Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1878-05-18
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Bat whsn once the hong ~iuieT had
broken. summer came as il 10y magic Ga
the 9Th If June the Whole country was
one beautiful dark green. The foliage 81
the trees burt forth at once, and the earth
Was quickly covered with thick carpet
of verdure. The great river was alive
with ducks, and the air Was filed with
the song Of birds. But with all this
beauty and new life there came-mosqui..
toes, with innumerable black flies and
midecs II was now uncomfortably warm,
too, and the days were SO long that the
sun did not keep set" more than an
hour or two, making it a difficult matter
to sleep.
On the nth of June I set off from
Nuta.o for Fort Yukon, farther up the
River Yukon. My boat, called baidar,
was made of hides, and had two sails of
deer.skin. With me were two old at
taches of the post, named Rathsbon and
Timberlake, and three Indians, of a tribe
known as "Birch-bark Folks" We car.
ried calicoes. fannels, knives, needles, to-
bacco, ETC., for trading. My uncle him
self remained at Nutato.
The Yukon is one of the largest rivers
in the world. l never realized the fact
till I went to Alaska. But then l found
that the maps failed to give any correct
ideas of river which appeared to me to
be larger than the Mississippi.
At Nutato, seven hundred miles from
its mouth, it is over mile in breadth,
and for thousand miles above Nutato
it is from three fourths of mile to a
mile wide. ~
The current is so powerful that cur
rOwers had to pull strongly to breast it,
and even then we made slow progress.
A ateamer ascending the river would find
clear navigation for near two thousand
miles.
The Indians call the stream Yukon,
a word meaning "the river" and some
times Co Yukon, or "great river" For
the same reason the tribes living along
its banks 60 by the name of Co. Yukons,
or "Great River Folks"
The river was still filed with ice, that
came sweeping down from the Arctic re-
gions. Occasionally field of ice swept
by, on which were fir trees, standing as
erect as when the current tore away the
frozen bank where they grew. Drift
wood was floating all bout.
It required all the skill of the Indian
boatmen to keep the floating logs from
upsetting the baidar. One stood in the
bow with q pike, to fend off the drift
and ice, and often, despite his efforts, q
floating tree would foul us and lift the
bow clean out of the water.
I now cav the advantage Of having Q
boat of hides. A wooden boat would
soon have been stove aud rendered use.
less; but our tough, flexible old baidar
bore the knocks without the least injury.
Although the water was ice-cold, the
sun was 20 hot that actually feared q
sunstroke. Whenever We got near the
hank, We were beset by clouds of mos.
9uiioss, hies and midgea.
The water tecmcd with fish, some of
which sere the oldest Dish ! ever saw,
and ! dosbt II they were ever named CT
classified.
IL any enc wants salooo-6shisg with
cut paying for the privilege Of catching
then, ~ they do % the Canadian rivers,
ies him 20 10 the Yukon. Our Indians
could catch thirty roaod ssinsa ssy
time eorla oftea sse them dsytise
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