Aboriginal Dwellings.—Mastodons in Alaska.—Few Old People alive.—
Abundance of Rain.—The Wonderful Treadwell Gold Mine.—Largest Quartz
Crushing Mill in the World.—Inexhaustible Riches.—Other Gold Mines.—
The Great Davidson Glacier.—Pyramid Harbor.—Native Frauds.—The
Chilcats.—Mammoth Bear.—Salmon Canneries.
In some portions of the country the aboriginal dwellings are constructed
partly under ground; this is especially the case in the far north among
the Eskimos proper, on the coast of the Polar Sea. Such cabins are
entered by a tunnel ten feet long, so low and small as to compel the
occupants to creep upon their hands and knees in passing through it. The
tunnel-entrance, which always faces the most favorable point, is covered
with a rude shed to protect it from the snow and the severity of the
weather. The cabins are conical in form, covered with turf and mud, a
hole being left at the top to permit the smoke to escape. The fire is
built in the middle of the apartment on the ground. Around the space
left for this purpose is a platform of a few inches in height arranged
for living and sleeping upon. At night, in extreme cold weather, a flap
of skins is so arranged that it can be drawn over the opening in the
roof which serves as a chimney, and thus, the entrance being also
closed, the occupants become hermetically sealed, as it were, thoroughly
outraging all our modern ideas of ventilation. Twelve or fifteen persons
are often found together in such a cabin with its one room, where the
decencies of life are utterly ignored, and where the stench to civilized
nostrils is really something dreadful to encounter.
This description refers to the winter homes of the people, where they
hibernate like some species of wild animals, but for the milder portion
of the year the Eskimos are nomadic, traveling hither and thither,
seeking the most favorable locations for hunting and fishing, while
living in rudely constructed camps. They use tents adapted for this
itinerant life, made from prepared walrus hides supported by a light
framework of wooden poles. The more thrifty supply themselves with
canvas tents bought of the whites, as being handier for use and
transportation.
Speaking of the interior of the country, we have the authority of Mr. C.
F. Fowler, late agent of the Alaska Fur Company, and long resident in
the country, and of Ex-Governor Swineford, both of whom have carefully
investigated the subject, for stating that there exists a huge species
of animals, believed to be representatives of the supposed extinct
mammoth, found in herds not far from the headwaters of the Snake River,
on the interior plateaus of Alaska. The natives call them “big-teeth”
because of the size of their ivory tusks. Some of these, weighing over
two hundred pounds each, were from animals so lately killed as to still
have flesh upon them, and were purchased by Mr. Fowler, who brought them
to the coast. These mammoths are represented to average twenty feet in
height and over thirty feet in length, in many respects resembling
elephants, the body being covered with long, coarse, reddish hairs. The
eyes are larger, the ears smaller, and the trunk longer and more slender
than those of the average elephant. The two tusks which Mr. Fowler
brought away with him each measured fifteen feet in length.
The author has almost universally found among savage races at least a
few very old people of both sexes, who were apparently revered and
carefully provided for by their descendants and associates, but here
among the aborigines aged persons are certainly not often to be seen.
Whether it is that, hardy and robust as they generally appear to be,
they do not, as a rule, live to advanced years, or that a summary method
is adopted to get rid of them after they have outlived their usefulness,
it is impossible to say. We were told that such is certainly the case
with some of the tribes farthest from the influence and supervision of
the whites, and that half a century ago the extremely old, being
considered useless, were frequently “disposed” of. It is clear enough
that there is nothing in the climate of this region in any way inimical
to health and longevity.
The women of the Takou district are very expert and industrious. They
occupy a large portion of their time in weaving baskets of split cedar,
far exceeding any similar Indian work which we have chanced to see
elsewhere, both in the coloring and the very ingenious combination of
figures. Some of these baskets are so closely woven out of the dried
inner bark of the willow-tree that they will hold water without leaking;
the author also saw drinking-cups thus manufactured. Visitors rarely
fail to bring away interesting specimens of native work in this
particular line; the fine straw goods of Manila do not excel this in
delicacy and beauty. In addition to this attractive basket-work from the
hands of the women, the men of the tribe exhibit their natural skill by
carving silver bracelets (made from dollar and half dollar coins),
miniature totem-poles, horn and wooden spoons, baby rattles and canoes,
in a very curious and original manner. Once a fortnight, during the
summer season, on the arrival of an excursion party by steamer from the
south, the natives are, as a rule, completely cleared out of their
entire stock of these productions, and they do not fail to realize fair
prices, enabling them to live very comfortably.
Though Sitka is the capital of the Territory, Juneau is the principal
settlement and headquarters of the mining interests, containing over
seven hundred white residents. We have seen no statistics of the annual
rainfall here, but can well believe it to be what a certain person told
us it was, namely, over nine feet. It seemed to us that the permanent
residents should be web-footed. The cause of this humidity is very
evident. There arises from the warm Japanese Current on the coast a
constant and profuse moisture. This the winds convey bodily against the
frosty sides of the neighboring mountains, and then it is precipitated
as rain; at certain seasons of the year it continues for weeks together.
There is compensation even in the fact of this large annual rainfall,
which at first thought seems to be such an objection to this district.
The gold-bearing quartz which prevails here is treated, necessarily, by
what is known as the wet process, requiring at all times an ample supply
of water. One successful superintendent told the author that ore which
is here so profitable would be in a dry region, like that of some
portions of our Western States, worthless, or comparatively so, as it
would have to be transported in bulk to a more favorable locality. It
seems to require two rainy days to one pleasant one, which is about the
average proportion in the year, to provide sufficient water to work
these large deposits properly. The system of disintegrating, and of
reclaiming the precious metal from the flint-like combination in which
it is held is marvelous in detail, evincing the rapid progress which has
been made in mechanical and chemical processes in our day.
It is found that June, July, and August are the favorable months for the
traveler to turn his face towards the shores of Alaska, this being the
season when the pleasant weather is most continuous. It is not extremes
of cold, but an over-abundance of moisture in the shape of rain, which
one must prepare for. An ample waterproof outside garment will be found
at times very serviceable.
The Treadwell gold mine, just opposite Juneau, on Douglas Island, is
undoubtedly the largest in the world, running at the present time two
hundred and forty stamps, the mill and machinery having cost over half a
million dollars; and though the author has visited the mines of
Colorado, Montana, California, New Zealand, and Australia, he has
certainly never seen its superior in capacity and golden promise. It is
a true gold-bearing quartz visible at the surface, four hundred and
sixty-four feet in width. The company owns three thousand running feet
upon this deposit,—it can hardly be called a vein,—parts of which have
been tunneled and shafted simply to test its extent, showing it to be
practically inexhaustible, no bottom having been found to the
gold-bearing quartz, nor any diminution in the quality of the ore. The
mill is run upon this quartz the whole year, but as it is owned by a
private corporation, and there is no stock for sale, the exact output of
the mine is not known. The writer feels safe in saying, however, that no
such body of gold-bearing quartz is known to be in existence elsewhere.
The laborers do not have to work in dark, underground channels; all is
above ground, and in the season when darkness comes it is dispelled by
electric lights. No timbering or shafting is required; it is simply an
open quarry. Captain John Codman, after visiting the mine, writes: “We
walked through the golden streets of this New Jerusalem, with golden
walls on either side, and wondered what men could do with so much
money.” It is not a little confusing to a stranger, when he first enters
the great Treadwell Mill, to be greeted by the deafening cannonade of
two hundred and forty stamps. Each stamp weighs nine hundred pounds, and
the crushing capacity of the whole mill is seven hundred and twenty tons
per day. The gold is shipped to the mint in San Francisco in the form of
bricks worth from fifteen to eighteen thousand dollars each.
Douglas Island was named by Vancouver in honor of his friend the Bishop
of Salisbury, and is eighteen miles long by about ten in width. This
remarkable quartz vein is believed to run the whole length, though it is
not always visible at the surface. Governor Swineford, in one of his
annual reports, expresses his belief that ere long the gold produced in
this section alone will exceed annually the amount which was paid to
Russia for the whole of Alaska. This island, like Baranoff upon which
Sitka is situated, is absolutely seamed with gold-bearing quartz, and
has been carefully prospected and recorded by people interested in
mining. Three hundred laborers are regularly employed at the Treadwell
Mill, whose seven owners are opulent citizens of San Francisco. The work
is prosecuted with great system and intelligence. The quartz of this
mine is not so rich as that of many others, yielding on an average less
than ten dollars to the ton, but it is so immense in quantity, and is so
easily worked, that the aggregate yield of the precious metal is indeed
remarkable. The mill turned out in the first twelve months after it was
started seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars in bullion, and is
probably producing at this writing three times that amount yearly.
The mine is admirably situated for the purpose of receiving or shipping
freight, as vessels drawing twenty feet of water can lie alongside of
the rocks which form the natural shore less than one hundred yards from
the quartz mill. We were informed that sixteen million dollars have been
offered and refused for this property. The would-be purchasers were
members of a French syndicate. The agent says that the owners have but
one price, namely, twenty-five million dollars, and they are in no haste
to part with their property even at that sum. On the mainland, just
across the channel from Douglas Island, three or four miles back of
Juneau, is Silver Bow Basin, where there are gold deposits of vast
extent and richness. Here quite a population is engaged in placer and
quartz mining. The miners present a motley crowd with their picks,
shovels, and red shirts, many with a stump tobacco pipe between their
lips, and all with eager faces.
A spacious and thoroughly equipped quartz mill is being erected by a
Boston company of capitalists for the purpose of developing a large
property which it is thought will nearly equal the Treadwell in its
output of the precious metal. This is known as the Nowell mine, and it
is said that the quartz assays one hundred dollars and over to the ton.
Silver Bow Basin is a small round valley lying in the lap of the
mountains, accessible through a deep gulch behind the town. It is
surrounded by noisy waterfalls, which supply just the needed power for
manipulating the gold quartz. Across the range is another rich mineral
locality, known as Dix Bow Basin.
On Admiralty Island, near the northwest end of Douglas Island, opposite
Takou Inlet, there has lately been discovered several gold deposits
which are owned by a Boston company. The prospectings upon some of this
well-defined vein have developed a percentage of gold to the ton so
large that we hesitate to specify it. “Thirty years ago,” said Mr.
Thomas S. Nowell to us, “the mines of Alaska would have proved
comparatively valueless; the machinery and process that are now so
successfully applied to reducing the ores were then unknown. The great
economy and consequent profit is derived from late discoveries which are
now perfected, producing machinery which works as though it had the
power of thought.”
The names of several other profitable mining enterprises in this
vicinity might be given, but we have said enough to indicate the great
mineral wealth of this portion of the Territory, and to justify our
title of THE NEW ELDORADO. There are abundant gold indications all along
the coast, as well as upon the islands. In the sands of any considerable
stream between Cape Fox and Cook’s Inlet the “color” of gold can be
obtained by the simple process of panning. The question is not where
gold can be found in Alaska, for it seems to be wonderfully and
abundantly distributed, but as to what localities will best pay to
expend capital in developing. A number of abandoned claims show that the
failure to realize a satisfactory profit in gold mining by eager,
impatient, and unreasonable individual seekers without proper machinery
is as frequent as in any other business enterprise awkwardly planned.
This is as apparent in Africa, Australia, and California as it is in
this region. The Treadwell mine on Douglas Island is in latitude 58° 16′
north, just about on a line with Edinburgh, Scotland.
We quote once more Mr. Nowell’s own words: “The mountains of Alaska
abound in gold-bearing quartz, the extent of their deposits exceeding
any similar discoveries in the world. There is without doubt more
gold-bearing quartz on Douglas Island alone, which can be worked at a
handsome profit, than ten thousand stamps could crush in a century; a
well-defined vein from two to six hundred feet wide traversing the
island for at least from six to eight miles.”
There is a missionary family, supported by the Quaker persuasion,
located at Douglas Island, whose earnest effort in civilizing and
teaching the natives has been crowned with considerable success. The
self-abnegation and conscientious labor of these people are truly worthy
of all commendation.
Soon after leaving Juneau, when near the head of Lynn Channel, the grand
Davidson glacier comes into view, filling the space between two lofty
mountains. It measures twelve hundred feet high by some three miles in
breadth, being as wide as a frozen sea and as deep as the ocean. While
looking upon it one is overawed by a sense of its immensity and
grandeur, as it seems hanging, poised, ready to drop into the fathomless
sea. Where we pass it there intervenes a terminal moraine overgrown with
trees and green foliage, which contrasts vividly with the icy background
formed by the glacier. The glaciers of Europe are mere pygmies in
comparison with this marvel, which is named after Professor Davidson,
who has carefully explored and described it. Both the Muir and Davidson
glaciers are spars of the same great ice-field, which has an unbroken
expanse large enough to lie over the whole republic of Switzerland. The
Muir glacier will be reached presently in Glacier Bay.
Soon after leaving the Davidson glacier we are in Pyramid Harbor. This
is the region of the Chilcats, who were formerly one of the most warlike
tribes in the Territory, but who seem to have outlived their belligerent
propensities. Their rude, but picturesque cabins dot the neighboring
shore. The little settlement here consists mostly of bark huts and a
substantial trader’s store, together with an extensive and successful
fish-cannery. The product of the latter is over a million pounds of fish
per annum, the whole being engaged for 1889 to a Liverpool firm. This
amount is shipped in seventy thousand cases of about fifty pounds each;
the fish are packed in tins holding a pound each. This is an average
amount as regards various factories on the coast, though some very much
exceed it. The Indians now cheerfully accept employment from the whites,
and gladly receive the regular wages which may be agreed upon. They
appear to be the best carvers on the coast, and have an abundance of
their handiwork to sell to the interested white visitors. These articles
consist of carvings in ivory (walrus’ teeth), decorated sheep-horns,
copper and silver bracelets, bows, arrows, and spearheads. As engravers
on copper and silver the Chilcats excel all other people of the
Northwest. Some of their women wear a dozen narrow bracelets on each
arm, all of home manufacture. They are also skillful in making
ear-rings, and ornamental combs out of ivory and sheep’s horn. As
successful imitators they are remarkable, and will almost exactly
reproduce any design which is given to them as a pattern. It seems
strange that so aggressive and warlike a tribe should be skilled in
carving and many mechanical productions.
Certain people have bestowed much honest but needless sympathy upon
these “poor abused Indians.” Such persons may be assured that they are
amply able to look out for themselves and their own interests, as
regards all material matters. No white man can get any advantage over an
Alaskan native in the way of trade; they are sharpness itself in such
things. For instance, these Chilcats a few years since observed that the
white traders were particularly desirous of obtaining black fox skins,
and that for such pelts they would willingly pay a handsome advance over
skins of other colors; a fine skin of this sort bringing as high as
thirty dollars, while the common red ones were not worth quarter of that
sum. The innocent natives soon began to produce the black skins in large
quantities and received their pay accordingly. Surprise being at last
excited by the remarkable abundance of the black pelts, an explanation
of the cause was sought, when it was finally discovered that by a secret
process of dyeing the natives had made the red fox skins temporarily
into black. This was done so cunningly that nothing but a careful
examination would detect the outrageous cheat, and not anticipating
anything of the kind the traders were not on their guard. Of course no
dyeing process which they possessed was of a permanent nature as applied
to pelts, and these black furs when they came to be prepared for market
rapidly resumed their natural color. When charged with this gross
deception, the Chilcats assumed the most innocent expression and denied
any knowledge whatever in the premises, only saying: “Fox, him get black
before him caught,” thus lying concerning their trickery as volubly as
any white rogue might have done.
We are told of several of these tricks played off by the “poor abused
Indians,” one instance of which we remember as having occurred at Fort
Wrangel, illustrating the “aptitude” of the aborigines, not to give it
any harder name. It seems that a kindly disposed missionary, by
exercising great patience, had taught some Indians to read and write,
and in the consciousness of his own intentions felt amply paid by the
goodly progress of his pupils. One of these young men, not over twenty
years of age, was especially curious about arithmetic, and made
considerable progress in figures in a very short time. He was soon after
hired by the superintendent of a fish-canning establishment as a special
assistant, with good wages. Being given a note or due-bill of
twenty-five dollars by his employer, he quickly saw his chance, and
adroitly _raised_ the figures to two hundred and fifty dollars, got the
bill cashed at one of the neighboring trading establishments, and
suddenly disappeared with the proceeds thereof. He has not since been
seen.
The Chilcats have, until within a few years, forcibly kept the natives
of the interior away from the coast and the white men, thus monopolizing
the land fur-trade by acting as middle-men, so to speak, but this
embargo is now entirely removed. By this and some other means, being
naturally thrifty and saving, they have come to be the richest and most
independent tribe of Indians in the Northwest. Their women manufacture
the famous and really very fine Chilcat blankets, which are slowly woven
by hand on a primitive loom. The base of these blankets is the long
fleece of the mountain goats, which is tastefully manufactured and
ornamented, reminding one of the domestic Oriental work offered for sale
in the Turkish bazaars of Cairo. The Chilcat blankets readily bring
forty dollars apiece, and the best of them are sold for double that sum.
They are ordinarily about six feet long by four broad, having in
addition a long, ornamental fringe at each end. The colors are black,
white, yellow, and a dull blue, the coloring matter being also of native
manufacture. These blankets used to be heirlooms in the aboriginal
families before the cheap woolens of commerce were introduced among
them, since when they have become annually more and more scarce, and are
now purchased only by visitors to carry away as curiosities. Even at the
highest price realized for them, if the maker’s time were to be reckoned
of any account, the sum is a sorry pittance for one of these blankets,
which to properly finish will employ six months of a woman’s time.
Pyramid Harbor, in latitude 59° 11′ north, is the most northerly point
reached by the excursion steamers on this part of the coast. The place
takes its name from a prominent conical formation upon an island within
its borders. The cluster of houses, cabins, and the canning factory
which make up what is known as Pyramid Harbor are situated upon a broad
plateau on a sandy beach, at the foot of a mountain which towers three
thousand feet heavenward, covered with trees to its summit and
beautified by a bright, dashing waterfall visible from near the apex to
the bottom. This affords both a healthful water supply for domestic use
and a motor for the factory. The broad plateau, three or four miles in
length and one wide, grass-grown, and covered with low shrubbery, is
beautified by a floral display of great variety, including wild roses,
sweet peas, columbines, white clover, and other varieties, having also
an unlimited amount of berries. The wide mouth of the Chilcat River,
which makes into the bay a mile from this settlement, is a swarming
place for the salmon. The river is very shallow and not navigable for
anything but native canoes. Twenty miles inland on its bank is a large,
independent settlement of the Chilcat tribe.
On the mountain side, nearly half way up, just back of the steamboat
landing at Pyramid Harbor, there is a small plateau not more than ten or
fifteen feet square, entirely bare of timber, but closely surrounded by
dense woods. This spot is quite inaccessible to human feet. A large
cinnamon bear shows himself here often during the daytime. A clear,
sparkling stream of water comes from far above this place, rushing by
one corner of it, and hither comes Bruin to slake his thirst. He knows
very well that he is out of the hunter’s reach, and he is actually
beyond rifle range. He looks at that distance skyward no bigger than a
good-sized Newfoundland dog, but to appear of such proportions to us so
far below he must be a very monster. Several attempts have been made by
the whites to get near enough to shoot him, but without success. The
bear sat upon his haunches when we saw him and peered down upon us as we
stood on the deck of the Corona with a cool insolence which must have
been born of a consciousness of entire safety. By using a good glass his
mammoth size became more apparent, showing that even when upon his
haunches with his body erect he must have measured about six feet in
height.
A settlement opposite to Pyramid Harbor is known as Chilcat, where two
large fish-canning establishments afford profitable occupation for quite
a number of the residents, both natives and whites. New canning
factories are being located in several places between Dixon Entrance and
this point, the supply of salmon being absolutely unlimited; the demand
only is to be considered. The quantity shipped from here annually to San
Francisco for distribution is enormous, almost beyond belief, and is
steadily increasing. In addition to this profitable and important
industry twelve thousand barrels of salted salmon were exported last
year from Alaska to southern Pacific ports. The scenery about Pyramid
Harbor is arctic: the precipitous cliffs are covered with snow on their
tops, and range upon range of snowy mountains frame in the bay.
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