724 



TELEGRAPH, ELECTEIO. 



year 1865, that a line from those of California 

 was in the preceding November completed to 

 Victoria, Vancouver's Island. A cable across 

 Puget Sound was, however, still required; 

 and this having been laid, a dispatch from Vic- 

 toria, April 24, 1865, and which reached Wash- 

 ington within twenty-four hours, announced 

 accordingly the completion of the line. From 

 Victoria, by way of New Westminster, up the 

 Frazer River to Quesnelle, at the mouth of a 

 branch of the same name, thence northward 

 along a chain of lakes and smaller streams to 

 Fort Frazer (on Frazer Lake), and to Fort St. 

 James, at the foot of Stuart Lake, in all a dis- 

 tance of about TOO miles, a telegraph lino was 

 in 1865 already in operation. From this point, 

 by way of or near to Behring's Strait, and to 

 the mouth of the Amoor, by the route as thus 

 far explored or conjecturally located, the dis- 

 tance has been estimated at 3,700 miles; and it 

 is within this extent that the work of the com- 

 pany is chiefly to be done. 



In order to expedite this work, Colonel Bulk- 

 ley decided to commence at several points 

 simultaneously, and assigned to certain officers 

 of the service their respective districts. The 

 explorations within British America fell to 

 Captain Conway and Major Pope, and during 

 the winter of 1865-'66 were actively pushed 

 forward. A route was explored along Lakes 

 Stuart, Tremble, and Tatala, and the connect- 

 ing streams. Navigation by boats (batteaux), 

 interrupted at some points by rapids and other- 

 wise, is carried on from Frazer River to the 

 extremity of the lake last named. At this point, 

 distant by the course of the streams from Ques- 

 nelle about 300 miles, the " Bulkley House " was 

 established as a basis of future operations; 

 while another route having been partly ex- 

 plored by the west shore of Stuart Lake, and 

 along Babine Lake to Babine Fishery, 150 

 miles, a depot of supplies was established here 

 also. Much of the country along the streams 

 and lakes was well wooded, some of it heavily 

 so ; and at or near to all points telegraph poles 

 could be had ; but there were places where the 

 rock was entirely bare, and where holes for 

 the posts must be made by drilling. Game 

 (birds excepted), and also fish, are plentiful 

 throughout this entire region the salmon and 

 white-fish especially, ascending Frazer and the 

 other rivers and their tributaries, in great 

 numbers. 



Portions of the party advanced to Fort Con- 

 nelly, on the eastern shore of Connelly's Lake; 

 while Major Pope, about 300 miles beyond 

 Bulkley House, reached the headwaters of the 

 Stekeen River, and explored it to the sea. Dur- 

 ing the autumn of 1865, Captain Coffin explored 

 the Skeena or Simpson's River, and the Nasse, 

 a branch of this ; and examination of the coun- 

 try about the headwaters of these streams was 

 still going on. The Stekeen is northward of 

 the river last named, its outlet being within 

 Russian territory ; and, like many of the other 

 rivers mentioned, it is navigable through much 



of its length. Mr. Perry Macdonough Collins, 

 the originator of the enterprise, states that from 

 the Stekeen the line will probably extend along 

 the foot-hills of the coast range to Pelly River, 

 at Fort Pelly Banks, still a. station of the Hud- 

 son's Bay Company, and thence to the Yukon, in 

 Russian America. 



The explorations in Russian America were 

 assigned to Major Robert Kennicott, who, on 

 the 8th of September, 1865, reached his base 

 of operations, Fort St. Michael's (Michaeloffsky), 

 a post of the Russian American Co., situated on 

 a small island near to the mainl-and, and on 

 Norton Sound. Mr. Bulkley has received trust- 

 worthy assurance that this river and the Yukon 

 are one. This immense stream, containing, at 

 least in its lower portions, many islands, and 

 discharging its waters by many mouths, which 

 embrace a delta of very great extent, has been, 

 for magnitude, compared with the Missouri ; 

 and though the amount of alluvium carried 

 down by it has rendered many of its outlets 

 shallow, others are believed to be deep enough 

 to admit vessels of moderate draught, while the 

 stream itself has been declared navigable for at 

 least 1,000 miles from its mouth. The dis- 

 charge of alluvium by this and the rivers of the 

 Asiatic side, appears to have so filled the whole 

 of Behring's Sea lying north of the chain of 

 the Aleutian Islands as to make this compara- 

 tively shallow ; while south of these islands tho 

 depth passes abruptly into that of the ocean. 

 Major Kennicott, for some time in failing health, 

 was, by members of his party, found dead, May 

 13, 1866, near Fort Nulato, in the region 

 referred to above. No report of the results 

 of explorations there made has yet been met 

 with. 



Mr. Collins indicates the general course of 

 the line, in the regions now considered, as lying 

 between the Coast or Cascade Range and the 

 Rocky Mountains. Among the advantages of 

 following this great valley are, that the air is 

 free from the moisture present along the coast 

 the North Pacific being much warmer than the 

 same latitudes on tho eastern side of the con- 

 tinenthence, cooler and drier, and that the 

 forests are less dense. 



On the 12th of July, 1865, the George S. 

 "Wright, screw -steamer, and of about 300 tons 

 burden, with Colonel Bulkley on board, left San 

 Francisco, proceeding along the coast to Sitka, 

 thence into Behring's Sea, and to Fort St. 

 Michael's; and, after an examination of the 

 shores of Behring's Strait, to Plover Bay, on 

 the Asiatic coast, and to Anadyr Bay, thence 

 reaching Petropaulovsky on the 21st of Octo- 

 ber. During the voyage, Colonel Bulkley 

 eflfected communication with some of the ex- 

 ploring parties along the route, and directed 

 their movements, as well as those of certain 

 vessels of the expedition ; and, finally, setting 

 sail direct for San Francisco, he arrived at that 

 port on the 20th of November. June 23d, 

 1866, he again left, on the same vessel, design- 

 ing to go in reverse direction over the samo 



