"From Seattle we went to Fort Wrangel, 140 miles this side of Juneau, and there we took the 150-ton steamer 'Alaskan,' which plies on the Stikeen River. The Stikeen River is very broad at some points, and at others, where it runs through canyons, it narrows down to 100 feet or so, just room enough for the steamer to pass between the steep, rocky walls. Rapids were numerous, and frequently the crew would have to go ashore and 'line' the steamer through a narrow rapid, where the water ran so swiftly that it made us dizzy. When nearing a bit of water of this kind the propeller was never used. After shutting down the machinery, lines would be attached to a steam capstan on the deck of the steamer. The ends of these lines then were made fast to trees on either side of the river, and by means of the steam capstan the boat was warped along cautiously until open water was reached. "The weather was not so cold as we looked for, just bracing. The trail along the Stikeen follows the left bank of the river almost to the conference of the Iskoot River, where it crosses the Stikeen, following the left bank of the Iskoot to Telegraph Creek. At that point the trail trends to the west and north as far as the Tahltan River, following that course over a great, flat plateau until the foot of Teslin, or Allen's, Lake is reached. "There were five in the party which reached Telegraph Creek on the 'Alaskan.' At the creek six white men and two Stick Indians joined our party. We hired the Indians to act as guides as far as the Cassiar gold diggings, near Diese Lake, seventy-two miles to the north of Telegraph Creek. We started for Diese Lake afoot, packing our provisions and supplies, of which we had an abundance, on thirteen horses. On this journey we made about six miles every twenty-four hours, going into camp whenever we felt like it. [Illustration: THE DESCENT OF CHILKOOT PASS] "At the Cassiar diggings we found a few Chinamen working placers, but they made only a bare living, so our party, after looking over the ground, decided not to stay there. We concluded to push on for Lake Teslin, which is about 140 miles to the north of Cassiar. "Previous to that time some white men had been as far on that route as the Koukitchie Lakes, seventy-five miles beyond Telegraph Creek, but we blazed the way from that point on to Lake Teslin and through to the Yukon River. It is probable that we made some deviations from what is now the known route. The tramp to Lake Teslin was not so very difficult, considering that we were in a country never before trodden by the foot of a civilized man. We had some trouble with rivers and creeks, and had to cut down trees and lay bridges across Nahlin River and Beebe Creek. It is a comparatively safe and easy journey, nevertheless.