The San Francisco call., 1896-06-24
To Traverse TracklesS Forests
and Snow.Capped Noun.
tainS.
NO INDIANS WILL GO THERE.
An Unexplored Country That Is
Marked by a Blank on Even
Government Maps.

Rev. w. w. Bolton, rector of st. Mary
the Virgins Church, leaves this evening
for Victoria, B. c., en- route for an explor-
ing expedition into the heart of Northern
Vancouver.
Even on the Government charts the
tract of country which Mr.. Bolton and his
expedition intend to traverse is only
marked by blank space, broken here and
there by few rivers, suggested by dotted
lines, to indicate the fact that geographers
guess that they may be meandering some
where in the locality. No white man has
ever set foot in the trackless forests or
crossed the snow-capped mountains of the
region which the party will explore, and
the Indians shun the interior OF the north
ern portion of the island as they would the
plague, for there is an old. old tradition
among them that devils dwell there
Mr.. Bolton is perhaps better acquainted
with the country he intends TO explore
than any other white man. Two years
ago he headed the first and only expedi-
ton which has succeeded in passing
through a portion of the heart of Northern
Vancouver. He undertook the work under
the auspices of the Province Newspaper
Company of Victoria and succeeued in
island to Mountain Lake through a
country of dense forests, snow-capped
mountains and glaciers.
1t took him and his men two months TO
make the distance, and during that time
they passed through many dangers and
privations. At ona time they were
showed up for two days on the summit of
Snowsaddle Mountain. When the storm
ceased they attempted TO descend in a fog
down the rugged sides of the mountain,
which no man had ever descended before.
Suddenly Mr.. Bolton began to shoot down
a snowslide. He did not know what lay
below him, but he managed to turn over
and clutch at a rock. Two days after he
and his men went back to see the place
where he had slipped and found that it
was lust above clear drop of 2000 feet to
a lake a. the base of the mountain.
AT Mountain Lake Mr.. Bottoms former
expedition was forced to break up camp
and strike out for the coast on account of
the approach of winter. There an Indian
canoe was bought and the party struck out
for civilization. This time Mr.. Bolton and
his followers will steam up in little coast
ing steamer to Adams River, about seventy
miles from the north of the island. This
river runs out between the Newcastle
range and the Franklyn range, ard it Is
believed that there will be fewer noun
tains and glaciers to traverse than by
striking inland further north.
The abandoned camp at Mountain Lake,
in longitude 127 degrees 40 minutes, and
latitude north so degrees 20 minutes, will
be the first point which the party will aim
TO reach. They will then head south for
Alberni, distance of about 100 miles
"We expect to change a good deal OF
this said Mr.. Bolton yesterday, pointing
to the blank space in Government map,
which represented the unexplored track
of country. There are some of these
rivers which feel sure are wrong, and we
hope to indicate some new lakes and
mountains"
Through the wild country with its
dense underground five miles a day is
very rapid rate of progress. The party
expects to be lost to the world for at least
two months. There are four of them, Mr..
Bolton, J. w. Lang of this City and G.
w. Jones and W. Green of Seattle. They
will carry nothing but absolute neces-
saries. though Mr.. Lang will indulge in a
camera. 1t is also his intention TO pros
pect and if precious metals are found he
intends later on to develop the mines.
The party will carry a map with every
Indian ranch on the coast marked on it.
In order that if any one becomes disabled
his friends will know the nearest point to
strike out to for relief.
what we shall find in there we do not
know" said Mr.. Bolton. when we come
out we will tell THE CALL ell about it,