El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-11-18

ready there are small towns between
I the Yukon and the terminus OF the rail-
road. and in the near future the Tanana
valley Will have a considerable pOpula-
lion OF farmers
Flows Through a Wilderness.
The country on both sides OF the
Lower Yukon Is wilderness. That part
OF the stream is about as long as from
Z New York 10 Chicago. l. drains thou
, sands Of square miles, and its populs-
ton l venture. is numbered by hum
/ dreds- Going down the river you now
and then pass an Indian village and
stop at several towns which form the
ports for gold mines. One Of the chief
towns is Ruby. rs miles below Fort
GibbOn- 1t is A placer gold mining GEN.
ter. which had a stampede in 1911
There are. perhaps. 1909 people there
now. They live in a tumble of build
I IngS made OF logs. Galvanized iron and
: Imprinted boards. all thrown together,
without regard to order or beauty.
Most OF the houses are of one story.
and they look as though they had been
pitched out OF the sky and let tau
where they would.
CucumherS Is Inches Long
The town lies i'm little cove on the
south bank OF the river y rock 30
ieet high marks one end OF the cove.
and the space beyond it. raining to the
edge OF the Yukon, is Just large enough
O. for the town The people are supported
q by the gold mines and the most of their
. supplies come from outside. About some
3 Of the houses are gardens. and there
3 are two hOthOuSes that are noted for
I. raising fine Vegcta Dles- While our
/ steamer lay at the banks the pro-
. prietOr OF one OF these hothouses came
. aboard and took passage Tor Nome. He
+ had a sample of his vegetables with
. him Tt was cucumber-a little one.
he said. for he could not get the big
. ones inside his bag. ! measured t. II
. was lust IS inches long. or about
, thvce-fo urths the length OF the column
+ of the ordinary newspaper
s little below RUBY we passed the
/ mouth OF the kOyukuk river q stream
2 which is navigable for more than 800
8 miles north OF where il flows into the
{ ukon- II has rich mining camps
: which are reached by small Steamers
Z Cold was found along the creeks lead
F ing into II II or - years ago. and
about ten years ago 100000 worth OF
nuggets We're taken from one small
! patch on Nolan creek The end oil
3 steamship navigation on the koyukuk
Is BEETLES. which is more than -four
+ OF five hundred miles from its mouth
+ Beyond that supplies are carried in
small boats TO the mines.
Nulato An old Indian Village.
s few miles below the mouth Of the
Koyukuk We stopped at Nulato. This
IS an Indian village. noted as being
one OF the oldest trading posts on the
Yukon II was established by the Rus
SLAMS when Van Buren, was president
and at about the time that Tyler en-
tered the white house il became q
post Of 10 Russian American cOmpan!
and the chief market for the furs OF
this part of Alaska. About ten years
later an English shin came up the
Yukon to search for Sir John Frank
lin. II stopued at NulatO and the COM
mander said something that angereC
the Indians. They killed him and he
3 is buried somewhere nearby His
q grave is unmarked
There are two stores at Nulato and
also = wireless telegraph station whose
tall mast can be seen rising high
above the Indian cabins that line tbs
shores The town is mostly made W
of Indians II has a government hos
pital and government school II has
also a mission station and an Indian
cemetery
The steamboat Sarah tied up at the
hank right under the cemetary and
we could see the Indian monuments
on the hin just above US. They were
made of wood and PAINTED in the
brightest OF colOrs- Scores Of little
yellow. blue. red. green and white ken
nel-ike houses were scattered along
i he ton Of the hill. They seemed like
doll houses. They are the homes OF
the ghosts OF the departed. into which
the Indians now and then put food for
! the spirits. Above each house is a
] cross showing how Christianity is COM
bined with the superstitions OF the
past.
The Indians of Nulato are dirty and