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                          By the same Author.


A TREASURY OF THOUGHT. An Encyclopædia of Quotations from Ancient and
  Modern Authors. 8vo, full gilt, $4.00.

  The most complete and exhaustive volume of the kind with which we are
acquainted. The literature of all times has contributed to it, and the
range of reading necessary to its compilation is the widest.—_Hartford
Courant._

NOTABLE THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN. A Literary Mosaic. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  Full of delicious bits from nearly every writer of any celebrity,
English, American, French, or German, early and modern, it is a
fascinating medley. When one takes up the book it is difficult to lay it
down, for one is led on from one brilliant or striking thought to
another, in a way that is quite absorbing.—_Portland Transcript._

PEARLS OF THOUGHT. Choice Sentences from the wisest Authors. 16mo, full
  gilt, $1.25.

  The first noticeable thing about “Pearls of Thought” is that the
“pearls” are offered in a jewel-box of printing and binding. The
selections have the merit of being short and sparkling. Authors, ancient
and modern, and of all nations, are represented.—_New York Tribune._

DUE WEST; or, Round the World in Ten Months. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  It is a book of books on foreign travel, and deserves to be in the
hands of all subsequent writers as combining just the qualities to give
the greater information and zest.—_Boston Commonwealth._

DUE SOUTH; or, Cuba Past and Present. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  Full of information concerning the Bahama Islands, the Caribbean Sea,
and the island of Cuba. Of the finest and most extensive culture, Mr.
Ballou is the ideal traveler.—_Boston Traveller._

DUE NORTH; or, Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  The author has the tact to travel without an object; he strolls. He
sees things accidentally; you feel that you might have seen the same
things, under the same circumstances. He never lectures; rarely
theorizes. It is as useful to read him as it is enjoyable to travel with
him.—_Journal of Education._

UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS: or, Travels in New Zealand, Australia, and
  Tasmania. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  Few persons have traveled so extensively, and no one more profitably
both to himself and the public, than Mr. Ballou.—EDWIN P. WHIPPLE.

EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH. Crown 8vo, $3.50.

  A remarkable compilation of brilliant and wise sayings from more than
a thousand various sources, embracing all the notable authors, classic
and modern, who have enriched the pages of history and literature. It
might be termed a whole library in one volume.—_Boston Beacon._

GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. Crown 8vo, $1.50.

  Mr. Ballou displays a broad and thorough knowledge of men of genius in
all ages, and the comprehensive index makes the volume invaluable as a
book of reference, while—a rare thing in reference books—it is
thoroughly interesting for consecutive reading.—_The Journalist_ (New
York).


                  HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO., PUBLISHERS,
                          BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

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                            THE NEW ELDORADO

                       A SUMMER JOURNEY TO ALASKA

                                   BY

                           MATURIN M. BALLOU


    I pity the man who can travel from Dan to Beersheba, and cry:
    “’Tis all barren!” and so it is, and so is all the world to him
    who will not cultivate the fruits it offers.—STERNE.

                            [Publisher Logo]


                          BOSTON AND NEW YORK
                     HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
                     The Riverside Press, Cambridge
                                  1889

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                            Copyright, 1889,
                         BY MATURIN M. BALLOU.

                         _All rights reserved._


           _The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A._
         Electrotyped and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Company.

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                                PREFACE.

                                 --*--


The Spaniards of old had a proverb signifying that he who would bring
home the wealth of the Indies must carry the wealth of the Indies with
him. If we would benefit by travel we must take with us an ample store
of appreciative intelligence. Nature, like lovely womanhood, only
reveals herself to him who humbly and diligently seeks her. As Sir
Richard Steele said of a certain noble lady: “To love her is a liberal
education.” Keen observation is as necessary to the traveler who would
improve by his vocation as are wings to an albatross. The trained and
appreciative eye is like the object-glass of the photographic machine,
nothing is so seemingly insignificant as to escape it. Careless,
half-educated persons are sent upon their travels in order, it is said,
that they may “learn.” Such individuals had best first learn to travel.
Those who improve the modern facilities for seeing the world acquire an
inexhaustible wealth of information, and a delightful mental resort of
which nothing can deprive them. The power of vision is thus enlarged,
many occurrences which have heretofore proved daily mysteries become
clear, prejudices are annihilated, and the judgment broadened. Above
all, let us first become familiar with the important features of our own
beautiful and widespread land before we seek foreign shores, especially
as we have on this continent so much of unequaled grandeur and unique
phenomena to satisfy and to attract us. It seems to the undersigned that
perhaps this volume will have a tendency to lead the reader to such
conclusion, and certainly this is its primary object.

                                                            M. M. B.

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                               CONTENTS.

                                 --*--


                               CHAPTER I.

                                                                 PAGE

   Itinerary.—St. Paul.—The Northern Pacific Railroad.—
     Progress.—Luxurious Traveling.—Riding on a Locomotive.—
     Night Experiences.—Prairie Scenes.—Immense Grain-Fields.—
     The Badlands.—Climbing the Rocky Mountains.—Cinnabar.—The
     Yellowstone Park.—An Accumulation of Wonders.—The Famous
     Hot Springs Terrace.—How Formed.—As seen by Moonlight          1


                              CHAPTER II.

   Nature in Poetic Moods.—Is there Lurking Danger?—A
     Sanitarium.—The Liberty Cap.—The Giant’s Thumb.—Singular
     Caves.—Falls of the Gardiner River.—In the Saddle.—Grand
     Cañon of the Yellowstone.—Far-Reaching Antiquity.—Obsidian
     Cliffs.—A Road of Glass.—Beaver Lake.—Animal Builders.—
     Aborigines of the Park.—The Sheep-Eaters.—The Shoshones
     and other Tribes                                              20


                              CHAPTER III.

   Norris Geyser Basin.—Fire beneath the Surface.—A Guide’s
     Ideas.—The Curious Paint Pot Basin.—Lower Geyser Basin.—
     Boiling Springs of Many Colors.—Mountain Lions at Play.—
     Midway Geyser Basin.—“Hell’s Half Acre.”—In the Midst of
     Wonderland.—“Old Faithful.”—Other Active Geysers.—Erratic
     Nature of these Remarkable Fountains                          34


                              CHAPTER IV.

   The Great Yellowstone Lake.—Myriads of Birds.—Solitary
     Beauty of the Lake.—The Flora of the Park.—Devastating
     Fires.—Wild Animals.—Grand Volcanic Centre.—Mountain
     Climbing and Wonderful Views.—A Story of Discovery.—
     Government Exploration of the Reservation.—Governor
     Washburn’s Expedition.—“For the Benefit of the People at
     Large Forever”                                                47


                               CHAPTER V.

   Westward Journey resumed.—Queen City of the Mountains.—
     Crossing the Rockies.—Butte City, the Great Mining
     Centre.—Montana.—The Red Men.—About the Aborigines.—The
     Cowboys of the West.—A Successful Hunter.—Emigrant Teams
     on the Prairies.—Immense Forests.—Puget Sound.—The Famous
     Stampede Tunnel.—Immigration                                  57


                              CHAPTER VI.

   Mount Tacoma.—Terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad.—
     Great Inland Sea.—City of Tacoma and its Marvelous
     Growth.—Coal Measures.—The Modoc Indians.—Embarking for
     Alaska.—The Rapidly Growing City of Seattle.—Tacoma with
     its Fifteen Glaciers.—Something about Port Townsend.—A
     Chance for Members of Alpine Clubs                            73


                              CHAPTER VII.

   Victoria, Vancouver’s Island.—Esquimalt.—Chinamen.—
     Remarkable Flora.—Suburbs of the Town.—Native Tribes.—
     Cossacks of the Sea.—Manners and Customs.—The Early
     Discoverer.—Sailing in the Inland Sea.—Excursionists.—
     Mount St. Elias.—Mount Fairweather.—A Mount Olympus.—
     Seymour Narrows.—Night on the Waters.—A Touch of the
     Pacific                                                       84


                             CHAPTER VIII.

   Steamship Corona and her Passengers.—The New Eldorado.—The
     Greed for Gold.—Alaska the Synonym of Glacier Fields.—
     Vegetation of the Islands.—Aleutian Islands.—Attoo our
     most Westerly Possession.—Native Whalers.—Life on the
     Island of Attoo.—Unalaska.—Kodiak, former Capital of
     Russian America.—The Greek Church.—Whence the Natives
     originally came                                              109


                              CHAPTER IX.

   Cook’s Inlet.—Manufacture of Quass.—Native Piety.—Mummies.—
     The North Coast.—Geographical Position.—Shallowness of
     Behring Sea.—Alaskan Peninsula.—Size of Alaska.—A “Terra
     Incognita.”—Reasons why Russia sold it to our Government.—
     The Price comparatively Nothing.—Rental of the Seal
     Islands.—Mr. Seward’s Purchase turns out to be a Bonanza     127


                               CHAPTER X.

   Territorial Acquisitions.—Population of Alaska.—Steady
     Commercial Growth.—Primeval Forests.—The Country teems
     with Animal Life.—A Mighty Reserve of Codfish.—Native
     Food.—Fur-Bearing Animals.—Islands of St. George and St.
     Paul.—Interesting Habits of the Fur-Seal.—The Breeding
     Season.—Their Natural Food.—Mammoth Size of the Bull Seals   143


                              CHAPTER XI.

   Enormous Slaughter of Seals.—Manner of Killing.—Battles
     between the Bulls.—A Mythical Island.—The Seal as Food.—
     The Sea-Otter.—A Rare and Valuable Fur.—The Baby
     Sea-Otter.—Great Breeding-Place of Birds.—Banks of the
     Yukon River.—Fur-Bearing Land Animals.—Aggregate Value of
     the Trade.—Character of the Native Race                      159


                              CHAPTER XII.

   Climate of Alaska.—Ample Grass for Domestic Cattle.—Winter
     and Summer Seasons.—The Japanese Current.—Temperature in
     the Interior.—The Eskimos.—Their Customs.—Their Homes.—
     These Arctic Regions once Tropical.—The Mississippi of
     Alaska.—Placer Mines.—The Natives.—Strong Inclination for
     Intoxicants                                                  173


                             CHAPTER XIII.

   Sailing Northward.—Chinese Labor.—Unexplored Islands.—The
     Alexander Archipelago.—Rich Virgin Soil.—Fish Cunning.—
     Myriads of Salmon.—Native Villages.—Reckless Habits.—
     Awkward Fashions and their Origin.—Tattooing Young Girls.—
     Peculiar Effect of Inland Passages.—Mountain Echoes.—
     Moonlight and Midnight on the Sea                            186


                              CHAPTER XIV.

   The Alaskan’s Habit of Gambling.—Extraordinary Domestic
     Carvings.—Silver Bracelets.—Prevailing Superstitions.—
     Disposal of the Dead.—The Native “Potlatch.”—Cannibalism.—
     Ambitions of Preferment.—Human Sacrifices.—The Tribes
     slowly decreasing in Numbers.—Influence of the Women.—
     Witchcraft.—Fetich Worship.—The Native Canoes.—Eskimo Skin
     Boats                                                        199


                              CHAPTER XV.

   Still sailing Northward.—Multitudes of Water-Fowls.—Native
     Graveyards.—Curious Totem-Poles.—Tribal and Family
     Emblems.—Division of the Tribes.—Whence the Race came.—A
     Clew to their Origin.—The Northern Eskimos.—A Remarkable
     Museum of Aleutian Antiquities.—Jade Mountain.—The Art of
     Carving.—Long Days.—Aborigines of the Yukon Valley.—Their
     Customs                                                      212


                              CHAPTER XVI.

   Fort Wrangel.—Plenty of Wild Game.—Natives do not care for
     Soldiers, but have a Wholesome Fear of Gunboats.—Mode of
     Trading.—Girls’ School and Home.—A Deadly Tragedy.—Native
     Jewelry and Carving.—No Totem-Poles for Sale.—Missionary
     Enterprises.—Progress in Educating Natives.—Various
     Denominations engaged in the Missionary Work                 222


                             CHAPTER XVII.

   Schools in Alaska.—Natives Ambitious to learn.—Wild
     Flowers.—Native Grasses.—Boat Racing.—Avaricious Natives.—
     The Candle Fish.—Gold Mines Inland.—Chinese Gold-Diggers.—
     A Ledge of Garnets.—Belief in Omens.—More Schools
     required.—The Pestiferous Mosquito.—Mosquitoes and Bears.—
     Alaskan Fjords.—The Patterson Glacier                        231


                             CHAPTER XVIII.

   Norwegian Scenery.—Lonely Navigation.—The Marvels of Takou
     Inlet.—Hundreds of Icebergs.—Home of the Frost King.—More
     Gold Deposits.—Snowstorm among the Peaks.—Juneau the
     Metropolis of Alaska.—Auk and Takou Indians.—Manners and
     Customs.—Spartan Habits.—Disposal of Widows.—Duels.—
     Sacrificing Slaves.—Hideous Customs still prevail            246


                              CHAPTER XIX.

   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                               258


                              CHAPTER XX.

   Glacier Bay.—More Ice Bays.—Majestic Front of the Muir
     Glacier.—The Bombardment of the Glacier.—One of the
     Grandest Sights in the World.—A Moving River of Ice.—The
     Natives.—Abundance of Fish.—Native Cooking.—Wild Berries.—
     Hoonish Tribe.—Copper Mines.—An Iron Mountain.—Coal Mines    275


                              CHAPTER XXI.

   Sailing Southward.—Sitka, Capital of Alaska.—Transfer of the
     Territory from Russia to America.—Site of the City.—The
     Old Castle.—Russian Habits.—A Haunted Chamber.—Russian
     Elegance and Hospitality.—The Old Greek Church.—Rainfall
     at Sitka.—The