LIARD RIVER EXPERIENCES. 



A. J. STONE. 



Having completed our journey down the 

 Dease, we immediately descended the Liard. 

 This undertaking, however, was beset with 

 difficulties. The season was late; snow fell 

 frequently, so damp as to penetrate our 

 clothing; the winds were icy cold. How- 

 ever, we had good night camps, and so suf- 

 fered no real hardships. Nor were we down 

 to our winter home too soon, for our boat, 

 during the last part of our journey was sur- 

 rounded by slush ice and in a few days the 

 river was closed in many places. Snow fell 

 rapidly and preparations for winter must be 

 made. 



This we set about at once. About a mile 

 from the post we cut a large quantity of dry 

 wood, which we carried on dog sledges to 

 camp. To accomplish this we were obliged 

 to clear a road through the brush, which 

 consumed a week of hard labor. Then the 

 cabins were to repair; by this time De- 

 cember had come, though we worked every 

 day from dawn till dark, not stopping at 

 noon for lunch. 



We now moved into our cabin and at once 

 arranged for a hunting trip up the Muddy 

 for fresh meat. As there were no Indians 

 to transport it we took our dog teams. We 

 hoped, too, to secure specimens of sheep and 

 caribou at the egress of the river from the 

 mountains. 



Although we found abundant signs of 

 moose we failed to find the animals, and after 

 a faithful and strenuous effort we were 

 obliged to abandon the hunt and return to 

 the post, which we reached on Christmas 

 Eve. Mr. Simpson had accompanied me, 

 and his good wife had " plum pudding," 

 mince pies, and many other luxuries ready 

 for us on our return. 



A few days later 2 young men came in 

 from Hell's Gate, no miles below, who re- 

 ported the route as passable, and I deter- 

 mined at once to sledge my goods through 

 on the ice. This I proceeded to do, though 

 strongly opposed by the advice of others. 

 Accordingly, my sledges were loaded. The 

 young men loaned me their 2 dog teams 

 which were to go back empty and Mr. 

 Simpson loaned me his. Each team had 

 300 pounds and we at once began our jour- 

 ney, January 1st. 



Description of the journey through the 

 canyon would be impossible, but, like all 

 our other difficult tasks, it was accomplished 

 at last, and on our arrival at Hell's Gate I 

 proceeded at once to build a strong cache for 

 our supplies. In this I stored everything, 

 covering it with canvas to exclude damp- 

 ness, and over the whole piling heavy logs 

 until we considered it safe. Then began our 

 return trip. During this journey the snow 

 fell constantly, and by the time we reached 

 the post the going was frightful; to ac- 

 complish the last mile took 4 hours of hard 



work. One of the dogs died. Mr. Pelly, 

 a young Englishman, and I were both quite 

 ill the last day, but still kept up, and Mr. 

 Simpson's kindly ministrations restored us 

 to perfect condition. One good meal of 

 moose meat, one good night's rest in a good 

 bed and we were as good as new. 



The young man who had accompanied me 

 now lost all desire to go farther, and as he 

 had not proved a very desirable helper, I 

 suffered him to go. Thenceforward for a 

 time I was alone. 



February 1st Mr. Simpson left the post 

 for an extended overland trip, taking his dog 

 with him, and as I was now without either 

 man or dogs, I was compelled to forego 

 hunting and remain for a time at the post. 



So as to be occupied I set to work to 

 translate the Tahltan and Kaskas languages, 

 with the help of [Mrs. Simpson, and suc- 

 ceeded in turning out a work of which I am 

 proud. I did some photographic work, de- 

 veloped and fixed all my plates up to date, 

 and extended my knowledge of the Kaskas 

 and Liard Indians. 



April 1st I purchased one dog, Zilla, a 

 faithful and intelligent animal, and hired an 

 Indian (Powder) to go with me with his 

 team. My stuff, 400 pounds, I divided. Giv- 

 ing the Indian ^ and loading the other on 

 Zilla's sledge, we started out for Hell's Gate. 



Anxious for the safety of my cache I 

 pushed on as fast as possible, combating 

 all the while Powder's desire to return. Af- 

 ter passing the Devil's Portage, however, 

 his reluctance seemed to yield, and thence- 

 forward he went willingly enough. The last 

 S3 miles we made in 8]/ 2 hours. 



Two miles above my cache we began to 

 meet the Hell's Gate Indians, who rushed 

 down to us to ask all kinds of questions. 

 Despite Powder's desire to stop and talk, 

 however, I kept him pushing on, until the 

 cache was reached. Everything was found 

 undisturbed, for which I was grateful, but 

 the situation otherwise was somewhat dis- 

 heartening. I was more than 100 miles from 

 the nearest white man or friendly Indian, 

 surrounded by a band of thieves and mur- 

 derers, and moreover compelled to build a 

 boat, a thing which I had never seen done; 

 120 miles of unfamiliar river to navigate, 

 and 2,000 pounds to transport in this yet 

 unbuilt boat. Truly here was cause for grave 

 concern. However, were I to proceed to 

 Fort Liard for help the savages about the 

 cache would loot it in my absence. My duty 

 to the 3 institutions whose representative 

 I was, was plain : to remain in charge of my 

 stores alone until I could procure the means 

 to transport them. Besides, I trusted to 

 the cowardice of these people, and relied 

 on my means of defense. 3 loaded rifles 

 always at hand and the faithful Zilla as my 

 sleepless guard. 



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