The times., 1897-08-01
Beauties of a Trip Along the
Stikine River.
GOLD MINES IN THE TIMBER
Immense. Forests Accessible and
Easily Transported to Mil aud
Afarkct-Forrner Governors of the
Territory ExtoI the Magnificent
Domain Unlimited Water Power.

I Stlklne hNef, Alaska
He said that he LEFT the mouth of the
| river on May %, and rowed upstream,
rcIlowlag the LETT or southern bank. The
sraee between TIE mountains, occupied by
the estuary, is probably two or three
miles vice, and there are several Cham
neis or mouths, separated by islands, bor-
dered by extensive sandOanks, wnere
| numerous large trees brought down by the
| floods have been stranded The mountains
on tie south side come nearly to the
| waters edge They are apparently from
1,Jo0 10 3 eco feet in height and are
heavily tiIlbered with firs and spruce.
The rocks are gl glanitic and nIetamorphic,
and they PROJECT ia long points
Mica slate n long blocks Lies along the
beach and many crystals of beautiful garnet
abound. rhese are about the size OF III
bcrts and closely resemble the garnets
| found In similar slate Ia Connecticut. Their
color is good, out the crystals are not trans
/ parent OF free from flaws, and therefore
| have no value 20 thelapidary ,altho ugh they
are Interesting 10 mineraogists. This rock
shows high degree OF metamorphsm
One os these ROCKY points where there Is
some flat land is occupied by an Indian
| village, the Inhabitants OF which are en-
| ga ged principally in the salmon fisheries.
| One days travel above the mouth the river
! naTrosFs 10 200 yards and the ranges on
| the north approach the right bank The
mountains along this part Of the river ap-
pear to be of dark-colored gneiss. 1t Is a
! nietamorphosed sedimentary rock. During
| the next stage of travel one comes TO an
| extensive sluG fiat, which Is bare during
! low water. There is belt of alluvi al land
beyond this, while Oh the right bank the
| mountain impinges on the river The niuun-
tains around here are of gneiss and granite.
| FrCEn this point there is a fine view OF 4
glacier descending betw cen the mountains
a mile or two westward. 1t has high in
ciiEaiica and a very rugged and broken
surface.
TIE SIDES of the mountain along its
| course snow freshly broken cliffs, which
| are clearly the result of the eroding action
of tie ice The Soynai or Ice River flows
from TIE glacier into the Sukne Four
miles further up TIE river turns abruptly
To the north, and at the bend the mountains
rise abruptly from the water and are or
| syanitic granite. There is gold-be airing
country here. There is lot OF land formed
chiefly Of coarse river drift with prob
ably considerable debris from the glacier,
and 1t is nch in gold. IL has been marked
off into claims by miners. The gold is
quite fire, occurs in thin scales and is diff
ficult 10 recover.
The dcciduous trees along the bottom
| lands We're Just budding out, and the air
during the day was mild and spring
like, although there was yet some snow
rensining along the banks OF the river
and on the sand bars that remain above
water during the winter. Three stages
Up in an abrupt point OF rocks jutting
into the river is q quartz vein ten inches
thick The end OF a magnificent glacier
is visible Oh the right bank of the river
4 few miles further up. This glacier pre-
senUs splendid appearance in the sun
light Its slope is very gentle, and the
vast body OF ice appears to be unbroken
un5iIi5 reachesthe valley OF the river, where
J it breaks down in massive ledges and
pinnacles of the purest crystal. The fore
| ground along the stream consists of an
ancient Tnoraine, now covered with trees,
among which are willows and poplars in
their delicate green foliage of spring. Some
very large blocks of granite standing in
the river bear witness to the vast trans
porting power of ice, and to a much greater
extension Of this glacier in former periods.
The drift, pebbles, and rocks OF the river
bed consist OF limestone, porphyry. and
| Jasper, with masses of quartz.
At the end of the fifth stage, there
is deserted camp, formerly occupied by
party OF United States miners. A bout
sixty men spent the winter OF 1862 at
this point All the neighborhood was
sta1ed out In claims and 'profitably worked
/ n, ~
was buried at the foot of one of the
| large spruces that abound there The rocks
there are Of metamorphosed sandstone and
shales, and passInto gneiss. The drift and
sandbars OF the river contain gold. The
''cnlor'' OF gold is all around in the surface
gravel.
At the end of the sixth stage, there
is a mass OF coarse drift along the river,
from which the color OF gold has been
obtained by washing At this point, there
is a grave Of an unknown white man,
whose body was found and buried by a
| party OF prospectors years ago.
The next stage brings one to Shek's Bar,
a mining camp, at which placer mining
las been in operation for many years with
satisfactory results, through no strikes like
those on the Yukon have ever been re-
4 pDA GctA bAEAS-
ES-G0v. A +. Swincford. of Alaska is a
| stalwart defender of the climate of that
| country. lie says that great popular error
| exists in regard to the Alaskan climate. the
| prevailing impression being that it is
| cursed with arctic winters only. He says
that glance at the map and the mere
| mention Of the name of Alaska is sufficient
! to send an icy chill through the frame
| of the average citizen OF one of the North
ern States, who, nevertheless. sits and
| growls all the winter long over the cost of
/ the fuel he must have TO protect himself
| and family against temperature which
| often drops as low as minus forty The
| governor then proceeded to quote sta
| ustics, meteorological summaries, ETC., to
| prove that Alaska has good climate
nowhere IN my home travels" said ex-
| Gov. Swinefurd, "from Lake Superior to
| the Gulf Of Mexico, and from Washington
10 Sitka, have L seen more luxuriant
vegetation than In Alaska 1 find the
| harder vegetables all growing to maturity
| and 10 enormous size; while turnips weigh
| ing ten pounds, cabbages, twenty-seven
pounds, and as fine potatoes as can be
found in any OF the Eastern markets are
| grown at Wrangell, juneau and In Sitka.
| Wild timothy and redtop grow to a height
OF from five to seven feet, and all the hay
| required for the winter may be gathered
in the summer.
1.-The cattle in Alaska are sleek and In
| the best possible condition, and I un-
| l.<aer sfr,.-1