device, and [I'l »; ■m ^mr^F EXHILARATION e? making some ordinary explanation climbed down and hired an Indian to do the saw- ing. The * pardners ' discovered each other shortly afterwards in an adjacent saloon. My boat was designed in three minutes, and built, launched, and loaded in three days. The motley mob, with its daily and hourly recruits, was becoming annoying and distinctly unsanitary. I determined to sail, although the pitch was barely cold in the seams of the boat. So, on a Sunday night, we loaded up the cargo, stowed anyhow, pitched things on board generally, and with five men and a dog we were under way at last with a fair breeze and a sense of freedom ; with two thousand five hundred miles of waterway ahead of us, and a feeling of exhilaration and independence impossible to describe. Ill f2 M \\ u XIII INUNDATION It did not take long to discover that our tight little craft leaked like a sieve; in fact, we detected two feet of water lurk- ing in the hold almost before the cargo was taken on board, and we had to sub- mit to three * jeers' from the assembled multitude on the beach as we alternately loaded in supplies and baled out water. Being, however, descended from a long line of proud and haughty ancestors, we persevered in the determination to make a INUNDATION M Start at all hazards, and kept a bright look-out for a good place to land, well out of sight of our late companions in misery. The Eva was twenty-six feet long and seven feet wide. She was strongly built and very green. The planks upon which depended the lives of six good men and true, not to mention one absolutely useless dog, were but a few days before innocently growing in the wilderness, little dreaming that the ruthless axe of the wily woodsman would so soon nip the ambitious pine in the bud, transform him into a boat, and start him down the great waterway towards the land of gold. It was humiliating certainly, with all sail set and a fair wind blowing, to be compelled to land as soon as possible, but as the water gained upon us there was 70 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK nothing for it. So, selecting the first streak of sandy beach, I ran her up head on. Although ten p.m. it was still broad daylight, and we proceeded to un- load the cargo. My ship's carpenter had neglected to caulk the bottom seam, which accounted for the leak. With the aid of a Spanish windlass, hastily rigged, and many cursory remarks, the little vessel was hauled up high and dry and the deficiency rectified. Then came a wasted day and a foul wind; but next morning the prevailing southerly breeze came howling out of the pass again, and we were soon plunging down the centre of Lake Bennett, the staunch little Eva, in spite of her scow- like proportions, making short work of the twenty-one miles to Cariboo Crossing, on the three-mile river, which connects with Tahgish Lake. INUNDATION 11 It was a great relief to get away from the madding crowd — to escape, if only temporarily, from the filth of the huddled- up encampments and the chronic pro- fanity — to once more breathe the pure air of heaven, and, forgetting all past miseries, to sail or drift contentedly down this mighty waterway. Speaking of profanity, it seems to be indigenous to the Alaskan soil. It is particularly ornamental, and calmly per- meates the most ordinary conversation, absolutely without any provocation what- ever. It struck me that extremely orig- inal and elaborate able-bodied oaths were often completely thrown away upon trivial subjects, when they might have been kept on hand for a more worthy occasion. I saw a lady struggling to put up a 7S TO KLONDYKE AND BACK small tent, which blew down as fast as she got it up, with persistent and no doubt irritating regularity. With the natural courtesy of my sex to females in distress, I detailed a man to go over and assist her. He soon fixed up the tent, and, be- ing of a jocular disposition, suggested that when things went so contrarily it was a pity that she had not been born a man, so that she could swear. The lady replied, quite unconscious of any implied compliment, » Why, mister, I'll be if I haven't cursed that tent the whole morning, but it didn't do a bit of good, by • You could see the snow thaw round that tent. I sometimes thought that driving dogs might be responsible for a good deal of I V INUNDATION IS the trouble — there is no doubt about its being infectious. I have known dog-drivers who could make a golf-player blush. I? ti 3 f Jl 74 XIV EMiVNCIPATION :U ip. t My little crew was now divided up into regular watches, as there was no reason why we should not run night and day. I decided, for the proper preservation of discipline, to adopt the usual sea regula- tions, where the captain stands no watch. There is no doubt I missed a good deal of sublime Arctic midnight scenery by this arrangement, and many a grand sunrise which alas! I can never recall, but the boys used to tell me all ^about it in the morning. 'A ^ ■^ EMANCIPATION 76 With everything snugly stowed under our half-decks fore and aft, one big white square sail bellying out before the south wind, the little cook's galley forward, consisting of a sheet-iron stove securely imbedded in a box of sand, the smoke ^rom the slender stove-pipe streaming ahead, and without another living thing in sight, we felt emancipated. Two men slept, while four stayed awake to navigate the ship and admire the scenery. On Tahgish Lake the wind, our only means of locomotion, decided to go back on ue. It blew in fitful gusts or lulled entirely. We were often taken aback when we least expected it, then be- calmed and made utterly helpless. Old Boreas had it all his own way in the narrow defiles of the Chilcoot Pass, and was much given to blowing about it; but here it seemed his force was spent. if f 76 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK and he would try to sneak back to the blue Pacific Ocean. A strange phenomenon occurs in this lake. About midway down on the right- hand side, the Windy Arm enters from an easterly direction. It is correctly named. Some of my people were out fishing in a canoe, and, noticing the big white caps running in this arm of the lake, came on board and reported that al- though we were entirely out of wind there was a large surplus over there and nobody seemed to be using it. In less than an hour we had worked our little ship over to the east she re. Then with much toil, by poling, towing, pushing and shoving up this Windy Arm, having secured a substantial offing in order to avoid a group of rocky islands, we made sail, and with a big oar jammed down amidships as a leaboard we simply .1 I EMANCIPATION 77 flew — ^the Jack pine mast, always unre- liable, in which I had not the slightest confidence, bent like a fishing-rod with a twenty-pound salmon on. However, all's well that ends well, and that evening we tied up opposite Tahgish Houses, on the Six Mile River, a deserted Indian village, while the piscatorial artist of the outfit exhibited his skill and wasted his time in securing a few ill-conditioned grayling. These we condescended to devour at nine p.m., and then sailed with a fine fresh fair wind for the foot of Marsh Lake, about twenty miles. 1! it" m ^ 78 XV CONTINUATION I CANNOT forget waking up on tl\is particular morning when nearing the foot of Marsh Lake. The wind, which at first had been strong, got gradually weaker during the night, and when I relieved the watch at four a.m. it had died a natural death. It was June 10th, and a close muggy atmosphere hung over the lake. A ghastly silence prevailed, with the excep- tion of the merry buzz of the enthusiastic CONTINUATION n mosquito. This gentleman quickly noti- fied us that he had come to stay and was ready to do business. McClintock Island loomed up on the starboard bow, and dead ahead lay the opening where the Lewes River commenced its downward career. But alas! the delay caused by waiting to ensnare a few wretched grayling was fatal. Another hour or less of that favourable breeze, and we would have been in the current and independent of any atmospheric disturbance. As it was, we had to pull wearily onward, providing an excellent breakfast for many hundreds of voracious mosquitoes, and arriving at last at the head of the Lewes or Fifty Mile River, as this part of it is called ; when, with or '^ man steering, the rest could go to breakfast and forget the horrors of the preceding night. Pa M If « ' \ ; 1 m i<] i ta.fi 4 80 TO KLONDYKE AND BACK All day we drifted, rowed, and sailed, as opportunity demanded, an occasional thunder squall breaking the monotony — the river muddy, and the surrounding scenery uninteresting ; until, late in the afternoon, the estimated distance being almost run out, a red flag on the bank told me we were approaching the cele- brated Miles Gafion. The swift current became more swift, and soon the dark chasm, with its perpendicular basaltic walls, came in sight. The superior sailing qualities of the Eva had enabled us to pass during the night four Scandinavians, who followed us closely all day. Evidently believing that we knew the river well, every time we hoisted our canvas, they ran up their sail ; should we put out a sweep to help our boat past a dangerous point, out went an oar from their boat — in fact, they imitated I s 2: o j2: s n H I H t # f i;: 'A m 1 (i. '' Mi ^ M 1: f! ^" CONTINUATION 81 US to perfection, and arrived at the head of the cafion within five minutes of the time we landed. •1= iftj G i id I j ) ♦ * 88 XVI HESITATION There is a time in the tide of the affairs of man who go down to the Yukon in boats which taken at its flood leads on to destruction. I had arrived at this point, and decided to camp and look over the situation. I believe in taking ordinary precaution to preserve life, and I do not consider that men should be asked to incur extra hazardous risks without a generous equiv- alent; but on these waters the spirit of jd "••w^-i*-, *> 1 • /■ • "A h L "^ f . 1^ Pi I' ( ■ • r :.^ 4 J^S^ •■■' .^ ii' ^ ;-^^-«i