2oS Natur-Al History Bui^letix. 



calculated to stem the current of a swift river like the one we 

 were to ascend. Trips are made occasionally for the purpose 

 of carrying provisions to supply the miners between Tele- 

 graph Creek and the Yukon. 



The Stikine is a large river fiov/ing into the Pacific a little 

 north of Fort Wrangel; for a distance of about twenty miles 

 from the sea the general trend of the valley is east and west, 

 then the river bends in a quadrant of arc and assumes a nearl}'- 

 due north direction which it maintains for about sixty-six 

 miles. Beyond this, the valley is continued in a nearl}- direct 

 northeasterly course to the vicinity of Dease Lake, but the 

 upper portion is occupied by the Tanzilla, the main river 

 enterinof this continuous vallev from the southward. ^ The 

 stream is subject to annual freshets v>'hich make navigation at 

 times rather dangerous. It was just at the time when the 

 high water was supposed to be subsiding that I left Wrangel 

 for the upper river. 



All v/ent well for two days: we ran up, with an occasional 

 stop for wood, passed magnificent mountains and numerous 

 glaciers, some close to the river, others distant, reaching the 

 lower end of the Little Canon on the evening of the second 

 day. The water had been steadily rising again and it was 

 not without misgivings, that on the morning of the 14th, 

 the captain decided to make the attempt to run through this 

 gorge — dangerous at such a stage of v\ater. A line was 

 taken ashore and both the wheel and capstan m.ade to do duty 

 in propelling the boat up stream. Two-thirds of the way 

 through the canon an eddy swung the boat against a rock 

 and a very short time sufficed to sink her. Before she went 

 down, however, the captain had run her out of the lower end 

 of the canon, and the vessel sank, close to the bank, in almost 

 the exact spot where we had tied up the night before. 



This place was my camp for several days and collecting 

 was resumed immediately. I was situated in a grove of wil- 

 lows and cottonwoods, with heavy undergrowth, and the high 



1 Dr. G. M. Dawson, loc. cit., p. 47 B. 



