8o ALASKA. 



Chilkoot Puss is the one most used by miners. Steamers ply from 

 Juneau to Uyea, a distance of loo miles and the head of steam- 

 ship navigation. The charge is $10 tor one man and outfit. Mr. 

 Wilson's description of the route is summarized as follows: 



/it Dvea, the actual journey begins. If the trip is made by sleighs, the parties 

 usually do their own work; but if the snow and ice have left the canyon, the 

 outfit will have to be packed to Lake Lindeman. Indian packers charge $14 

 per 100 pounds; the distance is about 24 miles. Canoes can be used for about 

 6 miles up the Dvea River; then the trail, steep and precipitous, leads up the 

 canvon to the summit, 15 miles distant and 3,500 feet above tidewater. From 

 the summit, there is a sheer descent of 500 feet to the bed of Crater Lake. 

 The water has cut a small canvon down the mountain side which should be fol- 

 lowed to Lake Lindeman (24 miles from Dyea Inlet). Here a ratt should be 

 made with a deck of small poles a foot above the body, which prevents the 

 waves from wetting the outfit. The latter should be protected by water-tight 

 sacks, either of oilskin or canvas. A short portage of three-fourths of a mile 

 (the fall being about 20 feet) leads to Lake Bennett. The stream connecting 

 the two lakes is crooked and rockv, making it unsafe for a boat. Lake Linde- 

 man is about 6 miles along, and opens up from May 15 to June 10. After 

 reaching Lake Bennett, the journey may be continued by ratt, or by ascending a 

 small river which enters the head of the lake from the west, a distance of one mile; 

 good boDt timber may be found. The only timber used in the construction of 

 boats is spruce or Norway pine. Lake Bennett is some 26 miles long; Caribou 

 Crossing leads to Tagish Lake. Navigation on these two lakes is sometimes 

 interrupted bv the high winds. A wide, sluggish river leads to Lake Marsh, 20 

 miles long. The river from here to the canyon has about a 3-mile current. 

 Just above the canyon, quantities of salmon are found. The canyon proper is 

 five-eighths of a mile in length, but the distance to portage is about a mile, and 

 that run by the boats is three-fourths of a mile. The average width of the 

 canyon is loo feet, and the water is very deep. There is little danger in passing 

 the canyon, if the steersman does not lose his head. The water in the center is 

 4 feet higher than at the walls, and if the boat is kept under control it will remain 

 on this crest, and so avoid striking the walls. The boat should be strong, and 

 the cargo well protected from the water. It takes two minutes and twenty sec- 

 onds to pass through the canyon. Two miles below, White Horse Rapids arc 

 reached. It is practically impossible to pass these, and portage must be resorted 

 to. This part of the river can never be made navigable for steamers. A tram- 

 way could be easilv built here, and operated by the power from the falls. 



About 15 miles from the rapids, the Tahkeena River joins the Lewis. This 



