30 THE PORCUPINE PLACER DISTRICT, ALASKA. [bull. 236. 
WATER SUPPLY. 
The flow of water in the different creeks varies with the seasons and 
also during the day. Most of it comes from glaciers and snow fields, 
and on warm, sunny days it is usually one-third less in the morning 
than in the afternoon. The high-water season is usually in the middle 
of summer, not in the spring as might be expected on account of the 
melting of the snow. Low water is during the months of May, June, 
October, and November. In the winter most of the creeks freeze 
over and are covered with snow, but a small stream continues to flow 
under the ice. Porcupine Creek has a flow varying from 2,000 to- 
5,000 miner's inches per minute, and an average fall of 6 feet per hun- 
dred, or a total of 2,200 feet in the 7 miles of its course. 
FORESTS. 
The timber consists chiefly of hemlock, spruce, a few cedars, and 
occasional pines, besides an abundant growth of cottonwood on the 
river bottoms. The lower hills and mountain slopes are usually 
wooded to an elevation of 2,000 or 2,500 feet above sea level. During 
the winter months the sawmills are supplied with logs averaging not 
over 2 feet in diameter, mainly of spruce, and in early spring these 
are sawed and used for buildings, flumes, and sluice boxes. A dense 
undergrowth of weeds known as "devil's club," and of alders, covering 
the lower portion of the hills, hinders walking and makes prospect- 
ing difficult. 
TRAILS AND TRANSPORTATION. 
The usual route to the district formerly followed from Haines 
Mission was the Dal ton trail, which has its starting point at Pyramid 
Harbor, on the west side of Chilkat Inlet, but this road is only prac- 
ticable for travelers on horses, because of the difficult fords across 
Takhin and Salmon riv r ers. Another trail leads along the east bank 
of the Chilkat to Wells Post, where the Chilkat is crossed by canoe, 
and thence along the north bank of Klehini River to opposite Por- 
cupine. This, generally known as Throp's trail, is used during the 
months of low water in the early spring and autumn. During the 
summer months it is best to wait for a favorable wind and sail up- 
stream. Native canoemen are always available, and their services are 
necessary to those not familiar with the river. 
Freight and supplies are usually moved in during the months of 
winter and early spring, when the snow and the frozen condition of 
the streams greatly facilitate transportation. In the summer Indians 
are hired to transport the freight in their canoes as far as Wells Post, 
from which it is carried on wagons by a fairly easy route along the 
banks of Klehini River to Porcupine. 
