The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-11-09
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1925
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CHAPTER X

CHAPTER x
10 the early Klondikers, Chilkoot
Pass was a personality, a Presence
at once sinister, cruel, and forbid
ding. SO, too, only in greater meas
ure, was Miles Canon. The Chill
koot toyed with men, it wore them
out, it stripped them of their
strength and their manhood, it
wrecked their courage and it broke
their hearts. The canon sucked
them in and swallowed them. This
canon is nothing more nor less than
rift in great basaltic barrier
which lies athwart the rivers course,
the entrance to it being much like
the door in a wall. Above it the
waters are damned and into it they
pour as into tlume; down it they
rage in swiftly increasing fury, tor
it is stccply pitched, and. although
the gorge itself is not long, imred'-
atcly below it are other turbulent
stretches equally treacherous. 1t
seems as ii here, within the space OF
some four miles, Nature had eS-
hausted her ingenuity in inventlng
terrors to frightcn invaders, as IT
here she had combined every posi-
bic peril Of river travel. The result
of her labors is d series .ot cata-
clysms.
Immediately below Miles Canon
itself are the Squaw Rapids, where
the torrent spills itself over a con-
fusion OF boulders, bursting into
foam and gyrating in dizzy whirl-
pools. its surface broken by explo-
sions of spray or pittcd by devour-
ing worthless resembling the oily
mouths Of marine monsters. Below
this, in turn, is the White Horse,
worst of ALL Here the food some
saults over a tremendous rect. fling
ing on high cleaning curtain OF
spray. These rapids are we'll named,
for the tossing waves resemble MOTH
ing more than runaway white horses
with streaming names and tails.
These are by no means all the
dangers that confronted the first
Yukon stampeders-thcre are other
troublesome waters below-for in
stance, Rink Rapids, where the river
boils and bubbles like kettle over
on open fire, and Five Fingers, So
called by reason of a row OF knob
bv, knuckled pinnaclcs that reach up
like the stiff digits of a drowning
hand and split the stream into d.
vergent channels--but those three,
Miles Canon, the Squaw, and White
Horse, were the worst and together
they constituted menace that tired
the courage OF the bravest men.
In the canon, where the waters
are most narrowly CONSTRUCTED. they
heap themselves up into Longitude
nal ridge or bore, comb perhaps
four feet higher than the general
level. To ride this crest and to
avoid the destroying fangs that lie
in wait on either side is a feat that
calls for nerve and skill and endur-
ance on the part of boatmen: The
whole four miles is place OF many
voices, a laundering place that
numbs the senses and destroys all
hearing. Its tumult is heard afar
and it covers the entire region like
a blanket. The weight OF that sound
is oppressive.
Winter was at the heels of the
Courteau party when it arrived at
this point in its journey; it brought
up the very tail of the Autumn. rush
and the ice was close behind. The
Countess and her companions had
the uncomfortable feeling that they
were inside the jaws of trap which
might be sprung at any moment. tor
already the hills were busted with
gray and white, creeks and rivulets
were steadily dwindling and shelf
ice was forming on the larger
streams, the skies were low and
overcast and there was vicious tim
gle to the air. Delays had slowed
them up, as, for instance, at Windy
Arm, where gale had held them in
camp for several days; then, too,
their boats were built of poorly sea-
soned lumber and in consequence
were in need of frequent attention.
Eventually, however, they came
within hearing of faint whisper,
as of wind among pine branches,
then of mufflcd murmur that grew
to a sullen diapason. The current
quickened beneath them. the river
banks closed in, and finally beetling
cliffs arose, between which was a
cleft that swallowed the stream.
Just above the opening was