mething of a large lake not far from
that river. He crossed over and found it, and spent some time in
prospecting, and then recrossed to the sea. This man had been at Forty
Mile River, and I heard from the miners there his account of the
appearance of the lake, which amounted generally to this: The Boswells
did not know anything about it." It was unfortunate the Boswells did not
remain at Forty Mile all winter, as by a comparison of recollections
they might have arrived at some correct conclusion.

"Conflicting as these descriptions are, one thing is certain: this
branch, if it has not the greater discharge, is the longer and more
important of the two, and offers easy and uninterrupted navigation for
more than double the distance which the Lewes does, the canon being only
ninety miles above the mouth of the Teslintoo. The Boswells reported it
as containing much more useful timber than the Lewes, which indeed one
would infer from its lower altitude.

"Assuming this as the main river, and adding its length to the
Lewes-Yukon below the junction, gives upward of 2,200 miles of river,
fully two-thirds of which runs through a very mountainous country,
without an impediment to navigation.

"Some indefinite information, was obtained as to the position of this
river in the neighborhood of Marsh Lake tending to show that the
distance between them was only about thirty or forty miles.

"Between the Teslintoo and the Big Salmon, so called by the miners, or
D'Abbadie by Schwatka, the distance is thirty-three and a-half miles, in
which the Lewes preserves a generally uniform width and current. For a
few miles below the Teslintoo it is a little over the ordinary width,
but then contracts to about two hundred yards which it maintains with
little variation. The current is generally from four to five miles per
hour.

"The Big Salmon I found to be about one hundred yards wide near the
mouth, the depth not more than four or five feet, and the current, so
far as could be seen, sluggish. None of the miners I met could give me
any information concerning this stream; but Dr. Dawson was more
fortunate, and met a man who had spent most of the summer of 1887
prospecting on it. His opinion was that it might be navigable for small
stern-wheel steamers for many miles. The valley, as seen from the mouth,
is wide, and gives one the impression of being occupied by a much more
important stream. Looking up it, in the distance could be seen many high