CHAPTER XVII 



THE WONDERS OF A NEW LAND 



I HAVE been quoting freely from Dr. 

 George M. Dawson, one of the greatest of 

 Canadian scientists. He has carefully studied 

 the rocks, mountains, glaciers, plateaus, vol- 

 canic deposits, fossils, and old lava — flows that 

 occur in this comparatively new land passing 

 under the name of the Yukon Territory. 



Let me now quote from Rex Beach, the 

 novelist, who has spent eleven years in this 

 section of the country and has had a wide 

 experience there. 



"In one way the southern coast of Alaska 

 may be said to be perhaps a million of years 

 younger than any other land on this conti- 

 nent, for it is still in the glacial period. The 

 vast alluvial plains and valleys of the inte- 

 rior are rimmed in to the southward, and shut 

 off from the Pacific, by a well-nigh impassa- 

 ble mountain barrier, the top of which is 

 capped with perpetual snow. Its gorges for 

 the most part run rivers of ice instead of wa- 



