The Ramparts of the Porcupine : An Unoccupied House : A Girl’s
Unhappiness : Awaiting an Up-going Steamer : From Fort Yukon to
Dawson City.
A further reference to the ramparts of the Porcupine may be permissible
here. They are very picturesque, often rising to heights varying from
fifty to two hundred feet. Frequently the river narrows to from five
to eight hundred feet, in some cases much less; and with frequent
abrupt changes in the direction of the stream, they often appear when
looking ahead, completely to block the river, and with the sunlight
glistening on the rocks, and a haze rising from the water they exhibit
the peculiar appearances already noticed.
The upper ramparts begin about ten or twelve miles above the Alaska
boundary and extend down stream some forty or fifty miles. The rock
formation as we descend is for the first twenty-five miles a hard
sandstone and quartzite, then changes to basalt for some distance, and
below this, limestone and shale penetrate upwards through the basalt.
The lower ramparts begin some twenty or twenty-five miles below the
end of the upper ramparts. The formation of the former is principally
magnesian limestone and shales, the limestone being the predominant
rock. The banks of the river between the upper and lower ramparts are
composed of clay, sand, and gravel.
When at Rampart House I had learned something of what to expect in
the way of accommodation at Fort Yukon. Under ordinary circumstances
it would not have been anything to look forward to with very much
pleasure, but compared with what I had recently experienced it was
quite reassuring. Jim Healy was kind enough to give me a key to an
unoccupied road house which he said he owned and where I could sleep.
He also informed me that I could probably get my meals at the home of a
half breed who was a relative of his wife.
[Illustration: FORT YUKON IN ALASKA]
On ascending the bank we were greeted by the usual barking of dogs,
and shortly after a few Indians and one white man, the latter a
storekeeper, came down to the landing, but it was growing dark, and I
felt like getting to rest for the night. I repaired to the road house,
unlocked the door, and fortunately found an old coal oil lamp by the
light of which I explored the premises, then unpacking my blankets and
spreading them on a cot in one of the rooms, I was soon prepared for a
much-needed sleep. It was some time, however, before unconsciousness
came to me, but it was delightful and refreshing to reflect that I had
at last, after just a fortnight’s hard work, succeeded in reaching a
point where all I had to do was simply to wait for a steamer in order
to continue my journey. Finally I fell asleep and did not waken till
about eight o’clock the next morning. The sun was shining in all its
Arctic brilliancy; the sky was without a cloud and the great river in
front flowed swiftly on without a breeze to disturb its glassy surface.
I found my temporary home was one of perhaps thirty log houses which,
with a few frame buildings, mostly all unoccupied, comprised the
village.
My first task was to look around for a meal, and, naturally, I went for
information to the white storekeeper, thinking he might be able to
favour me, but it was the old story. His supplies had not yet arrived,
and he was on short rations himself. I then informed him that I had
been recommended to apply to a half breed family, but he advised me
to try at the other store farther down the river, as the lady of this
house was a white woman whose cooking would probably be more to my
taste than what I could get at the other place. I took his advice, and
soon after presented myself at the door of the house, which, to my
surprise, was opened by a good looking and well dressed young lady, and
on telling her the object of my visit she said they were also short
of supplies, but that she would be glad to accommodate me as best she
could during my short stay in the village.
I was asked in and introduced to the Post Office Inspector for
Alaska--the ubiquitous government official again. He was also waiting
for the first boat to Dawson City, and in the meantime was occupying
another road house, but receiving his meals here also. Though we had
to do without meat, we had canned salmon and fresh fish in abundance
with some vegetables such as peas, potatoes, lettuce, beans, beets, &c.
These were grown in a little garden on the south side of the building.
This is worthy of mention, as Fort Yukon is a few miles north of the
Arctic Circle and farther north than I had seen any such growth east of
the mountains.
We meet young men, enticed by the love of adventure or of gold in
nearly every border settlement and in regions even more remote than
these, who, in their early years, knew only the luxuries of city life,
but who now are enduring hardships undreamed of by their parents at
home. But to find a young woman scarcely passed the period of girlhood
condemned to a life of exile such as my hostess was enduring is rare
indeed.
How came she here?
I can only give the story as told to me.
In one of the wholesale stores in New York City on a certain day in
midsummer, when the heat was almost intolerable, a customer presented
himself; his object being to make purchases for his establishment in
far away Alaska.
Instead of being in the garb of a frontiersman he was faultlessly
attired in the latest fashions of the great metropolis. Instead of the
blanket coat and toque, he wore a frock coat and silk hat and carried
a cane, the shaggy hair and long beard which had helped to protect him
from the Arctic winds of the far north were carefully trimmed, and by
artificial means changed from their natural colour becoming a man of
over seventy years to one of less than half that age. In short, to use
an expression common in the north-west, he was “properly togged out for
business.”
After making some selection in other departments he was introduced by
the proprietor to the young lady in charge of the millinery branch.
The first topic of conversation was, of course, the weather and the
depressing heat of the city. This opened to him a chance to boast of
the “cool breezes” for which his country is justly famed. He then drew
a romantic picture of his beautiful home on the bank of the Yukon.
All of which had its desired effect, with the result that within a
fortnight a newly-married but mismated couple were on their way to the
land of the midnight sun, but rumour had it that the romance was ended
long before they reached the palatial residence of which she had heard
so much. It proved to be a long shanty fairly well furnished for such a
locality, but without a single attractive feature in the surroundings
save the great river, which flowed by the door, and reminded her
somewhat of her old home. His sons and daughters by a former wife, who
were older than herself, failed to recognise her, and through their
influence even the half breeds mistrusted her.
Such I understood was the state of affairs at the time of my visit.
Evidently this could not last and I subsequently learned that taking
advantage of the absence of the Lord of the Manor on a certain day, she
boarded a passing steamer for the outside world, and she has probably
ere this resumed her former vocation either in her native city or
somewhere else, but far from the land, the lure of which had captivated
her youthful fancy.
I have already stated that Fort Yukon is a few miles north of the
Arctic Circle. Its longitude is also a little over 145 degrees west
of Greenwich, and the local time is about four and a half hours
slower than at Ottawa. Perhaps many who are tolerably familiar with
the geography of Canada would be surprised to learn that even Fort
McPherson, which lies east of the main chain of the Rocky Mountains
is much farther west than any part of Vancouver Island, while Fort
Yukon is ten degrees farther west still. Even in our journey to Fort
McPherson we changed time twice, about half an hour each time, and
notwithstanding this on our arrival there we found the local time an
hour slower than that used in the most westerly part of Canada. The
reason is apparent. Our general course down the Mackenzie had been
considerably west of north, and as we ascend towards the pole the
convergence of the meridians so increases that a degree is soon passed
over.
I watched eagerly for the arrival of an upgoing steamer, but three days
passed without anything appearing larger than a canoe; then finally, a
large steam craft appeared, and I made preparations for leaving, but it
was soon revealed that she was only going a part of the way to Dawson
and it was useless to take passage on her. After five days of patient
waiting, on a Saturday afternoon, a whistle was heard, and at once the
_Lavelle Young_, from Tanana, a mining town down the river, appeared in
view. I was not long in securing a passage and soon took leave of this
sleepy village.
The Yukon River for seventy-five miles below Fort Yukon, and probably
as far above, is many miles in width, forming what is known as the
Yukon Flats. This portion of the river is almost filled with islands
and partly submerged land, and it would be unwise for any one
unacquainted with the proper courses to attempt its ascent without a
guide, as he would be almost certain to get into wrong channels. As
before stated, these flats have evidently once formed the basin of a
large inland lake.
The Yukon is a swift flowing stream, especially after leaving the
flats, and as the machinery of our steamer was partially disabled
we were five days in making the trip to Dawson. The passengers were
largely made up of miners from down the river. I secured a state room
along with two other men, who, however, left me as sole occupant during
each night, they being busily employed at playing cards in the cabin,
and I understood one of them succeeded in ridding himself of the
greater part of the results of his two years’ hard labour in the mines
before we arrived at our destination.
We crossed the international boundary on the forenoon of August 17 and
again entered Canadian territory which I had left at Rampart House
twelve days before, and at five o’clock of the same day arrived at the
most important place on the river, the far-famed Dawson City.