“The timber line on the south side of the Taiya Pass, as determined by barometer reading, is about 2,300 feet above the sea, while on the north side it is about 1,000 feet below the summit.  This large difference is due, I think, to the different conditions in the two places.  On the south side the valley is narrow and deep, and the sun cannot produce its full effect.  The snow also is much deeper there, owing to the quantity which drifts in from the surrounding mountains.  On the north side the surface is sloping, and more exposed to the sun’s rays.  On the south side the timber is of the class peculiar to the coast, and on the north that peculiar to the interior.  The latter would grow at a greater altitude than the coast timber.  It is possible that the summit of White Pass is not higher than the timber line on the north of the Taiya Pass, or about 2,500 feet above tide water, and it is possibly even lower than this, as the timber in a valley such as the White Pass would hardly live at the same altitude as on the open slope on the north side.

“Capt.  Moore has had considerable experience in building roads in mountainous countries.  He considers that this would be an easy route for a wagon road compared with some roads he has seen in British Columbia.  Assuming his distances to be correct, and the height of the pass to be probably about correctly indicated, the grades would not be very steep, and a railroad could easily be carried through if necessary.

“After completing the survey down to the lake, I set about getting my baggage down too.  Of all the Indians who came to the summit with packs, only four or five could be induced to remain and pack down to the lake, although I was paying them at the rate of $4 per hundred pounds.  After one trip down only two men remained, and they only in hopes of stealing something.  One of them appropriated a pair of boots, and was much surprised to find that he had to pay for them on being settled with.  I could not blame them much for not caring to work, as the weather was very disagreeable—­it rained or snowed almost continuously.  After the Indians left I tried to get down the stuff with the aid of my own men, but it was slavish and unhealthy labor, and after the first trip one of them was laid up with what appeared to be inflammatory rheumatism.  The first time the party crossed, the sun was shining brightly, and this brought on snow blindness, the pain of which only those who have suffered from this complaint can realize.  I had two sleds with me which were made in Juneau specially for the work of getting over the mountains and down the lakes on the ice.  With these I succeeded in bringing about a ton and a-half to the lakes, but found that the time it would take to get all down in this way would seriously interfere with the programme arranged with Dr. Dawson, to say nothing of the suffering of the men and myself, and the liability to sickness which protracted physical exertion under such uncomfortable conditions and continued