New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-02-13
Aa0Y-W AIAsKA.

Summer, an exploring purity peiongns 10 tno nuooo
American Telegraph Exploring Expedition, Travelled
many hundred miles in Alaska Tor tse purpose OF
vnrrvevinp n route for telegraph line On account
of the success Of the Atlantic Gable the enterprise
was abandoned. One result Of the expedition, how
ever comes to us in the shape of Volume Of travels
written by a young English artist who accompanied
the explorers as a volunteer His volume, which is
profusely illustrated with wood cuts, and accom-
panied by an excellent map. contains much new IN
formation about Alaska From its pages we extract
an account Of "a sledge journey to the Yukon River
This rlver is the Mississippi of Alaska Mr. Whymper
calls it one Of the grandest streams ON the North
American Continent The general course OF the
Yukon il from East TO West; but having approached
To distance Of less than 100 miles OF Norton Sound
fan arm Of Behring's Seal 1t takes southery sweep
from latitude c. to latitude GO degrees and then turn
ing North enters the Sound by means OF an ex-
tensiye delta Mr. Whymper made journey rom
Inalachleet Russian port the coast, in latitude
Ga degrees overland to the river. The following ac-
count Of portion of our newly acquired Territory
will we think, be found entertaining:
The distance to that portion of the Yukon we
were about to visit il, by the mouths OF the river;
ZOO niles but land ronte to 1t is always employer
in Winter by the Russians travelling from norton
Sonnd. BY the latter route the distance from Una
laclleet is approximately ITO miles. e..oa nt ,n
Although our expedition was well htted OUT III
the absolute essentials OF travel no provision n' -
been made with regard to either sedges OF uogs ~
having been very naturally supposed thar the eoun,
trv itself was the best from whence TO OBTAIN
these We found, however that tho dogs were
neither plentiful nos OF good class. !hey wsro
hardly above the average OF me speaking snaitS
Indian ours OF Oregon and British COLUMBIA, ana
il was very difficult to make them attached 10 you.
proof to my mind that they had as much o. INC ne
wolf az the dog in them. have always succeeueI ~
making a good dog my friend. and was nucn cha-
grined at my want OF success among these animals.
They arc very hairy of all colors, lrongray pre-
dominating. have wollish features ana snoit iegs'
INIT their immense bushy tails make up Tor al DC
fcencies Taking them all in all, they did good ser.
vice in transporting goods. aud with theh al oi
us made many heightened journeys. ,,,
On the morning of the 9Th October at IL O'CLOCK,
we babe alden 10 our friends some OF whom persisted
in accompanying us little way on tho irozen sur
face of the Unaaoheet River whilst Inc osners non
ored MS with grand but rather irregular Volley OF
blanl-caItridge from reyolvers, muskets ana tne
old battered cannon Of the Russian post 0nr party
comprised nme persons, az ioiioWs oaps ne naiI
and Lieut. LabaTge, his righthan man. MI. nalI,
collector for the Smithsonian Institute, myself ana
pickett man detailed for our service. Mr. Francis,
engineer of our little steamer started WIN US Oh an
WE took four slcdges each drawn by five dogs, and
very well laden with miscc aneous concctl9In OF
boxcs barrels tools furs blankets, and sno" snoes'
Each load averaged $50 pounds weight;
A few small accidents varied the days travel such
as tho bone runners of sedges cracking OH, or
the dogs getting loose and making break LOT me
woods Al o'clock in the afternoon we stopped LOT
rest raised good fro of drft-wood the surface
of The ice and then cooked our bacon ana ina .'
sorne refreshing tea We then resumed our TIP Dy
starliobt hoping TO make the Indian lage OF Igtg
alik the same evening. About 8 o'clock we came 70
standstill great patch of the river was en,lfey
omen nor could we see q way round Attempting 10
Green round the shelving banks our sledges were
baf.buried in the soft snow. and as the night was
very dark, and did not wish 10 FISK losine our
loads i'm the river we to the conclusion tnat We
must camp We unloaded the sledges ted up tue
dogs cleared space in the snow at the top OF the
bank, and raised o magnificent log hIe' We spieau eau
quantity of fir.brush on the ground made up our
beds on it. and slept closely packed together, WIN
large deer-skin robe covering us.
had unfortunately relied on inc next vS sS
inst left was famous for "ukalec,' an inferior kind
of salmon dried for this purpose; but our men win
teriuQ there would we knew. require so much OF IL
that we had determined to obtain ours on the route
Our sledges too. otherwise filled 10 their ut
most capacity. The poor dogs passed hungry
night bowling dismaly We had to place every
thing eaable ont of their reach and as they did not
object TO skin clothing or old boots, and would
readily devour their own harness, il was some
2Sth.-In the morning We found that four of our
dogs. disguised and hungry had deserted from our
tracks for the Russian post. We made an early
start in the brisk cold morning temp -Go fahl ana
reached the village without any trouble, after we
had passed round the edge OF the open water inst
mentioned There. however, the thin ice cracked be-
meath the weight of sledges, and we kept NOV
ing expecting ducking every Moment
On the hight Dd1h OF tIe flNCT we lOuEu
of Indian Summer dwellings-simplyw wooden shan
ties built above ground, with small doorway, some
times circular, and hole in the roof TO let out the
smoke. Behind them on posts were the hsh-houses,
or caches as before described.
On the left bank were few underground houses,
intended for Winter use. These were simply square
holes in the ground. rooted in. and earthed over
The entrance of each was always rude shanty OF
logs or panks passing into which we found hole
In the ground the entrance 10 subteuanean pass
age. Into this we dropped, and crawled on our
owner Of one of these houses put half his floor at
orr disposal, and We cleared ii OF dirt ana lncum
branees and spread our skins over it. part of us
stopped there some days; stndylng the manners ana
customs OF the people. Their manners might pass.
but some Of their customs were decidedly nasty
Igtgahk known by the Russians as Move, or New
Ilukuk to distinguish ii from neighboring place
of similar name was inhabited by totally differ
ent tribe from what we had met at unalachleet, ana
called tho Ingelete people. Although only % miles
from the Maemute village, they speak an entirey
different dialect one-as we afterward discovered
nearly allied 20 the Co-Y Yukon. lnese people were
n fine stout race, with fair inteingence ana gener
the men were above the average IN STATURE and their
general appearance much resembed the coast ma
tives. Polygamy exists. but not to any great ex,
takes another If the first proves barren or disap-
points with too many girls. Daughters are at dis
count.
fish, traps frames shoes and parts of sledges
in course of manufacture.
The passage-way into these houses was in wet.
mild weather nothing but q sewer. The fire was
built on the floor in the center of the chamber, and
when il burnt low the embers and sticks were always
thrown out of the smokehole in the roof by natives
inside and it was then covered with skin. This
process eecualy shut in all the warmth but with it
good deal of smoke and carbonic acid gas; The en-
trance hole was usually covered with q deer skin.
and the mixture OF close smells inside the house,
arising from more or less stale fish, meat old skin
clothes young dogs. dirt and smoke, was very sick
ening. The dogs scramblng and fighting on the
roof above, sometimes tnnlbed through the smoke
hole on the tire below, upsetting all the cooking
above mentioned-that of singed hair! 1t need not