A NEW TERRITORY 251 



down the Yukon to go as far as the interna- 

 tional boundary line — about 700 miles. He 

 found the much-dreaded White Horse Pass 

 unsafe to run with the big boats. He sent two 

 men through the canyon in one of the canoes 

 to await the arrival of one boat and to be 

 ready to pick up the men in case of an acci- 

 dent. Every man in the party was supplied 

 with a life preserver, so that if a casualty had 

 occurred they all would have floated. Those 

 in the canoe got through, but would not try it 

 again. The passage through the canyon was 

 made in three minutes, or at the rate of twelve 

 and one-half miles an hour. 



There's a rock in the middle of the channel 

 near the upper end of the carry, the one that 

 makes the passage so difficult. In low water 

 this rock barely shows itself above the sur- 

 face. The distance from the head to the foot 

 of the canyon is five-eighths of a mile, with a 

 basin about midway in it of 150 yards in di- 

 ameter. It is circular in form, with steep 

 sides about 100 feet high. The lower part of 

 the canyon is much rougher to run through 

 than the upper. 



"The White Horse Rapids proper are only 

 about three-eighths of a mile long, and are 

 the most dangerous rapids of the whole river. 



