Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-03-29
WAY OUT In ALASKA.
How Tenderfoot Sought Gold in
Our Arctic Territory.
ROseate Romance of Boundless Wealth
and Magnificent Scenery and the
Stern Reality of Bacon and Beans
An HOspitable Indian.

A writer in the Juneau City Mining Rec
ord gives graphic description of expert
ences while in the recent prospecting tour
- Alaska: On the morning Of July 9, he
eavs, we left Douglas City on the favorite
md fast-sailing canoe Hiak, Captain Jim
both well and favorably known 10 Alaskan
waters) for a prospecting trip in Lynn
Canal. AS the day was fine and the wind
fair the sail through Gastineaux, Stephens
passage and Lynn Canal was delightful, as
each one is dotted with little islands, rising
from the waters edge to a height of
Thousand feetor more, whilst the mountains
on the mainland are thousands of feet high,
with ragged peaks not unlike the teeth of
an old-fashioned cross-eut saw, the spaces
between the peaks being filled with glaciers
and the peaks themselves are covered with
perpetual snow. AS 1 am a chee-chaco in
the country CHATS what my chums call mel,
every thing appeared wild and picturesque,
and as burst out in eXclamations of admir-
alton every once in a while at the scenery,
they would say: "Oh, shuCksl that amt
nothing; you had ought to see the scenery
on the Yukon"
The first night we camped on a creek
about thirty miles from Juneau, where our
native told us there was some quartz. We
STAYED and examined it, but did not think
enough Of it to locate it, The next day we
arrived at our natives illahee (as he called
it,, situated at Lynn Canal, and distant about
forty miles from Juneau. 1t is beautiful
bay, filled with many islands and teeming
with fish, from the mighty whale to the tiny
herring, while the woods and mountains are
full of game-the small and harmless
grounding and the large and fierce brown
bear.
The Indian who accompanied us is a fine
specimen of his race; he stands over six feet
in his bare feet, and weighs over two hun
dred pounds. He is a Mormon in procliv-
tiles, for he has number of wives, who ap-
pear well satisfied with him as their lord
and master, and 1 could see no sign of the
green-eyed monster. He is a bear hunter
by occupation, and an enthusiast in that
line, and many were the stories and hair
breadth escapes he related. can we'll be-
ieve he is good hunter, as his larder is
well stocked with fish, flesh and fowl; his
wives were brown, fat and greasy his
dogs, of which he had seven, were all in
splendid condition, and that is more than
can be said of most Indian dogs. He told
US the peculiarities of each and showed US
the many wounds they had received in their
encounters with bruin. He also showed us the
hole where he buried the bears heads, and
there must have been twenty skulls in it
inquired of him why he did so, and he told
me; "Bear all Same Indian; by and by he
go to the happy roofing ground"
/, AS a host he is prince, and right royalty
he treated us to all kinds of game put up in
Indian style. We had smoked porcupine
put up in seal oil, and one of our crowd who
pretends to be an epicure said it was de-
licious; there were seals flippers cooked in
grease, which were not dissimilar to pigs
feet; baked ground hog stuffed with mus
sells, which gave the hog fishy taste and
Improved the flavor of the mussels. His
bears head cheese was actually immense,
and there were many more dishes too
numerous to mention. He showed many
kinds of roots and herbs good for food and
medicine. He also showed his canned hal
ibut, hooks and all of his dancing outfit.
His headgear and mask cost him fifty dols
lars; it was wild and uncouth, and was
carved out of yellow cedar, 1t had large
nose like a parrots beak, eyes made Of
mother-of-pearl, a mouth which contained
the teeth of the only siwash doctor on
Noah's ark, ears made from the hide of the
lchthyosaurus, hair made from the sea
lions whiskers. His hunting knife had
some unique carving on the handle that
represented some Indian myth thebears
were afraid of. AS a prospector, like many
more following that vocation, l do not con-
slider him a success, as we examined many
places that he showed US, but could see
nothing except white and barren quartz.
He had other places he wanted to show
us, and we would have gone with him, but
one of the party had an acute attack of in,
fammatOry rheumatism. The native told
us the extent of his territory, and said he
expected white men prospecting on his do
main to pay him $3.50 per day for his knowl-
edge and services. He said the land and
water belonged to his ancestors from time
immemorial, and he inquired if white men
owning a similar amount of land would al
low every body on it, His argument brought
forcibly to our mind the "bloatcd bond
holders' of America and the land question
that is now agitating the British Empire,
where Lords, Dukes and Earls are holding d.
hundreds of miles square that their ances-
tors acquired by might, while he claims his
by right, The only difference Isee between
them and this Indian is that he will be glad
to see you hunt or fish on his supposed
country, while if you caught trout in their
waters or shot a pheasant in their woods
you would get about five years.
The next day we travelled against head
wind and terrible rain, and after getting
drenched to the skin we camped 1t would
be very pleasant prospecting IN Alaska
were it not for the rain, head wind and
tides, thick brush and mosquitoes, and
few other little inconvenlences. Then,
again, if l was looking through tourists
eyes from the deck of an ocean steamer,
how romantic the majestic mountains and
rivers, hundreds of miles of pine-clad
shores, and every now and then vast
glacierl Then in smooth, narrow channels
can be seen the mammoth whale, forging
his way along nearly as fast as the steamer,
and every few feet can be seen the shining
silvery sides of beautiful salmon, dis
porting, or trying to escape from some
fnny monster who is trying to catch him
for meal / saw a seal gobble one in less
than two seconds To me the animals on
such a trip remind one of great menagerie,
without having to pay at the door, while the
waters are a grand aquarium; and take it
altogether were it not for the stern re-
ality of beans and bacon, prospecting tour
in Alaska is like visiting an ever-changing
panorama