FROM LAKE BENNETT TO DISCOVERY CREEK.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 10132, 3 September 1898, Page 8

FROM LAKE BENNETT TO DISCOVERY CREEK.

A HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SHOOTING THE RAPIDS. (FROM OCR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) DISCOVERY CREEK, N.W.T., July 6. My last letter was from Lake Bennett, where, with thousands of others, we were waiting for "the ice to go out," and in the meantime were building our boats. At this spot scores and scores of people grew disheartened at the difficulties met with, sold their outfits, and went away home again. All through the township, and at intervals along the trail, outfits were exposed to the passer by with the sign "Selling out." chalked upon a board. Most of them found a ready sale, while the only auctioneer in the place, whose commission was 10 per cent., must have coined money, as he was kept constantly busy selling outfits. The writer saw no less than thirty outfits sold in one day. As it is never dark here in mid-summer, the auctioneer sold on just as long as the crowd liked to stay and buy, and it was the regular thing to see a sale going on at eleven or twelve of what should have been night, and the crowd standing around buying. Famine prices were obtained for many things. Salt went to 25 cents per lb, rolled oats do., while 1001b of potatoes realised £6 6s, and 1001b of onions £10 10s. FREEMASONS AND A MASON'S FUNERAL. The number of Freemasons one meets with on this trail is remarkable, and the Order must be an exceptionally strong one. While we were at Bennett two prominent members of the craft died. The body of one was sent back to his home at Salt Lake City, the other was buried at Bennett. On the Thursday evening following the funeral a large meeting of Masons was held in the tent used as a church. Over 100 Masons iiwere present. A register of the names was taken and handed over to Bro. Captain Rant, the Government agent at Bennett, with a view to making a list of all Masons passing through the township. It was also decided to have a working bee the following Saturday evening and fence in that portion of the cemetery where the deceased brother was buried. • A committee of three was appointed to superintend the work. They promptly went out to measure up the ground, and those who remained inside spent the time in telling whence they came, the progress of Masonry in their district, &c. It transpired that Masons were present from every corner of the globe. The writer had, perforce, to tell of New Zea-, land and Masonry there. The committee returned and reported that about seventy posts would be required for the fence, also boards, rails, nails, &c. Those present pledged themselves to bring the requisite material and tools, and a most interesting, unique, and enjoyable meeting dispersed. On the following Saturday evening was witnessed a scene perhaps never equalled in the known world. Standing on the little sandy knoll on which the cemetery is situated at 7 p.m., the hour appointed for the meet, one could look to every point jof the compass, and from every direction could be seen approaching Masons, bent on an errand of love and respect. Every man, and they totalled over eighty, carried post, or rail, qr board. Arrived on the. ground, a start was immediately made "with* tHe "work. Posts' were" marked off, rails cut, and very quickly holes were sunk in the sand, and the fence began to grow like magic. It was truly a remarkable sight, and the rapidity with which i the fence went up astonishing. In less'than ' two hours a plot-nearly'a.'quarter of an acre in extent was enclosed in a neat fence, about 3ft 6in in height, boarded, and with a cap rail at the top. On this occasion, at any rate, the Masons were truly operative. Each | post bore on it the name of the donor, 'his ' lodge and city, and it was most interesting to walk round and note how widely scattered over the globe were the homes from which the members had come. The writer had, with the aid of .Sinclair, cut and squared a good post in the woods near by. It was presented as the donation of Lodge Unanimity, No. 3, Lyttelton, New Zealand. Being a specially good one, wliich the writer was fortunate in getting close handy, it .was selected as a gate post, and is now the pillar on the left. LAW AND ORDER. Throughout the Canadian territory the North-West Mounted Police, under Major I Walsh, keep excellent order, and Bennett was one of the most orderly towns in the Queen's dominions. They kept a strict eye I on the saloons, and put a stop to any excessive drinking. During a 7 stay of six weeks at Bennett, the writer saw only about ; six men a little the worse for liquor. Any | thefts were quickly and efficiently enquired into. A man named James Bess came ; under their suspicions. He had camped on the far side of the Lindeman canyon, in a I secluded spot, but the police overhauled his outfit. It was found to consist of 20001b i of stuff, and contained parts of no less than fifty different outfits. He was. promptly I arrested. When he came in over the Chil- j coot Pass he had no outfit and no money, but when arrested he had no less than 200dol in his pockets. His plan was tc steal the ! goods from different, outfits cached along the trail, and, after taking off the outside wrappings and brands, to sell the goods. The police at once posted notices all up and down the trail for owners to call arid identify their stuff, the stolen goods being spread out in front of the police post, and for several days. The prisoner was tried, convicted, and sentenced to two years' penal servitude, the presiding justice expressing iiis regret that he could not impose a heavier sentence. Mr Hess has therefore postponed his trip to Dawson till the spring of the yeai 1900, and will serve his sentence at BennettOver on the American side of the Cliilkoot Pass things, in the early part of the rush, -were done differently. There two men left their cache of goods in charge of two others, and went back to Seattle for more. On their return they found the caretakers had decamped, taking the goods with them. The owners at once notified the Vigilance Committee, who immediately sent vigilantes up and down the trail, and at last located the men with the outfit. A court, presided over by Judge Lynch, and with a jury of five, convicted them. Two of the jury favoured the death penalty and three a flogging. It was decided to flog tha worst offender, and to drive the other back out of the trail. The one man got his flogging. The other, while being escorted out of the camp, made a break from his escort, and running a distance, by some means got hold of a revolver. Several shot, were exchanged, but apparently no one was hit, and the escort returned to camp. Next day the escaped prisoner was found dead down the trail with a bullet in the head. The body was carried in and buried. Whether he committed suicide, or whether the robbed men .had taken vengeance upon him, nobody knew and nobody cared.

THE BREAKTNG-UP OF THE ICE.

The township at Lake Lindeman grew enormously during our stay at Bennett. When we passed through early in April there were only some thousands of tons of stuff stacked on the ice. By May, however, 'a large canvas town, with saloons, stores, „c, had sprung up, with some thousands of people, and with hundreds and hundreds of boats building. The breakmg-up of the ice on Lake Lindeman left absolutely no trail between that township and Bennett, and a little steam launch was coining a fortune bringing down pas-

senders nnd their goods. The absence of a trail here led to many and many a man sacrificing his life by travelling over the ice long after it was totally unfit for travel. When in this condition the ice is most treacherous. A piece six or eight feet square will tilt up and shoot a man under like a trap, then drop back int. its original position, closing the opening like the lid of a box. Even if there were no current underneath to sweep him away, the unfortunate being has not a ghost of a chance to ever see the surface again. As soon as the ice commenced to break up on Lake Bennett, and little cracks and crevices appeared, numbers of men, in spite of all •warning, started off in their boats, and pushing down these little lanes of water, endeavoured to force their way through. The result was that dozens of boats were crushed by the moving ice, and their cargoes, and very often the owners, went to the bottom. This sort of thing_got to be so frequent that at. last it only elicited the passing remark that another boat had been crushed and her occupants lost. The terrific pressure exerted by the moving ice is, to those who have never before witnessed it, an astounding revelation. Before a slight breeze the whole surface of floating ice gradually moves across the lake until it seems as if the entire world were moving. Slowly but surely the ice creeps in shore, piling itself up 25ft or 30ft high, and breaking down trees and brushwood like, so much straw. The banks are gouged out and huge rocks and boulders are lifted on the front of the creeping, slippery mass, and carried far inland. Where the banks are low the ice makes a clean breach over trees of a foot to eighteen inches diameter. Some boats were picked up and deposited 40ft inland, the owners thinking themselves highly fortunate in not being crashed. The great body of gold-seekers, however, were determined to run no such risks, but to wait until the ice was running freely and then go out behind, not in front of it. Owing to the enormous loss of life 'and the impossibility of identifying either boat or owner, the police notified that every boat must be registered, with the names of her occupants. She was given an official number, which had to be painted on both bows in figures six inches long. This gave the police an 'opportunity of identifying the drowned, of-whom there were numbers. The registering could be done either at Bennett or at the police post half-way down the Five Mile river. Up to the tdme of our leaving some 7000 boats had been registered, while hundreds more were yet to be built, people arriving every day, and starting to cut their lumber and build their boabs. After passing Lake Tagish the voyagers had to report themselves at the White Horse rapids, the Hootalinqua, Big Salmon, and Little Salmon rivers, and at Fort Selkirk. AFLOAT AT LAST. After waiting with what patience we could command till the ice had fairly gone out, we left Bennett on the afternoon of June 7th [ with a splendid breeze behind us. For the last few days the scene on the lake had been something to remember. The surface had been fairly covered with crafts of every description, from the lumbering scow with her huge square sail and clumsy steer oars to the neat arid smart little Peterborough canoe with its pocket-handkerchief of a sail. We made a splendid trip down the lake. Our boat proved a perfect witch to run, and we passed everything afloat. By 6 p.m. we were at the foot of the lake, 16 miles, and here the wind left us. We rowed down past CariboV Crossing, across Lake Nares, and as far as Windy Arm. This place proved true to its name, and piped out a good lialf gale of wind. After getting past here we lost the fait wind, and from that point had either head winds or calms for the balance of >our boo miles trip by water. Oh June 9th we reported ourselvse at the police post at Tagish. Here we saw ! . ie four Indians of whose share in a murder we had 'previously been acquainted. Two miners while passing down the river had been hailed by the Indians and asked to give theni a passage down in their boat. The miners refused, whereupon the Indians fired, killing one and wounding the other in ' the shoulder, through - which the ball . passed; The wounded man managed to travel some sixteen miles, and get help. The Mounted Police, guided by their Indian l trackers, of whom they keep two, set out in pursuit, and very quickly, captured the | murderers, along with two others who had helped to bury the body. When we saw I them all four were securely chained up, j awaiting their trial. On June 10th we camped just' inside the miouth.of the Fifty Mile river, and here wo saw our first bear. THROUGH MILES CANYON. The following morning we got away early en route for the notorious Miles Canyon and tne White Horse Rapids. A run of about 26 miles brought us to quite a little bay on the right ! hand'side of the river,.about half a mile from the mouth of the Canyon. At this spot!all boats must pull up and report themselves to the police. Here, too, the "Miles Canyon and White Horse Rapids Tramway .Company" has its slip and scales. This Company transports goods and boats atound the canyon and rapids on a tramway, i goods at 2 cents, per lb and boats at any price, from 20. to 100 dollars according to size. , A few men who have received permission from the police to take boats,through J are also here as pilots, and charge from 20 dollars'to 40 dollars, according to the size'■' of the craft. .We arrived about 11 aril., and j aftter registering our boat and names had dinner. Sinclair reckoned if any of the socalled pilots were able to take the boat I through, he was about) as well able to do so as they. After dinner we walked along to study Miles Canyon.. It is without a doubt a wild and formidable looking place. Its length is about half a mile. The walls are j perpendicular rock 100 feet high ,and appear to be about 35ft to',4oft apart at the bottom and 100 ft at the top. Before entering the canyon the river, which runs very strongly, widens out into a broad* deep basin. The whole body of water is then suddenly contracted to pass through the 40 feet of can-, yon, and with a roai that can be heard far away it does this with a speed that raises wie centre some foui feet above the sides. This loarmng centre or oomb is the course along which a boat must pass, and she must oe kept on it at any cost, or she will be dashed like an eggshell against the rocks on either side. The comb is a series of short, choppy undulations or waves, and the great danger is that as she rushes up and down these short jumps she will plunge bows under and founder. The whole place can be thoroughly studied from the rocks above,; and, after looking at it carefully and watch-; ing some pieces of timber go through, Sinclair decided he could take our craft through without mishap. Accordingly we returned, trimmed our boat, and started off. We quickly reached tue mouth of the canyon, and witti „ few strokes of the oars rushed her on' to the crest of the comb. Quick as thought the current caught us and next instant we were shooting'through the canyon, with the: rocks flashing past us like a railway train in a cutting. The jobble proved an extremely ugly one, and our boat tore up and down the short waves and plunged arid jumped like a bucking-horse, but keeki' as a hawk Sinclair was watching her every movement, and though at one time it looked as if the next jump would take her clean under he kept her fairly on the comb, and we shot out at the other end in splendid style.

SHOOTING THE IVHITE HORSE ! RAPDDS.

About a mile below the canyon the While Horae Rapids are encountered. In approaching these the traveller needs to be very careful. The river broadens out to a considerable width, then takes a sudden turn to the left, and another to the rightt The turn to the right is through the rapids, but once let the boat take the turn to the left and nothing can save her from going over. The authorities should certainly, for the safety of voyagers put up a warning, say. a quarter of a mile from the turn.. We wenjust saved from taking the first turn by a warning shout from the bank. We pulled ashore, moored our boat, and walked down to inspect the rapids. It certainly appeared a desperate task taking a boat through such a foaming mill-race. The whole body of water is confined between perpendicular walls of,rock. There is a great fall in the river at this spot, and, tho water rushes through at the tremendous pace of nearly twenty miles an hour. The water is a mass of short undulations or waves, and every wave has a white foaming crest. But the supreme danger lies right at the lower end of the rapids. Here the rocks close in until

__——_—___———_—_____—__ V-"! 1 ' the out ! let is not more than 30ft wide. The t terrific pressure of the water here forces the centre up into a foaming undulating comb -* t_at rears up almost t>y itself some five feet "'■ from the main body ot watei, and gives * the onlookei the impression of a huce mon. ~ ster guarding the outlet and waiting 0 to des." troy every that comes down. Right over the crest of that evil-looking comb the boat must go, or she will lie shot'off and smashed to pieces on th* rocks. As if the danger were not sufficiently great, the current at thisspot invariably catches the boat on the starboard quarter and Mings hei stern overthrowing her head direct for the rocks- on tho starboard side. Unless the steersman is very quick to counteract, this with the steer-oat, the result is complete, shipwreck with loss of outfit and possibly of life. ' A PERILOUS PASSAGE. We studied the whole spot very carefully watched some pieces of timber go throuijh and generally got a good idea of the current and comb. Sinclair calculated that a man accustomed to land a boat through a New Zealand surf could about take her through thelV'iiiie H..rs-'v-iihi.ut, mishap, fle ... pointed out that she would probably ship a sea at the lower end, but even if s _ e did so the pace was so terrilic that we should be through before slie could ship a second. \V T e returned to our boat, spread the tent over her, and battened it down along the sides. Over hei h(.w wo hi»itened a waterproof sleeping sheet, making her so that she would scarcely take in water, even if she plunged clean under. Then we took off our boots, to give ourselves «, chance in case of the worst happening, and pushed -'■' off from shore. A few strokes with the oars took us round the first bend, and here she began to feel the force ot the stream. Round the next turn we shot, driving our uoat for all she was worth tc gain the centre ' : * of the current. The next instant- wo wen, shooting the White Horse Rapids with a vengeance. Rocks and trees were flying past as in a mist', but there was no time to look around. Every thought was bent on keeping her bow dead on to tlia* foaming crest, towards which we were rushing -with the speed of a railway train. Sinclair proved himself a perfect master with the steer oar. Standing in the stern of the bout while she tore through the foaming cataract' he kept her on her course straight as an arrow, and struck the comb fairly in the centre. Then the current caught tier stern and endeavoured to throw her round but Sinclair met it with tihe steer-oai and'kept her straight. In an instant she endeavoured to dart '•>_ to tihe left, but again he met her. Then, as if mad at-being unable to break away, she-plunged clean under, and a great foaming wave of hissing watej rolled over us, but as Sinclair had predicted she could only ship tihe one sea, and the next instant we shot out into comparatively smooth water, amid a ringing cheer from a large crowd that had gathered opppsite the comb to watch the passage. Tho precautions we had taken entirely prevented the water getting into the boat, and we found every tiling as dry as the proverbial chip. - Thus, on June 11th, three months to a oay from our leaving Lyttelton, we shot the ' notorious Miles Canyon and White Horse Rapids in a 20ft boat, and with over U tons of goods on board. It makes one feel good all over to get • through, such places without mishap, and Sinclair was very heartily congratulated on his excellent, steering. Just below the rapids the water shoah out to a few. inches in depth. This spot' is covered with the wrecks and debris of crafts that have tried.to come through ana"' " have failed. Here, too, numbers of men were busy saving such of their outfits ai they could, while for a long way down tin river, boats, more or less damaged, werx hauled up, while their owners effected repairs and dried their goods. Numbers of parties lost here everything they possessed but only a few lives were sacrificed. <■ <• '