Klondyke Nuggets: A Brief Description of the Great Gold Regions in the NorthwestLadue, Joseph
History
Klondyke Nuggets: A Brief Description of the Great Gold Regions in the Northwest
Ladue, Joseph
Alaska -- Gold discoveries; Klondike River Valley (Yukon) -- Gold discoveries
At Lake Lindeman he commences to make his boat, for which he has brought
the proper supplies in his outfit, with the exception of the timber,
which he finds at Lake Lindeman. He spends one week at Lake Lindeman
making his boat and getting ready for the long trip down the waterways
to Dawson City, the heart of the Klondyke region. The trip through Lake
Lindeman is short, the lake being only five miles long. At the foot of
the lake he must portage to Lake Bennet, the portage however being very
short, less than a mile.
Lake Bennet is 28 miles long, while going through this lake the
traveller crosses the boundary between British Columbia and the
Northwest Territory.
After going down Lake Bennet the traveller comes to Caribou
Crossing--about four miles long, which takes him to Lake Tagish, twenty
miles in length. After leaving Tagish he finds himself in Mud or Marsh
Lake, 24 miles long, then into the Lynx River, on which he continues for
27 miles till he comes to Miles Canyon, five-eighths of a mile long.
Immediately on leaving Miles Canyon he has three miles of what is called
bad river work, which, while not hazardous, is dangerous from the swift
current and from being very rocky. Great care has to be taken in going
down this part of the river.
He now finds himself in White Horse Canyon the rapids of which are
three-eighths of a mile in length and one of the most dangerous places
on the trip, a man is here guarded by a sign, "Keep a good lookout."
No stranger or novice should try to run the White Horse Rapids alone in
a boat. He should let his boat drop down the river guided by a rope with
which he has provided himself in his outfit and which should be 150 feet
long. It would be better if the traveller should portage here, the
miners having constructed a portage road on the west side and put down
roller-ways in some places on which they roll their boats over. They
have also made some windlasses with which they haul their boat up the
hill till they are at the foot of the canyon. The White Horse Canyon is
very rocky and dangerous and the current extremely swift.
After leaving the White Horse Canyon he goes down the river to the head
of Lake Labarge, a distance of 14 miles. He can sit down and steer with
the current, as he is going down the stream all the way. It is for this
reason that in returning from the diggings he should take another
route, of which he will get full particulars before leaving Dawson;
therefore I do not take the time to give a full description of the
return trip via the Yukon to St. Michael. He now goes through Lake
Labarge--for 31 miles--till he strikes the Lewes River, this taking him
down to Hootalinqua. He is now in the Lewes River which takes him for 25
miles to Big Salmon River and from Big Salmon River 45 miles to Little
Salmon River--the current all this time taking him down at the rate of
five miles an hour. Of course in the canyons it is very much swifter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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