CAMP FIRES IN THE YUKON 17 



of the coast in Southwestern Alaska, as the North- 

 ern tribes and the Eskimos have no such symbolic 

 monuments. A short distance from Wrangel the 

 Stikine River, coming down from the Cassiar Moun- 

 tains, furnishes a route whereby the big game 

 hunter may find ingress to the splendid hunting far 

 back in the Cassiar Range. 



After leaving Wrangel and passing through Fred- 

 erick Sound into Stephen's Passage, we began to 

 encounter floating icebergs, being masses of ice of 

 the deepest cerulean blue color that had fallen and 

 cracked off the ice wall of Taku Glacier and were 

 floating about in the narrow passage, a menace to 

 navigation but very interesting to the traveler. Ap- 

 proaching Taku Inlet a marvelous scene is pre- 

 sented; Taku Glacier, a gigantic wall of blue ice, 

 seared with crevasses and tossed into minarets and 

 spires, rises far back at the very tops of the moun- 

 tains and descends as a mighty river of solid ice 

 hundreds of feet thick down to the sea, pushing and 

 cutting its relentless way between the mountains. 

 About two hours' run north of Taku Inlet we come 

 to Juneau, the capital of Alaska; and to Treadwell, 

 across the narrows, where are located the famous 

 Treadwell mines. Ahead lies the last stretch of 

 our journey by steamship, as eight hours' sailing 

 through the mountain-girt, natural passage called 

 Lynn Canal brings us to the once famous gateway 

 of the Golden North, Skagway. 



