River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-01-27
Up The Yukon And Tanana.

One of the most practical as well as |
one Of the most picturesquely at |
tractive of the many expeditions to /
the Alaska gold fields, that are start
ing out this year like cayalcades for /
Eldorado, is that which f. j. Currier |
of this city has arranged to captain up /
the Yukon and Tanana rivers into /
the district of the Tanana mountains. /
The expedition will be manned by !
only five choice spirits, who will |
journey for a good SHARE Of the dist |
ance after leaving st. Michaels, indie /
peadently Of the transportation com
panies or the more populous routes Of /
travel, on a steam boat built express /
ly for the trip. The party, (which !
includes. besides Mr. Currier and his
engineer, whom he has not yet select
ed, Messrs. Bliss, Terrence and Brown
of Acknowledgements to make the
start about April 18th.
The boat which carries the eXpedi-
ton, with supplies to last two years,
was built at the Racine Yacht and
Boat Works, Racine Junction, and
lies ready to be shipped TO the Pacific
at the discretion of Mr.. Currier 1t
was made expressly according to his
specifications, is of light draught, very
wieldy, compact and habitable Elk
perienced prospectors who have seen
the boat or its plans, and know what
is required of it, say that tits the most
sensible craft for the navigation of
the upper Yukon and its tributaries
that has yet come to light. La the
first place. the boat is sternwheeler.
This fact which struck many Of the
boat builders with whom Mr.. Currier
corresponded as both eccentric and
unnecessary, appears TO the prospect
or the most natural thing in the
world 1t requires but a few inches
Of water to work effectively; and, on
this account. Mr.. Curriers' boat that
would have required draught OF at
least two feet if propelled bs screw,
floats easily and securely in . depth OF
twelve inches. Among the shadows
and rapids of the upper Yukon and
the Tanana, this fact means saving
of whole weeks and months in the
progress of the plucky little outfit.
Moreover, a wheel can be repaired,
while broken screw is a dead issue.
The boats length over all is "a feet,
her beam 10 feet. These dimensions
correspond with the outside limits
allowed by the railroads for the
boats transportation from Racine to
Seattle. 1t will be placed OH float
car (35 feet in length and in order to
pass safely through the tunnels must |
not exceed 10 feet in width. when
quite pleted the boat measured 10 |
feet and two inches beam, but the eX-
cess in width was reduced by strip |
ping off two one-inch pieces OF mould |
ing. The boat has cabin engineers |
room. a large central room and a |
space forward for fuel. At the bow |
it has water-tight bulkhead,-a =
foot space tightly decked over and
perfectly dry. a similar bulkhead is
also built in the stern. Its boiler is |
Of the famous Marine make
and weighs 5000 pounds 1t is capable |
Of generating about p horsepower. |
Two engines, one ON either side Of the
boat, connect directly with shafts Of
the stern wheel. The steering gear is |
al Che bow, where "A gypsie windlass is
also built which can be used with
power from the engines to tow the
boat when the wheel falls into threat
ening shadows.
During its transportation by rail
from Racine to Seattle and by ship
from Seattle to ST. Michaels the boat
will be dismantled Of its cabin and
smoke stack. These will be replaced
before the ascent Of the Yukon, or
in the case of the cabin-during the
early stages Of the trip. No time will
he lost in pushing forward to the re-
gion If the Of the Tanana mountains.
1t is believed that the little steamer
will make IA miles an hour on any
current of the Yukon. She is equip
ped with pair of fine Peterborough
canoes, weighing only 125 pounds each
but capable Of carrying an enormous
weight They are excellent polling
boats and are expected to do good
service in exploring the smaller
streams on the upper Yukon or the
branches of the Tanana. Ia case the
steamer runs aground or encounters a
toO-ditficult stretch Of rapids, the |
canoes will be used to tighten shipand |
help the bigger boat over the rough |
places.
For the first 1000 miles of the |
journey up the Yukon the party will |
enjoy the most royal sport at shoot |
ing waterfowl that the world affords. |
The lower Yukon is the paradise Of |
sportsmen, and the party will be well |
supplied with rifles and shot-guns. |
In recent trip down the Yukon the |
purser of the Arctic shot 2700 geese /
and ducks.
In ascending the Tanana river, |
after leaving the Yukon, 1t is the in
tention Of the party to prospect the
country quite thoroughly along the
river and its tributaries. In doing
this the expedition will be divided in
to three sections: the engineer will
remain with the steamer, the rest OF
the party in pairs will man the two
canoes and prospect in different direc-
tionS, returning to the boat after
given length Of time Any limited
territory that gives promise
OF an unusual yield Of gold will be
staked out, named and registered in
accordance with the requirements OF
the Z. s government. These require
mentS differ materially from those Of
the Canadian provinces and are much
less stringent In Canada price Is
CHARGED for the land, a fee Of from 10
to % dollars is exacted for its registra-
tion and a per cent, Of the vi Id Of
mines is also demanded. In Uncle