Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1874-07-18
THE STTCKENE MINES,

of this place, returned from the Stick
enc mines, few days ago, having sus-
tanned an injury by misstep which
sp,ained his hip, when within two days
travel of Dease Creek, on which the
discovery creek is located, and from
which the glowing accounts hitherto
published have been received.
Mr.. Wood left this place the first day of
May, in company with Messrs. Parks,
Freeman, Wolf and Camp. They pro-
ceeded from Victoria by the steamer Cal
ifornia, with some 800 passengers, all
bound for the New Eldorado, and ar
rived at Fort Wrangel on tho 18th of
the same month. Here they remained
till the Goth, purchased canoe and af-
ter eight days hard labor arrived at the
Hudson Bay Companys Fort. The
party, becoming discouraged by the hard
labor and slow progress of this print
tive mode of travail, abandoned their
canoe, and proceeded by steamer to the
Landing, 1862 miles from Fort Wran-
gel. Here they were again compelled
to proceed a distance of fifteen miles
by canoe, to Telegraph creek, and
thence by trail 100 miles, on foot, to the
head of Dease Lake. This journeyis of
the toughest decription, and usually
occupies from ter 20 fifteen days. The
trail is nalrow and winds it's course q
great distance amidst mountainous
sorges, where misstep, heavy laden as
the party were, was certain to result in
danger to limb if not the life, of the
daring voyagers. The Lake is crossed
IN tiat-boats, worked by sweeps" and
the distance, 20 miles, is made in about
five hours. After entering Dease
Creek, and proceeding about a mile,
the party landed at the clown" which
constitutes the commercial emporium of
the mining district. 1t contains about
half dozen houses, built of logs, and
few tents. Here are congregated
many of the miners, waiting for the
I" season" to open, when the water will
recede sufficiently to allow them to
work the bottom of the stream.
The trip from Wrangel to the Land
ing, on the Stickene river, Mr.. Wood
describes as one Of surprising interest.
Those who delight in the marvellous and
sublime can find ample means of graf
itication. The river is from an eighth
to quarter Of mile in width, the cur
rent remarkably swift, and passing
through the widest scenery. At one
point about fifteen miles below the Fort
is a glacier, three or four miles in length,
appal emily of solid ice, which towers
from one hundred to two hundred feet
in hight. Its top is surmounted by tur-
rets, pinnacles and spires of ice and oc-
casionally by huge boulders, which
appear to have no connection whatever
with the tertiary formations, but as if
laid by some giant hand in their present
position. Immediately opposite to this
dreary mountain of ice, is a spring of
boiling water, eight or ten feet in diam
eter, from which flows stream varying
in temperature through all degrees to
the icy GOODNESS of Stickene, where it
enters slough near its shore. In the
immediate vicinity of the spring the
verdure is evergreen, and plants and
even flowers grow with tropical luzari-
ance. About thirty miles above the
Fort is canyon, a mile long, whose
precipitous rocky sides rise from 200 to
300 feet above the raging food beneath.
Here canoes are towed by means of
long ropes, and the progress even by
this means is slow and difficult. Steam
ers land all live stock below the canyon,
which are driven over the bluff, and
taken on board above the rapids. Even
with this tightening of burden, steam
ers are generally an hour in passing up,
while in going down stream, they pass
through in the incredible short period
of two minutes!
Another remarkable popularity of the
country is the extraordinary length of
the days, or rather the continuance of
daylight, which is about % hours.
The remaining hours, or the Stickene
night, resembles our twilight. 1t is
never so dark that time may not be &C.
curately ascertained by a watch, and
the rising and setting sun present iden-
tically the same appearance.
Mr.. Wood describes Dease Creek as
a rapid steam, bordered by precipitous