The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1899-09-01

For many years gold has been taken
out OF the bars of this stream in more
or less quantities. Bedrock" "Por-
cupine," and "McCulloch's" bars we're
the best below the post from Is to 40
miles, gold all fine or "hour." We
found a number of men who stay in
the country year after year, work
these bars for three or four months
each summer, and hang around the
post the rest Of the year.
Aug. 22d, we started on the hardest
part of our trip, hauling or tracking
our boats up the Lizard and Frances
rivers. The Lizard river is 900 feet
! wide at the post and only 6 feet deep
in the main channel at low water,
with 5-mile an hour current. Nine
miles above the post we found canon
Al miles long, very bad piece of
water to boat through, but owing to
low water we we're able to go through
without portage of our freight, ex-
cept at the rapids at the head, where
we were obliged to unload part of our
freight and pack it 800 yards along
shore before embarking again. We
were wading in the cold water from
knee to waist day after day, and after
awhile, mornings, when we would get
out of blankets and walk around, our
limbs woulds crack and bleed like the
old time chapped hands. 1t wasn' t
fun, but "men will do anything for
money"
The valley of the Lizard is broad and
quite level, covered mostly with small
! jack pine, white and black spruce, and
is quite brushy, the latter being
"moose-willow," "shin-hobble" or black
birch. Vegetation grows very quickly
in the short spring and summer, as |
have seen some nice potatoes, lettuce,
onions and radishes that were raised
on the terraces of the lower Lizard, but
it has to be watered well by hand OF
other means or stuff won't mature
Thirty-eight miles below the post the
Rancherie river comes in from the
Cassiar range on the SOUTH 1t is also
a mountain stream and quite large
its several mouths covering D miles
in extent. Gold has also been found
in the bars of that stream but it has
never been prospected to the head
and not much is known of it. Seven
miles above this the Frances river
/ flows into the Lizard. It's waters are
clear and dark, and at the confluence
the difference in color is noticeable.
The Frances river is about 600 feet
wide at the mouth, and for about 90
miles has current of II or miles an
hour. 1t is nice river to "track," for
all it is so swift. The Middle or first
canon is 81 miles up the river, and it
is the worst to go through Besides
the rapids above and below, there are
four ridges of rocks that make falls
hard to get over. Here we had to un-
load our freight the portage about 800
yards. Then it is good going until
False canon is reached which is about
two miles long, one OF natures pretti-
est spot, with water as placid as a
mirror, aid just parceptible current.
Upper canon is 35 miles above, and
from there to the Frances lakes, %
miles, we lad swift water again. The
total length of the river is ITO miles
general trend north and south, and of
uniform width.
The east and west arms of Frances
lakes are each 80 miles long, an aver
age width of l miles. They are sur
rounded by mountains entirely, with
high plateau between them, being
about eight miles apart.
AS to the climate in the Northwest
territories, will add, that it was quite
severe most of the time from Oct. Doth
until the following April, with inter
vals of day or two at different times
in the middle of Dec. and Feb. during
the two years of our life there. On
Dec. 18th, '98, the thermometer read
ings were only 6 deg. below zero; Dec.
18th, 20 deg. below, and again Dec. IA
s deg. above. 1t stayed quite warm
from this date until the 20th when it
dropped to 40 deg. below, remained
around this figure until the 26th when
it got warmer for a day or two then
turned very cold 65 deg below. The
readings were about the same for ten
or twelve days, when there was a
change for the better for a few days.
We were travelling all this time down
to the Lizard post after mail and haul
ing our sleds, We had to wear snow
shoes all the time and break trail a
day ahead so we could take our sleds
over the broken trail.
| IN tho 9()th oe Feb last fhermome-