^w >^ \ .JU** LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Chap."f-?-ii. Copyright No._ Shelf.J_3-3.. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. l^ PiiOTOGRy'\piiic Views EN ROUTE TO THE KLONDIKE VIA THE SKAGUAY AND DYEA TRAILS . . . COMPKISINC. . . . A Series of Phot.ograplAS showiiici the K'loiidik'e ds it. rc^alK' i . . . INCl.UDINCi . . . ACCURATE AND AUTHENTIC VIEWS PORTKAYINC THE METHOD OF PACKING SUPPLIES BY HORSES, BURROS, DOGS AND OXEN; MANNER OF TOWING PROVISIONS UP THE RIVERS; FREIGHTING BY CANOES. ....... Picturesque Lake Lindennan; tin- famous Chilkoot Pass route over tiie mountains: lorcliiici the Rapids and incidents of camp life in the placer mines of Alaska. s. ^ W. B. CONKEY COMPANY CHICAGO «« NEW YORK TWO mi'm ni.^t\ .u 1892 COPYRIGHT. 1897, BY F. LAROCHE, SEATTLE. WASH. COPVHIGMT APPLIED hOH IN GREAT RRITAIN CAN IDA AND AUSTRALIA. INTRODUCTORY. =-5 a resident of Seattle, "The Gateway of the New Eldorado," 1 ^ was brought directly into touch with the actual circumstances surrounding the discovery of gold in the Yukon Valley. " Seeing is believing," and realizing that many conflicting statements had been made regarding this interesting region, i decided to organize a party for the purpose of taking views along the Skakuay and Dyea trails, in order that prospective gold seekers might see for themselves the route they must travel in going to the Klondike. The series of photographs here presented embody an authentic itinerary of a trip to the gold fields of Alaska and show the Klondike as it really is. in procuring these views my object was not merely to select picturesque scenes but to faithfully portray noteworthy points and objects of interest in a journey to the Valley of the Yukon, and they will afford many suggestions to those who have decided to hazard their fortunes in the Placer mines of the Northwest. To others, a panorama of Alaskan scenes should prove exceedingly interesting. F. La ROCHE. CONTENTS. Off for Klondike, Steamers at Skaguay, Steamer Queen Unloading, and Three Others, Burro Pack Train, Dyea Point, Healy & Wilson's Store, Klondike Wagon Loaded, Indian Canoes, Don-a Wok, Old Chilkoot Chief, and Chief Isaac, Fording Dyea River, Towing Provisions, Camp Life at Finnegan's Point, A Party of Variety Actresses on Contract for Two Seasons, Indians Freighting Up River, Indians Poling Canoes Up River, Pack Oxen on Trail, Dogs Packing on Trail, Looking South from Foot of Dyea Canon, A Packer's Home, Washing Out Gold, Dyea Trail Blocked by Fallen Horse, Collecting Toll, Front Street at Settlement, Sheep Camp, Packers on Trail, fvlear Scales, Pack Horses on Edge of Precipice, Forty-five Degree Incline, Near Summit of Chilknot Pass, Looking South from Pass, On the Summit of Chilkoot Pass, Glacier, Summit of Pass, Crater Lake, Fifty Tons of Provisions, Actresses Bound for Klondike, Rev. Mr. Young and Dr. McEwen, Camp at Lake Linderman, Shipyard, Lake Linderman, Leaving Head of Lake Linderman for Klondike, End of Skaguay Trail, Rapids Between Lakes, Lake Bennett, Precipice, Porcupine Hill, On Porcupine Hill, Hungry Man's Retreat. Bridge Over Porcupine Creek, Pack Train at Little Lake, Blacksmith Shop, Skaguay at High Tide. Skaguay and Three Other Pici Skaguay Harbor, OFF FDR KI.OXDIKK. The steamer "Mexico" leaving Seattle last July with 430 passengers and g4i tons of provisions and supplies for the Klondike gold fields. " God does not give us many scenes like this," says the poet Joaquin Miller, whose strik- ing figure is clearly outlined on the upper deck, who goes to describe to a waiting world the new El Dorado and the iournev thither. .Mr. Miller can be plainly seen in the engraving, as indicated by the (x) above his head. 12091.) STEAMERS Al' SKAGl'AV. The excursion steamer "Queen" and the steamship "Geo. W. Elder" at Skaguay, SlsaRuay Harbor, head of steamship navigation on Lynn Canal, too miles from Juneau and g84 miles from Seattle. Skaguay, point of departure for the Skaguay Trail leading over White Pass, about a half-mile distant, Dyea about six miles around the ixiint of lanil on the right. (2000.) I. .Steamer Queen iinlnadiiiu klondikcrs .iiid their mitnts upuii scow at Dyea. Although Dvea is the point of departure lor the Chilkoot Pass, wliarf facilities were then only in process of construction, and the hundreds of Roldseckers who crossed the Lhilkoot during the past summer were taken from the steamers in this manner. • ■■ r*^." ^''^'' "*^^'' ^''«^SP Camp.— .Approaching the timber line among the rocks anil stumps; a difficult and uncomfortable portion or the route. 3. .Scow load of Klundikers being towed ashore at lOyea.— .As the tide rises here between twenty and thirty feet, the scows are towed near shore at the flood and at the ebb are left high and dry on the sandy beach. Wagons are driven out as soon as the receding water jiermits and passengers and freight transferred to tiiem. 4. Indians towing canoe up Dyea River.— One of the many methods of taking outfits up the Uyea River to head of canoe navigation. Here you see two Indians wading in the river pulling the boat with a rope, while the squaws sit in the canoe to guide it. BURRO PACK TRAIN', DYEA POINT. — By this means supplies are taken for some distance up the trail. During the past summer the charge was 38 cents per pound from Uvea over the Chilkoot Pass to Lake I.indcrman, a distance of twentv-nine miles. There were com|)aratively few [jack animals on the Dyea trail last summer, l)ut the charges were about the same whatever means of packing were employed. (2002.) HEALY & WILSON'S STORE, DYEA, AXD OLD TRADING POST AND POST OFFICE.-Here too is the Chilkoot Indian village and loo'or more tents of the Indian packers. These Indians found the past summer an astonishingly profitable one.by reason of the great rush to the gold fields, and they are naturally looking forward to the coming year with great expectation. (2003.) KLONDIKE WAGON LOADED WITH FROVISIONS.-An enterprising Dyea storekeeper had a dozen of these wagons which he rented for 8i an hour. An advance payment of $20 had to be made to secure the owner against unforeseen accident or lapse of memory. These carts carried a load of from 600 to 1,000 pounds, thus enabling a whole outfit to be moved at once. (2004.) 1\DIA\ CANOES.-Forty-Ind.an 'canoes at Dyea on Sunday, on wlueh day the Chilkoots will not work for any price; most of them are consistent members of the Presbyterian church, thoroughly trustworthy, and. as packers, to be preferred to wh.te men. Their church services are held each Sunday atlDyea in a tent. These canoes when loaded are towed about six miles up Dyea River to head of canoe navigation. (2005.) 111 !lf^ %t4:C ^ tn •— j2 a * to ^ ^ 5 g = E Q " - 1» QJ ■^ •:: i u .■= ^ •r. a z r - ^ i '^ u; o >, 7" — :^ ■- t — ■= ?, 4J ^ U := — :^ •_) = o i- r. S2:5 ^ g ;^ = C u 7 FORDING DYEA RIVER. — Fording Dyea River at the second crossing, about two miles above tlie first. These men are crossing with perhaps 1,000 pounds of provisions. In September the river here was not far from 100 feet wif water, yet carrying a thousand pounds or more of freight. (2015.) INDIANS FOLING CANOE UP DYEA RIVER.— These arc Metlakallce Itjclians from the mission schools three or four hundred miles below. They have in transit a knock-down boat, the bow of which is plainly vi-ng a tablecloth across poles which lean against the towering walls of the caiion. This style of architecture would not seem to afford much protection against an Arctic winter, but serves" to exclude sonic of the summer's sun and rain co-6 ) iiiL' Out Cnld. WASHING OUT GOLD. — Xo one except the person who has actually assisted in the work of niakini; the test shown above can fully appreciate the intense anxiety at such a moment. The result may mean a great deal — it may mean nothing. It the latter, the only thing to do is to move the camp and make another trial. (2027.) DYEA IRAIL BLUCKKU BV FALLEN HORSE.— Showing the toilsome march of a pack tram, as in Indian lile It pursues its arduous way. A fallen horse in front has compelled all to stop until the animal is unloaded and assisted to regain its feet. Here too is shown in the foreground two men carrying a section of a boat; but even short as it appears, they were compelled, a little farther on, to cut it in two to enable them to take it through. (2030.; COLLECTING TOLL, DVEA TRAIL. — The toll bridge, where 50 cents is charged for each horse belonging to a miner, in return for which the trail is kept passable for a distance of some six mile?, is ten miles from Dyea, in a region quite thickly wooded with .Alaska cedar, five miles from "The Scales," and five and one-half miles from the summit of Chilkoot Fass. (2031.) FROXT STREET AT SHEEP CAMP SETTLEMEXT.— This is the principal camp on the Dyea Trail. In August and September there were a thousand or more people encamped hare. The log structure on the left was the leading hotel, where you might eat for 75 cents, and sleep on the floor for 50 cents, if you furnished your own bedding. Beyond here a meal could not be had at any price. (2033.) ^''^■'t' >- lU c4 {J w •J. ^ CA ■ J3 CJ .t^ T. t/ J-: :; \ ) c >> rt h 3 Uh h Vj .3. — r ^JZ '71 H — w i- >-> ■H < "^ o. OJ E 0) re mU ♦^ 11 ^ 5i "0 ^ J= 5 x: c S "" ;l. J^ J= St n i ^ rt ~ Di rt T OJ y Jtf r^ t; i> re — w a.^ c OJ r ; ' 3 j: U 5£ S j£ •■" V ~ )-. u c t/: ,£ Ll. £ 1> (/: S J= E 3 C bt c RJ "w X fm.r \ mssif ^^^^^•4> ■5 ^ >. I. ■£ rt -^ O. rt _ u; — c 3 V ■3 > -d ° rt c _ o 1) > I ■y. ■r. ■a ^ u n 4) = I >N C O uT — oj . c (/I ■- '-. u t: - D "J o k- ? 3 ■o = LOOKING SOUTH FROM SUMMIT OF CHILKOOT PASS— A magtiificent panorama of a route traversed for the last seventy-five years liy the Indians and during the past summer by at least 4,000 goldseekers. It was the glacier on the right that broke, destroying a number of tents on the Sheep Camp, in September. (2037.) ON THE SUMMIT OF CHILKOOT PASS.— Showing the character of this route over the mountains, with its huge blocks of broken granite scattered about in the most inextricable confusion. (2044.) CLACIER, SUMMIT OF CHILKOOT PASS.— The man on the left is packing a section of a boat; Alaskan glacier. The dark shadows show the meeting point of two trails over the snow fields. (2045.) the foreground is ai: CRATER LAKE, DYEA TRAIL. — A marvelous panorama, with snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance. Crater Lake is an exquisitely colored sheet of water some two miles long, across which travelers are ferried in sunmier for 50 cents each. (2046.) FIFTY TONS OF PROVISIONS STORED AT CRATER LAKE, which have been freighted across the lake in the flat bottomed canoe seen in the foreground and now lie scattered about among the rocks awaiting transportation through the rocky defile leading onward from the right of the photograph, a distance of one and one-half miles, to Happy Camp. (2048. 1 ACTRESSES BOUND -1^1 jsi:...! . i.v.^ .^ FOR THE KLONDIKE, AT HAPPY CAMP.-They have crossed the pass and_are now fifteen miles from the point at which we first saw them fording the river. They have discarded skirts and are wearing a costume better fitted for mountain climbing a.id long marches. They have apparently enjoye.l the trip thus far, bnt are still 500 miles from thcr destination, Dawson City. (204q.i REV. MR. YOUNG AND DR. McEWEN, PRESBYTERIAN MI.SSK)NARIE.S BDL'NU lOK KLONDIKE, AT LONt; LAKE. — All classes of people are on the way to the golden North missionaries as well as variety actresses. Rev. Mr. Young, on the left, is one of the oldest mission workers in Alaska, havinsj established the mission at Fort Wrangel many years ago. (2050 CAMP AT LAKE LIN'DERMAX. -Four miles lieyoiul the mission camp ue liave this l)ii ^It u — ;- _i^ 1> - JC J. '^ ^ u l1 — ; ■/. ■— r "rt 'U r: - ? — 3 < :^ S c X i ^ "■- > o . *- — .i. 7" ^f >M » -• ■;; r - 'Li -- ;:' ■/: '^ ;„' H . X = :: ~ — C- — — a; '£ 4^ I' * r: .J is i; ■*j ^ "^ "■ z *C = 3 J >. :3 7^ ■/: 1» ■^ ti: l; « U > i:^i5|S ON PORCUIMNK 1\CI.IM.,>KAGIA\ IKAII.. W liat is kii.iwii as llic swiuli-hack, mic aiul a liall miles below the precipice, a zigzag patli among the rocks and trees. In the background is seen a loaded horse on its way to Lake Linderman. The Indians will not use this trail. (2067.) ui>-vvu.v MXVX RKTRKAT Vl' IHlRCLl'IM- CRKKK. SKACl.W IRAl 1..-A icsuuinintin the wiUlcn.ess where ,ou pi;; a d!,;!;: ^i^J^a of!;:: 'Jtd:'::::).:. .u,. ,ooU„. U.. .. one. appe.,e is such, after these wearv .arches, .ha. anything is eaten with a relish. (2069.) BRIDCK ()\ ER PORCLTINK CREKK, SKACL'AV TRAIL.— This bridjje is about seven miles from Skaguav. From liere to the summit of Porcupine Hill the trail leads through a thickly wooded district along the side of the mountain: this is had clnnbiiig up sharply for 700 feet. The tin^e allowed for climbing four miles is usually four hours, 12070.J ;yir ft* x^ ■ ai Mull' L:il(. upv light. I ^'.17. l.a Roche, Seattle, Wash. PACK TRAIN Al' LITTLt: OR BLACK LAKK.SKACirAV TRAIL.— This l.eautiful lake is al)out five miles from Skaguay, with the trail leading along the left-hand shore for a distance of about one-half mile: the opposite shore is a perpendicular bluff trom 100 to 600 feet high. (2074.) BLACKSMITH SHOP AT SK'AGUAV.— Here the blacksmith charges $6 for shoeing a horse and Sio for shoeing oxen; in the latter part uf August, 1897, during the horseshoe nail famine, as much as Si was paid for a nail. 12079.1 SKACUAV AT HIGH THJE, SEPTEMBER 12, i8g7--Bv ''"'ki'ii; ;il tht- small |,k tiirc .il' Skuiiuav niailc Aut;ll^l 1. will see hi)W the maijic city has inii>rove(l in thirty days. (J0S7.1 1. SKAGl'AV, JUL\' 26, i8q7. — Showing the town site, where in three months' time a city containing 4,000 inhabitants was built up. 2. P. C. S. S. GO'S STEAMER "QUEEN" unloading the first load of Klondike miners at Skaguay, after the excitement began. Capt. James Carroll, of this boat, was the first man to run a large steamer to the new wharf, and proved that the Skaguay Harbor was of sufficient depth to be practicable for boats drawing seventeen feet of water. 3. .SKAGU.AY, AUGUST 12, 1897. — Showing the city all built up of tents. September 30 the tents had all disappeareJ and a well-built town, with broad streets and sidewalks ai'.d two and ihree story houses, had been completed; every line of business was represented. 4. MINERS AT SKAGUAY, AUGUST 12, 1897.— Preparing for the journey to the Klondike. SKAGUAY HARBOR, SHOWING POINT OF LAND SEPARATING DYEA BAY FROM SKAGUAY.- This photo was taken September 12, 1897, at high tide, showing piles driven for one of the three wharfs that were in course of construction; also showing boats used in bringing passengers and outfits from the steamers to the shore, and for transporting from Skaguay to Dyea. around the point of land seen in the center of the picture. Distance from Skaguay to Dyea. five and one-half miles. When the tide is out the boats and scows are left high and dry on the beach, when wagons are driven to the boats and outfits unloaded and taken on the wagons up the trail to Ragtown, throe and one-half miles. (2080.) $ I \ \ ^ »\ v"*v*'v>sSw.-»> « J " -f ■^ 'V.- LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 017 185 278 A