ooo square miles of which we are practically ig

norant.

We are about as badly off with regard to the coast line. The southern coast we know fairly well in a general way, but there has never been. an official survey beyond Sitka. Even the maps of the Aleutian Islands are inherited from Russia, and there has never been anything like a survey of the mouth of the Yukon River. It would be of great value, now, if we knew whether there was a channel through which the Yukon could be reached from Bering Sea by deep water ships. We are aware now that shoals extend out for twenty-five miles, apparently stretching all the way across the mouth of the Yukon, but there has never been any survey to discover whether there might not be a passage through. All ships now, owing to lack of knowledge concerning these shoals, are compelled to avoid them altogether by going to St. Michael, thirty miles north of the mouth of the river, there to meet the river boats which are obliged, on that account, to make the dangerous trip outside on the ocean. If seagoing ships could be brought into the mouth of the Yukon they might proceed up the river at least to as great a distance as that between New

Orleans and the mouth of the Mississippi and possibly they could continue the journey for several hundred miles. There should be an early appropriation for a survey of the mouth of the Yukon. There should also be a survey to discover whether some of the portages between the Yukon at different points and Bering Sea might not be available for general traffic. At one place not far from St. Michael Island the Yukon in its windings approaches within a few miles of the

coast.

It is peculiar that the two entrances to the gold country should be, one through the head of the Yukon River, the other through the mouth. It is 2000 miles from Sitka to the mouth of the Yukon, and from the mouth of the Yukon to the Klondike is about the same distance, for the river is very winding throughout its course. The route by sea, which takes the traveler through Unimak Pass, separating two of the Aleutian Islands, to St. Michael, and thence by river boat to his destination, will be used largely for getting supplies into the gold country; but it is a long journey, and steamers going up the Yukon have to wait until the ice leaves the river.

For miners the trails leading up from the head

waters of Lynn Canal will be more convenient. There are four entrances into the gold country from the coast in this direction, one by the Taku River, just below Juneau, the others by the White Pass, the Chilkoot Pass and the Chilkat Pass. Of these only two, the Chilkoot Pass and the White Pass, are really feasible, and the Chilkoot Pass is so much the better of the two that it is the route almost exclusively used. It is superior to the others because it has a shorter distance to travel and is not so rugged. White Pass is rugged throughout its entire length, and has not been used by travelers until recently. It is just above Skaguay Inlet. The route by the Taku River is very rough and requires many miles of packing. The Chilkat route is what is known as Jack Dalton's trail. Dalton is well known in all that country. He was a scout for Glave, who was the first white man to explore the region, and for the last few summers he has been engaged in carrying whisky and various supplies up into the mining camps. He fits out at Juneau, with his nine horses, a white man and two Indians, crosses to the Chilkat Inlet, and then strikes off into the wilderness toward the headwaters of the White River. No

body else knew until recently exactly what route he took, as he would not tell.

Lynn Canal, as it approaches its head, divides into two branches, Chilkat Inlet on the west and Chilkoot Inlet on the east. Chilkoot Inlet in turn has a branch known as Dyea Inlet, and at the head of Dyea Inlet is a small Indian village and a store known as Healey's store. In 1894 Healey's store was the only house in the place. It acquires its importance because it is the head of navigation and the last base of supplies for miners before striking off into the trail for the gold country.

If a railroad is ever constructed into the gold fields it will probably be through Chilkoot Pass.

The natives of the gold country in the interior are known as Stick Indians. "Stick" is the Chinook expression for wood, and the Stick Indian consequently is the Indian of the interior or forest. He is quite distinct from the Chilkat Indian on the coast. He is short of stature, but stout, his diminutiveness being due to the hardships and privations which he has been compelled to suffer always. But physically he is very strong. He can carry on his back all day a pack which many men would find it uncomfortable to lift.