^62 
[Oct. 3, ml. 
ALASKA AND THE YUKON. 
A .Trip Through the Interior, 
Anaconda, Colo. — At the age of fifteen I commenced 
hunting-, trapping and prospecting in Western Oolorado 
In those days bear, lion and other fur-bearing animals were 
plentiful, and deer and elk could be found in bands of thou- 
sands. Duiibg the last two or three years the fur bearing 
animals have been nearly all trapped, and other game has 
become correspondingly scarce. Having heard of the abun- 
dance of all kinds of large game in Alaska, an irresistible 
desire seized me to try my luck there, and accordingly I 
commenced looking about for a congenial companion. 
Silos Meadows is a young ms>n about '<J6 years of age; has 
had considerable experience in hunting, trapping, prospect- 
ing, etc , and as I had been acquainted with him for about 
nine ymxs, and knew him to have plenty of grit and deter- 
mination, I felt certain that he would not be one to turn 
back when difficulties were encountered. 
I had decided to start from New Castle, Colo., May 1, 
and about three days before the appointed time I approached 
"Scy" on the subject. After considering the matter for a 
couple of days he fell in with the idea, and on the third 
day everything was in readiness. 
We left New Castle on the night of May 1, and reached 
Seattle on the 4th. Here we took the steamer Alki, which 
left Seattle May 7, and touched at Tacoma, Port Townsend, 
and Victoria, B.C., for cargo and passengers. We left 
Victoiia on the 8th, and coasted through numerous straits 
and channels, past fifty snow clad peaks, rocky cliCfs and 
heavily-timbered shores. On the night of the 10th we 
reached Mary's Island oflE the southeast coast of Alaska, just 
over the Canadian boundary. Here the U, S. customs in- 
spectors came aboard and accompanied us to Juneau. On 
the 11th we touched at Fort Wrangel, a government post 
inhabited principally by Indians. Leaving Fort Wrangel, 
we sailed through Dry Strait into Prince Frederick Sound. 
Here we passed many large glaciers and icebergs, and saw 
numbers of whales and hair seals. We passed through Ste- 
phen's Passage at night and landed at Juneau May 18. 
Juneau is the largest town in A'aska, and contains about 
2,500 inhabitants, including natives. It is situated in a 
basin surrounded on the north and east sides by high moun- 
tains, and on the southwest by salt water. Here we out- 
fitted for the trip through the interior, our supplies consist- 
ing of l,5001b8, of grub and about SOOlbs. of bedding, clo- 
thing, ammunition, etc., making a total of 2,000lbs. 
On the night of the 13th we went aboard a small steamer 
called the Chehalis, en route to Dyea, 100 miles from Juneau 
by water. On the way we encountered heavy winds and 
rough seas, and on the morning of the 14 h we ran into the 
harbor at Chilcat, where we cast ancbor and laid over about 
fifteen hours. At 4 A.M. on the 15th we weighed anchor 
and resumed our course to Dyea, which we leiched at 
7 30 A M. 
There are but few docks in Alaska, and freight and pas- 
sengers are usually landed by Indians, in canoes hewed out 
of large cedar logs, some of which are capable of car-rying 
10 tons. 
We cast anchor three miles from shore, the whistle was 
blown as a signal, and immediately the Indians came out in 
their canoes and landed ourselves and outfit without mishap. 
After cooking breakfast we secured our Indian packers, 
who loaded our goods into' a canoe and towed it up the 
Dyea River to the head of canoe navigation — a distance of 
six miles. We camped here for the night between two 
large glaciers, one on each side of the river. On- the 16th 
the Indians commenced packing our outfit up to Sheep 
Camp, so called on account of the numbers of mountain 
sheep killed in the vicinity. This camp is at Mmber line 
and seven miles above our previous stopping placa Here it 
is necessary to remain until everything is packed to the 
summit of Chilcoot Pass, a distance of four miles, and piled 
there in readiness for the trip down to Lake Linderman. 
We worked between the hours of 1A.M. and 8 A.M., 
while the snow was crusted. At this time of the year the 
sun shines for about eighteen hours a day and the nights are 
not dark. 
While at Sheep Camp I killed my first Alaskan bear. 
Three of them came up the creek at diiferent times, and as 
they had to pass between the camp and the glaciers, which 
were about 200 yards away, they were certain to afiford a 
shot. I killed two of them, and thus secured our first sup- 
ply of fresh meat — a very acceptable change from "sow 
bosom," My rifle was a .45-70 Winchester, with Lyman 
rear and ivory bead front sight, and proved to be a match 
for anything that we encountered. 
Here all of the Indians black their faces, paint red around 
their eyes, and rub a coat of grease over all, in order to pre- 
vent sunburn and snow blindness, so we did the same. 
The Chilcat Indians are probably the finest packers in the 
world. They have never had horses like the Indians of this 
country, and f com childhood up they are trained to paddle 
canoes and pack heavy loads on their backs. The different 
tribes here are known as the Chilcats, KUukets and Sticks. 
A strong Indian is known as a "skookum Injun," and will 
pack 2001bs. from Dyea to Lake Linderman, a distance of 
twenty-six miles, and make the trip m three days, The 
heaviest load ever packed over the trail by one man was 
3501b3., and the immense strength and endurance required 
for such a feat may be realized, when it is stated that a 
"skookum" white man will only pack 50 or 751bs. over 
Chilcoot Pass. I carried a sled and a whip saw, weighing 
together about 501bs., to the summit, and it was quite 
enough. The last mile is so steep, that it is easier to carry a 
401 b sled than to pull it. 
O J May 21 we had nearly all of our outfit piled upon the 
summit, and on the 33d we broke camp and carried up the 
remainder. Here we paid the Indians for their services, at 
the rate of |10 per lOOibs. They charge $4 per lOOlbs for 
packing from here to Lake Linderman, the headwaters of 
the Lewis River, a distance of nine miles, but we decided to 
do that ourstlvos. 
Wc loaded our sled with SOOlbs. and started down to the 
lake, and had made about a mile when the snow became so 
soft tua:, it was impossible to proceed further until next 
morning. There was no bare ground in sight, and no wood 
within five miles one way and seven the other, so we 
selected a large lava rock from which the snow had blown 
off as our resting place, unloaded, and made our bed on top. 
Now this rock was never intended by nature as a resting- 
place for humans. It was honeycombed and covered with 
little projections like inverted icicleg, and as Meadows is 
rather bony, and has protuberances on his anatomy some- 
what similar to the rock, he failed to realize that sweet 
slumber which we both deserved. X was not much fleshier 
than Meadows, but was so tired that I could have slept on 
almost anything. 
We estimated the snow on these mountains to be from 
30 to 250 ft. deep — to say nothing of the glaciers, which are 
hundreds of feet thick. We got started at 4 A.M. on the 
23d, and the snow being well crusted, we traveled to within 
a mile of Like Linderman, Here the sleighing played out, 
and we made our camp at timber line on the northern side 
of the pass. At 9 P.M. we started back to the summit for 
another load, arriving at 1 A..M. on the 24th. We loaded 
up and got back to camp at 7 A.M., and after breakfas*; I 
picked up my Stevens . 25 cal. pocket rifle and. went up a 
bare hillside where I had seen some ptarmigan flying about. 
I soon knocked over enough to make a good pot pie, and 
putting them in a camp kettle filled it with water and hung 
it over a good fire, after which we went to bed. At 6 P.M. 
we got up, and found the birds well done. I then seasoned 
them with dried onions and dried potatoes that we had 
brought along for the purpose, and allowed them to boil 
thirty minutes longer, when we buckled in, and as the work 
had developed gorgeous appetites we soon disposed of the 
entire kettleful. 
At 10 P.M on the 24^h we started back to the summit for 
the remainder of our outfit, and reached camp with it at 
5 A.M. on the 25lh. On the 26th we ommenced packing 
from camp to Lake Linderman, and on the 39th had our 
outfit piled and our tent pitched on the shores of the lake. 
The ice commenced to break on May 28, and by June 3 
the lake was op3n. We cut logs for our boat June 1, and 
on the 3d we built a sawpit and commenced to whip saw 
lumber. In two days and a-half we cut 200ft., then packed 
it down to camp and planed it. We commence 1 to build 
the boat on the 7th, making it 31ft. in length, 4ft. beam, 
and 24in. in depth; large enough for two to use ia pretty 
rough water. We finished on the 10th, and next day rigged 
up a jib sail, launched our craft, and steered for the foot of 
Lake Linderman. The wind was blowing a gale and the 
lake was very rough. We camped for the night at the Oat- 
let, and next day we portaged our goods three quarters of a 
mile to Lake Bennett. We then let our boat down the river 
with a rope to the head of the rapids, where we hauled it 
out, skidded it about 300 yards, put it back into the river, 
and ran down to Lake Bennett. Here we loaded up and 
set sail to cross the lake. The wind was blowing hard and 
the lake was very rough, but we made about fifteen miles 
and camped for the night. On the 13th we again set sail, 
and headed for the foot of the lake; the wind being in our 
favor we reached our destination about noon and landed. 
The connecting waters between Lake Bennett and Tagish 
Lake are about three miles long and quite shallow. They 
are known as Caribou Crossing, owmg to the quantiti s of 
these animals which cross here in the spring and fall. We 
put in the remainder of the day hunting, and although we 
saw numbers of caribou, moose and bear tracks, we did not 
kill anything. Here is the commsncement of the big game 
country, and next morning before starting we heard the 
wolves howling everywhere. 
On the 14th we loaded up and •weiit down the river to 
Tagish Lake, which was dead calm, something very un- 
usual. We had to cross what is known as Windy Arm, 
about twenty miles wide, and of course were obliged to 
resort to the oars. This body of water is the most dangerous 
of all the lakes, and prospectors going down frequently have 
to lay over here" for several days. The wind is always a 
side one, and as the boats are not usually provided with 
keels or centerboards there is great danger of drifting 
ashore. Tagish Lake is a curious one, and m shape is like 
the l^ter U with a range of high mountains in the middle. 
No white men know the length of this lake. The Indians 
claim that it is a four days' journey with a canoe up Takou 
arm and a two days' one up the other arm. As they travel 
from forty to seventy-miles a day this would make the arms 
160 to 300 and 80 to 150 miles long, respectively. 
We camped cit the Tagish House, a village of Stick Indians, 
situated on the connecting waters between Tagish Lake and 
Lake Marsh, 180 miles from Juneau. It is a rendezvous for 
all the Indians in the vicinity, who gather here in the sum- 
mer, hold councils of war and have ghost dances, and feasts, 
and cremate the bodies of the dead chiefs, who are thereby 
sent to the happy hunting grounds. 
Here the country opens out into a wide valley bordered by 
hills covered with bunch grass, and is a great place for game 
and fish. 
The principal varieties of large game are moose, caribou, 
mountain sheep, goats, many species of bear, wolves and 
wolverines, but none of our well known deer or elk. Water 
fowl are plentiful, and the beauty of it is a person can go 
nearly anywhere in a beat. 
The prmcipal varieties of fish are salmon trout, grayling or 
Arctic trout and pike. The Indians catch large quantities in 
traps made of willows. 
On June 15 we crossed Lake Marsh — twenty iniles — and 
camped for the night oh the Lewis River. On the 16lh we 
descended the EeWis to Grand Canon, and after investigatii g 
ran through it. The river above Is from 300 to 400ft. wide, 
but through the cafion for a distance of a mile it narrows to 
90ft. This was the swiftest piece of water that we tackled, 
and most people haul their boats over the top by means of a 
windlass which is left there. At the foot of the river the 
White Horse rapids commence. They are three miles long 
and we ran all but 200yd8 , which is almost impassable. 
Strangers going into this country sometimes do not know 
where the bad places are until it is too late. Few people 
ever get through these rapids alive if they attempt to run 
them ; no less than thirteen were drowned here last summer. 
This is as far as the salmon ever get, 3,335 miles above the 
mouth of the Yukon. We laid over here a couple of days 
and went hunting, getting a moose and two bears. This 
would have been sufficient to last us all summer if we could 
keep it, but the weather being warm we gave the greater por- 
tion to the Indians. Between here and Forty Mile it would 
be no trouble to kill a moose or bear at any time. 
On the 19th we went on down to Lake Lebarge, twenty, 
eigut miles. On the morning of the 30th we rose early, ex- 
pecting to make a good run, but as there was no wind we 
had to buckle down to the oars. Occasionally a breeze would 
come up and we would hoist the sail, thereby getting a few 
minutes' rest. After twelve hours of this work we crossed 
the lake, thirty-three miles, and on the 21st continued on 
down to the mouth of the flootalinqua River. This river is 
very large and enters from ttie east. About 200 miles up it 
is Lake Teslin, 136 miles in length. 
On the 231 we went oa down to the mouth of the Big 
Salmon River, where there is a tribe of natives known as the 
Salmon River Indians. They were the most savage ones we 
had seen so far, and despite the fact that they could not speak 
a word of English, I managed to do some trading with them 
by means of signs. They had some old muzzleloading rifles 
and also used bows and arrows. 
About forty miles below here the Little Salmon River 
enters from the east. This is the country for bear. If some 
of the Eastern sports who are anxious to run up against a 
big bruin would take a trip to the Salmon Rivers they would 
not fail to be accommodated. These rivers are great streams 
for salmon, and the bears travel many miles to fatten on 
them In a day's journey up or down either of these streamis 
one can see from ten to twenty. They are of many specie", 
the most ferocious being the Mount St. Elias grizzly He 
is exceptionally bold and will give nothing the road. The 
Indians will not fish nor hunt up some of the streams in 
salmon season, and when I asked them the reason, they re- 
plied that "Sometimes Injun kill big bear; plenty times big 
bear kill Injun." They kill a great many black and brown 
bears, bat 1 have never kno vn an Indiun in the interior to 
have a Mount St E'.ias grizzly's hide. 
Between the Little Salmon River and Five Fmger Rapids 
the country again opens out into a wide valley, and the 
river is very crooked. 
The Rapids are 451 miles from Juneau, and derive their 
name from five columns of rock which stand in a row across 
the river. This is a nasty piece of water and most travelers 
portage around, but we ran it. Five miles bslow are the 
Rink Ripids. but they are not so dangerous and are nearly 
always run with a boat. Beyond these there are no rapids 
worth mentioning; all is plain sailing to the mouth of the 
Yukon, and large river steamers could run the entire distance 
of 2,100 miles. Above this point the current is about seven 
miles an hour and below it six as far as Circle City. To the 
junction of the Lewis and Pella the river is very wide and 
contains many islands — the breeding place of thousands of 
geese and ducks. 
From the Hootalinqua River to the Pella there is a vol- 
canic ash deposit from 1 to 3ft. thick, which underlies the 
top soil about 1ft. and is deposited like snow. The Indians 
tell of many volcanoes in this district from three to five days' 
journey back from the river. The j xnction of the Lewis and 
Pella rivers forms the Yukon, which is 3,050 miles in length. 
There are two trading posts here, and the two steamers which 
navigate the river to this point each make one trip a year. 
One hundred and ten miles below the White River enters 
from the west. This stream derives its name from the milky 
color of the water, which carries qiantities of wtute volcanic 
ash in su-pension. The Indians give many interesting ac- 
counts of a high mountain at the head of this river, and also 
of a large lake The mountam is said to throw up fire and 
smoke, and ia doubtless the cause of the volcanic ash. 
Eleven miles farther down the Stuart River enters, also 
from the east. The country up this river is celebrated for its 
moose, which are believed to be the largest in the worlel — 
the bulls frequently weighing from 1,500 to i,6001bs. On 
this stretch of the river we made a run of 800 ihiles in thirty 
hours, only going ashore to cook our meals. 
Thirty miles below Stuart River we passed Sixty-Mile Post, 
and forty iniles below this the Claundyke River enters from 
the east. Unlike the White River, its waters are clear and 
shallow, and are a favorite resort for salmon. 
We landed at Forty Mile Post on June 28, having traveled 
750 miles since leaving Juneau. Here we left our large boat 
and procured a smaller one: 21ft long and 38in. beam, 
made especially for poling up streams. On July 1 we starteel 
up Forty Mile River, towing and poling our boat. On the 
4th, as we were towing our boat, I happened to glance up 
the hillside across the river, and there was a big bald faced 
grizzly looking down at us, so I started after him, having 
previously arranged a code of signals, which Meadows was 
to give with his hat in case the bear started to travel. A 
motion to the right or left meant that the bear was moving 
in the direction indicated; up or down signified up hill or 
down hill; holding the hat still, in same place yet; wav- 
ing the hat, within gunshot. When I crossed the river and 
commenceei the ascent of the mountain, I lost sight of bruin, 
but from Meadows's signals I knew he was traveling to the 
right, and followed accordingly. Finally a wave of the hat 
indicated that I was within gunshot, so 1 kept a sharp look- 
out. Soon I sighted him walking over a ridge about 300yds. 
away and looking back, from which I inferred that he had 
seen me first. I let him, go over the ridge, then made a 
careful sneak to the top, and saw him cross a little ravine 
about 100yds. away. I let drive as he was walking from me 
quartering and hit him in the flank. This starteel him run- 
ning from me toward a narrow strip of spruce timber, but 
before he reached it I fired three or four limes more, then 
sat down and waited until he emerged from the other side, 
when I sent in another one. At this he turned around and 
started right back, so I awaited his return. He soon passed 
through the timber and headed right for me, so I com- 
menced to shoot, but still he came on until within 50ft., 
when he turntd sideways, and at that instant a shot broke 
his neck, and he rolled over. He was as close as I cared to 
have him come, and I was greatly relieved when he tumbled. 
Upon examination I found six bullet holes in his body, but 
only one had gone through — the one in the neck, I think 
that when he turned he had had enough of it and intended 
to retreat. I skinned him and packed the hide down to the 
boat, then went back and brought down a load of meat to 
last ourselves and dogs until we could kill a moose or an 
arctic reindeer. This was our Fourth of July celebration in 
Alaska. 
The bear here do not come out of their holes until May, 
and the fur is prime until July. In the fall it is of little or 
no value on account of shedding so late in the season. One 
hundred and fifty miles up Forty Mile is a great game coun- 
try. Here the Indians are known as the Ketchum- Stocks 
and "Tanannas. Arctic reindeer can sometimes be seen in 
bands of thousands. They do not scatter like the deer and 
elk of Colorado, and if they are found at all, they are in 
great herds. Although not more than half the size of the 
woodland caribou of the Lewis River and British Columbia, 
they have enormous feet, and both the males and females 
have very large antlers, sometimes with as many as fifty 
points. They are founcl on the bald hills, above timber, 
which here consists principally of spruce, Norway pine, birch 
and willows. These only grow along the streams at an alti- 
tude of 2,000ft., or less, until the Arctic Circle is reached, 
north of which there is none. During our trip we kept a re- 
cord of the thermometer readings, and the warmest was 80° 
above. The summer weather here is probably the finest in 
the world — neither too hot nor too cold— the temperature 
ranging between 50° and 80°. The sun is only down from 
two to four hours of the day, from the middle of May to the 
