New Britain herald., 1925-07-03

open arms" says a bulletin of the National Geographic society from its headquarters in Washington, D. C. Between gold rushes the Stikinc country is buried ,n the maEnit- concc of its own scenery and under the blanket Of quiet that nature lays on its peaks and valleys, When rush is Oil, any Indian can sell back labor al peak price, food is at q premium, d dog that can pull sled is worth a good sized nugget, and canoe will sell at margin that would turn a pron:ccr's eyes emer- aid green,
 Rumor Draws Miners
 Hast fall rumor siftcd out of the northern wilds of British Columbia that rich placer deposit had been discovered on q 25-miic gravel bank on Cassar creek, which is rootlct of the big Mackenzie river system. The rumor hasn't been confirmed yet, but it had the power to draw hundreds Of old miners up the Stik- inc river early this spring before the ice went out and thousand more waited for river steamers to start for GIcnora. the head of navigation. From there they are pulling packs with dogs. horses, oxen and cater pillar tractors over the passes and across the boCgy valleys 10 Dease lake gem in perfect setting Down tho 27-mile lake they are Go- ing to CasSar creek, site of one Of the first important gold finds of the golden north. Cassiar was history before the klondikc was a byword. Fortunes were made on it in 1879.
 Even if they get no gold the men who go up the river arc privileged | to view sights that ought to arouse even the iadcd scenery sense Of a sourdoush. John Muir. Chronicler nar excellence of the Pacific coast wrote that thr SUkine river was 100 miles of Yosemite. He counted more than 100 glaciers within view from the river and 800 more within close range. The great peaks that afford dark portals at Wrangoll for swift river are terminal monitors oi ! thc vast canyon whose walls rise %.O0O to 5,0O0 feet on hoth sides. Here and thNrc are small glaciers (small at least from the rivcr), blue in tho sun. and tackled like patches of sky on dull mountain slopes.
 "Thon thcrc are greater glaciers the Dirt glacier and tho Big Stillinc glacier, which pushes through rock walls two miles apart to spread ou' in q great fan six miles across. This fan is q fountain of rushing rivers Tho Dirt glacier, second in size, k named for its Strcakcd face showing gravel and stone that has hcer sroopcd off the mountain and inlaif in icc.
 "Thorc is q glacier on the bank opposite tha Rig Stikinc glacier and two traditions support the pellet that thcso two rivers of ice once met and that tho real river flowed through a tunnel under tho grap- rling arms of the two giants. One tradition holds that tho Indians do. cidcd that thcrN must ho another land beyond this glacier wall ho' rausO salmon camo uD tho river wncv chose two of their oldest men since thcy must dic. anyway. tO rur tnc tunnel. AS tho triho watched thoy disappeared into tho irc cavern 'Onlv tn roaNpoar q flow days later tC rcnort Of another world beyond rho second tradition is that an In. dian horamo fired of his wife. sC nc mt her in a boat and started hc' blown thc mysterious passage. Inn. Iaginc his surprise fsw days latol whrn fho hanishcd wifS padded ou of thr tunnel saro and sound, fat anC hoa)thv.
 "Tsually tho people of tho S'illin' flood orco a year. Flood glacio has broken loose again. thoy sa! whom high wat r bursts nron them generally along in August. Mui found ont what happened. Trihn t7ry glaciers pour in behind Dir glacier and form largo docp lako Ns the summor -ooS on. thr lak' ccts NEccr and hicE"r, Finally th' natural dam breaks and flown com" .tho nool.
 "Thc Caesinr gold country is th motnor Of three great rivers 0owint in ornosjto directions; the MacEen 2,r flows north: the Yukon. UNurir northwest into thc Boring Sra. send its TosIin tontar)c into British Co 'umMa. and finally tho Stikiue dc houchcs southwest at WranEcl Thcro were three routes to tho Nu Ion during tho frantic rush tha hroko with ,nc United States d"clar atioN of war against Spain; one Il
 tho NUllon from its mouth, anothC rom SkaEway through White Nors Nass and finally the Stikinc to Tclc graph crock and thence across couu $ Try 10 tho NukoDs headNatrrs. I'll Stikina. though popular al first, va tlc most deadly of all. Hundreds ( sDamrrdCrs mushinC up the rive wcro caught in tho soft ice Of spring 1hoSc who came on boats later ha
 h,artbrcakinc journey across th $ l5o mi)ns of alternate swamp an ; rock to the Yukon. IL cost trcmer
 lcnsN in animal Ht", dogs. horse
 oxen anl goats, and some in huma r'o.
 y "Ncns that a caterpillar tracic , Has hsrn shipped in recalls tho il r r1'cl experiment of Captain Aru
 stronE's snow train. This consis'c Q of 2 steam loCom otivo or runner
 with ra-s carrying loads h"htnl. A
 encNorace would ho made ahead c 2 thr iro and thc locomotive woul pull uself up by lis hootstrap { which were c2hl"s. Captain Arn s StrcnE's snow train went eight mic $ then Ea'c up the Ehost"