Stikeen River journal., 1899-04-29
The Cassiar Country.

The Cassiar country lies in the prov ince of British Columbia between 54 and 50 degrees north latitude and long itudc IT. and l34 degrees west of Green wich, and has a surface area of about 20,0O0 square miles.
 The topography is that of one central table land, about 100 miles wide run ming northeast and south vest. hemmcd in by the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Coast range on the west.
 In the north end of this great Cas- siar plateau is Lake Teslin, the source of the great Yukon river. Eastward is Deasc Lake which emptics it's waters into the Arctic Ocean.
 Further south the great Stikeen riv- cr rises. and. swelling with numerous tributaries, becomes navigable loO miles from it's mouth. breaks through the Coast range, and cmpties into the Pacific ocean at Wrangel.
 The region has d few indians of the Stik tribe and language. The climate is very cold in winter: the summers are delightful. East of the Coast range the humidity is small. It's agriculture possibilities are untried.
 To all this grand, undcSclopcd rpun- try, Wrangel is the door.
 The tassiar district includes the most northern region of gold mining in British Columbia. and some of the creeks which have been worked lie to north of the Both parallel, or northern boundry of the province. Dcase lake. latitude 2S degrees. 30 minutes. longti- sde loO degrees. may be considered aS the central poin. of the district. This lake Is the source of the river of the same name which is d tributary of the Liard itself a branch of the Mackenzie Gold has alreada been found and work ed on the bars of the Stikeen for II years. when Thibert and McCullough coming through rom the east reached and discovered the rich deposit of the Lizard drainage basin in lS722. The miners who nocked into the district came by way of the Stikeen river. though route for cattle and pack an imals was also opened overland from Frazer lake. Dcase Thibcrt and Me Dame creeks and their tributaries, have pro"ed the richest. and a large q saHti'F n' = las been obtained tron t;.'m. thpU@A the yield has of late year. hccane ecpalparl'jVey y incon- siderable. The region presenting identical or analogous characters with that portion of it which proved to con tain these rich deposits Is very eXten- >ive, and much the same remarks have been made in regard to the exploration of the Omenica district, apply here al- so, though the cost of living in Cassiar has csually been more moderate. The country is generally wooded and mOun- tainous and difficult to traverse. but d wagon road or even railroad might without ditficullty. be constructed from the head of navigation on the Stikcen river to Dease lake. and this will. no doubt. eventually be accomplished, as discoveries of veins of the precious metals are contidentally to be anticip- ated. Argentiferous galena has alrea- dy been found, and the rough unworn character of the gold on some of the creeks leads to the belief that it's source might be asertained without much difficulity. Coarse gold is found locally on that part of the Stikeen above Telegraph Creek, and the cir cumstances appear to indicate the ex- istence there of an old channel above the present river level. but covered with massive basaIt of tertiary age.
 Difficulties have been encountered in Casslar from permanently frozen soil met with in mining, but when once the covering of forests and moss has been cleared off by fire these disappear.
 The gold yield of the Cassiar district from the commencement of mining to 1888, so far as known. is $4.929,394 which does not include the earlier years of mining when work was contin- ed to the Stikccn river.