Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1906-10-12
Travels in
Alaska.

Alaska affords variety of expert
ences hard to equal. Business and
wanderlust" combined to take a
couple of Migrants to Cooks Inlet,
and its surrounding country q few
weeks ago. The trip from Seward to
SeIdoyia was made at night and was
without interest, except a touch of
seasickness about breakfast time.
The coast is constant succession of
rugged mountain ranges about 5000
feet high. Seldovia is a small vii
Iage with less than one hundred
people. Here we left the ocean
steamer and boarded the ''Tyonic, -
a sc ton steamer owned by the
Cooks Inlet Trading and Transporta-
ton Co. Cooks Inlet, named alter
the famous explorer, Is about two
hundred miles long from north to
south, and from thirty to fifty miles
wide. Kinik Arm, is about five miles
wide and fifty long, extends north
ward from its northeast extremity,
and Turnagain Arm, little larger,
opens easterly from the same point,
their outlets being on either side of
Fire Island. The Susitna river en-
tiers the Inlet from the north. The
tides In these waters are so rapid
that all boats have to anchor each
alternate SIX hours, and are the high
est on the continent except the Bay
of Fundy sometimes exceeding GO
feet. On each side of the inlet are
vast tracts of excellent farming
land. At Kenal. at the eastern side,
is United States Experiment Sta
ton. In the west the smoking peak
of Mt. Iliamna shows that one vol
cano at least in this region has not
entirely gone out of business. After
stopping at the small towns ofHomer,
Kenai and Tyonic we landed at Kinik
the third day from Seldovia. An in
terior grade of coal, or rather Ignite,
is found in abundance along the In
let, and is used by steamers and for
domestic purposes.
Kinik is on the west side of the
Arm, and has two stores, two eating
houses, one saloon (only), a COM
missioner and recorders Office, and
about fifty people. Fine gardens are
very common. Our steamer discharg.
ed its freight and lett on the outgoing
tide. My companion, who was IN.
used to roughing 1t, developed an ag
gravated case of cold feet and return.
ed also. At II: 80 p. ~, left KiniE
in small boat in company with Nj
Hamilton, the superintendent, through
whose courtesy | was to take a flying
trip to the coal mines. An hour run
ming with the tide, took US to Cottor
wood, seven miles. The road house
being crowded, we made ourselve:
comfortable with blankets on the
floor. Called at six to a breakfast Of
bacon, potatoes, hot cakes, coffee
lettuce and radishes, and at sever
we're on horseback bound for the
mines. Our trail led northwarC
along the crest of the bluff, which
runs parallel to the Arm, about two
miles from the shore, the flat be
tween being thickly covered witt
grass, and cut by frequent sloughs.
At low tide the upper ten miles Of
the Arm is simply mud flat. West
ward from the bluff is light forest
of hemlock, spruce, birch and cotton.
wood with rich growth of grass
among the trees. We passed over low
hills across corduroyed swamps and
frequent ravines, some with bridges
and some without. Along the north
end of the Arm the country was much
the same, but after leaving tidewater,
the hills we're larger and more rolling,
and interspersed with beautiful lakes
tulI of fish, which rippled the water as
they sprang for flies. We stopped for
lunch at settlers cabin, where two
enterprising young men have taken
up GAO acres of excellent land near
the railroad survey, and can see a
competence in the future. Soon after
leaving the pioneers, we struck the
north bank of the Matanusky river,
and after difficult descent of several
hundred feet, we reached the barrow
level bench along which the stakes of
the working survey shows where the
line to the mines will be located. A
walk was the only gait our horses
could travel, and the gnats and mos
quitoes were at their worst. Some
grumble at this trail, but it is peach
compared to many along the Yukon,
as the tundra (moss) is not thick
enough to impede travel. After thirty
three miles of interesting misery, we
camped for the night and slept in a
mosquito tent. - This has a floor
of canvass sewn to the sides and a
door like the mouth of sack, su that
after getting inside we GOULD draw
and tie the puckeripg string, and
laugh at the gnats and mosquitoes.
Tire next morning we awoke at 3
O'Clock. and built fire to get warm.
Then we cooked breakfast and at 4 10
were on our way. The saddles we're
not as comfortable as the day before
by painful odds. After going six
miles We reached Kings river, and