2,000 MILES DOWN THE YUKON 23 



to the White Pass Route. The ore, which was mined 

 from levels several hundred feet below the surface, con- 

 tained copper enough to pay the expenses of shipping 

 and smelting in Tacoma. We were told that the prop- 

 erty had yielded a very large profit in the first year it 

 had been operated. 



Ptarmigan, one of the beautiful northern grouse, 

 abounded in the neighborhood; but it might not be so 

 much longer, for the men slaughtered the defenceless 

 birds for winter food. In a two or three days' hunt they 

 would load a half dozen pack horses. One photograph 

 showed 3,000 ptarmigan thus secured. 



We drew back to the main fine and passed the narrow 

 gorge of Miles Canyon and the Rapids into the town of 

 White Horse, which came into existence as a refitting 

 station, after the perilous rapids, for the river journey to 

 Dawson. Nowadays it is the head of navigation on 

 the upper waters of the Yukon drainage system. This 

 fork of the Yukon is called the Lewis River, until it 

 joins the Pelly. 



Before going on, however, we saw a boat run the 

 Rapids and visited a fox farm. 



Dr. Sugden, an old-time river pilot, sent a dory by 

 rail up to the head of Miles Canyon, and a large crowd 

 walked out to the Rapids to see him come out of the 

 gorge and go through the swift water. Merl la Voy 

 set up a motion-pictm-e camera. After a long wait the 

 boat shot out of the canyon into the rapids. The pilot 

 steered with an oar at the stern and kept bow down- 

 stream, choosing the round back of water where the 

 current ran swiftest and deepest. Though the angry 

 wave-crests seemed from our point of view to be curling 

 frequently into the open dory, the boat came through 

 with very little water aboard. 



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