ALASKA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 301 



the Yukon. He makes his headquarters at Dawson while his mining 

 interests are on the Tanana, and he packs his supplies out from Daw- 

 son. He informed me that in the fall of 1899 he left five mules at the 

 head of the Chusana River, which is perhaps 75 miles to the southeast 

 of the Ketchumstock Flats. In April the following year he found 

 four of them sound and fat; the fifth had been killed by the Indians. 



I have recorded similar instances in former reports. These facts 

 prove that the winters are not so severe but that horses and mules can 

 live through them in the open, and that there are large stretches on 

 which they find enough feed to sustain life in spite of the snowfall. 



The snowfall in Ketchumstock Flats and Tanana Valley is reported 

 to be considerably lighter than on .the Yukon, where it averages from 

 2 to 3 feet. It might be reasonably expected that the snowfall in the 

 interior would be light, inasmuch as the region is far from the sea, 

 and to the south and west it is bounded by high mountains along the 

 coast, which would cause a precipitation of the moisture in the air 

 before it is carried inland. The creeks traversed by the trail through 

 this section are successively Ketchumstock Creek, Indian Creek, Mos- 

 quito Fork, and Wolf Creek. 



Ketchumstock Creek was at the time Mr. Jones passed about 60 

 feet wide and 3 feet deep. It runs through the Indian village from 

 which the region takes its name. About 10 miles farther on, Indian 

 Creek is reached, which is only a very small stream, about 6 feet 

 wide. It may be of importance as a source of water for stock raising. 

 About 12 miles farther on the trail crosses Mosquito Fork, which is 

 the name given to the upper portion of the South Fork of the Forty - 

 mile. It was so named because of the myriads of mosquitoes which 

 infest the region. At this point the creek has an easterly course, and 

 Mr. Jones found it to be about 150 feet wide and 4 feet deep. It has 

 its source in the divide which separates the Fortymile country from 

 Tanana Valley, and is fed by numerous small creeks. 



Wolf Creek is a very small stream, the last crossed by the trail 

 before the divide which separates the Fortymile system from the 

 Tanana Valley is reached. 



So far as known, cattle, which the Indians call *" McKinley moose," 

 have as yet not been introduced into this region. Some cattle have, 

 however, been driven into the Copper River Valley. And in this 

 connection it may be mentioned that some enterprising person drove 

 four dairy cows into the mining section of the Chestochena the past 

 season, and later they were driven back to Valdez. What success 

 attended the enterprise was not learned. 



THE TANANA VALLEY. 



The Tanana Valley is separated from the Fortymile country by a 

 divide, which on the north side rises in successive elevations of low, 

 round-topped mountains covered with vegetation. It is not a stony, 



