252 THE UPPER YUKON 



At the foot of the channel it is only thirty 

 yards wide, and here there is a sudden drop 

 and the water rushes through at a tremendous 

 rate, leaping and seathing like a cataract. 

 The miners have constructed a portage road 

 on the west side and put down roUways in 

 some places on which to shove their boats over, 

 and they have also made some windlasses to 

 haul their boats up hill, at the foot of the 

 canyon. 



''The next great obstruction in the river is 

 the Five Finger Rapids. These are made by 

 several islands standing in the channel and 

 backing up the water so as to raise it about a 

 foot, causing a swell below. For two miles 

 the rapids are very swift, but nowadays steam- 

 ers 'buck' these rapids and with the help of a 

 cable they do fairly well." 



All of the above is quoted from Prof. 

 Ogilvie's Report of his Surveys in i887-'88. 

 In the same year Dr. G. M. Dawson made 

 a journey from the Stikine River, in British 

 Columbia, to the Yukon, following the Liard, 

 Frances, and Finlayson rivers. 



In the early winter of 1893, Warburton 

 Pike crossed from the Liard River to the 

 Pelly Lakes by way of Frances Lake and 

 Ptarmigan Creek. When the spring opened 



