Simeoneblog: Lt. Henry Allen's expedition, installment 1

INTRODUCTION

In 1885 Lt. Henry Allen and four companions traveled 1,500 miles, ascending the Copper River, crossing the Alaska Range, floating down the Tanana River to the Yukon, then crossing overland from the Yukon to Koyukuk River, floating down that river to the Yukon and then out to St. Michael on the Bering Sea coast. Allen’s report provided some the earliest and most detailed information about this great expanse of interior of Alaska.

Allen was born in Kentucky in 1859, attended West Point and served in the army for 41 years, including as commander of the American Occupation Forces in Europe between 1919 and 1923.

Allen’s expedition was one of several launched by the US Army to explore Alaska. The Indian wars were coming to an end and the veteran Indian fighter Nelson A. Miles was put in charge of the Army’s operations in the Pacific Northwest. Miles was fascinated with reports from Alaska and in 1883 sent Lt. Frederick Schwatka on an expedition to explore the Yukon River. Schwatka’s success led Miles to determine a more ambitious goal, to ascend the Copper River and cross the Alaska Range into the Yukon River drainage. No other non-Native had made such a journey. Several Russian expeditions had tried but perished.

Miles first sent Lt. William Abercrombie to explore the Copper River, but he failed. So in the spring of 1885 Allen and two hand picked men, Sgt, Cady Robertson and Pvt. Frederick W. Fickett (Fickett's unpublished journal is in the University of Alaska, Anchorage archives), began their expedition. They were later joined by John Bremner (see Bremner’s journal in Seton-Kerr "Shores and Alps of Alaska") and Pete Johnson. The goal of the mission was not only to explore uncharted territory but to make a report on the disposition of the Native people, including whether they posed a threat to future development of the territory. The Ahtna, whose territory included most of the Copper River drainage, had a fierce reputation and memories of the ill-fated Russian expeditions lingered.

This is a synopsis of the Allen expedition taken from Allen’s report published by for the Northern History Library, Alaska Northwest Publishing Company 1985 and edited by Terrence Cole. Additional information comes from a number of sources.

Allen began his report with a synopsis of what was known about the exploration of all three rivers. More was known about the Copper River than the Tanana or Koyukuk. In fact very little was known about the Tanana – which was known as the least explored river in Alaska or North America. Since Allen’s time we have learned much more about Russian exploration of the Copper River.

Departure

The party departed Portland Oregon for Sitka with stops in Townsend Washington, Victoria and Nanaimo British Columbia, Wrangell and Juneau Alaska. Arrived in Sitka. The steamer Leo, which was supposed to take Allen and his party to Nuchek in Prince William Sound, had headed south. Allen was finally able to get permission for the US Navy steamer Pinta to take the party to Nuchek. They left Sitka on March 16th and arrived in Nuchek March 19.

Nuchek was an Alutiiq village which had also been the site of a Russian trading post. In 1885 it was still an Alutiiq village but the trading post was run by the Alaska Commercial Company. When Allen arrived at Nuchek he was told that an Ahtna trading party was expected but had stopped in an Eyak village at the mouth of the Copper River. (Seton Kerr describes Nuchek)

The problem now was how to get from Nuchek to the mouth of the Copper River. Allen finally obtained a couple of row boats and some Native people to man them. He also picked up a prospector named Peter Johnson, who was married to an Eyak woman. Johnson was partners with John Bremner, another prospector, who had gone up the Copper River the pervious summer and was still there in the spring of 1885.

The trip between Nuchek and the mouth of the Copper River took several days because of bad weather and tides. From Nuchek the party went north, around Johnstone Point and stayed the night on the north side of Hinchenbrook Island. The next day they rowed on to Point Whitshed where they met two elderly Eyak stringing clams. (Cordova was once called the clam capital of the world). They stayed the night at Point Whitshed and started out at 3:00 to take advantage of the high tide. By the middle of the day the tide had gone out and the party was stranded on mud flats so they made camp and Allen and Johnson walked to the village of Eyak on the Eyak River about 1 mile below what is now called Eyak Lake. Returning from Eyak village, Allen and Johnson ran into two Natives, an Ahtna whom Allen called “Skilly” and an Eyak he called Kawkus. (Skilly is not a proper name but a noun describing a worker or man who works for his chief or clan leader. The person is classified as a younger brother or male parallel cousin – that is, some one who is considered a relative or relation. In the Ahtna language the word is ciile’(See Kari 1991, the Ahtna dictionary)). Later in the expedition Allen refers to certain Ahtna as Skilly.

Information on Eyak village from the anthropologists de Laguna and Birket-Smith: the village was visited by Jacobsen and Abercrombie in the late 1880s. Jacobsen, who was a German ethnographer working for a Berlin museum, saw 10 houses. Abercrombie, an American military officer, saw a dozen houses built of logs, slabs of wood and planks. Allen found 5 houses and the U.S. census of 1890 reports 27 houses with 28 families. The village was demolished at the end of the 19th century to make room for a cannery that was never built. The people moved closer to Cordova.

Allen calls Skilly the captain of the Ahtna trading party. He and Kawkus are taking a load of furs, which the Ahtna has brought down the Copper River, to Nuchek. Allen purchases the furs and has the two men take them back to Alaganik, an Eyak village at the mouth of the Copper River.

Information on Alaganik – Abercrombie described Alaganik as a fishing village located on one of the branches of the Copper River near its mouth. He says there were about 7 houses. Abercrombie thought the village was founded in 1868 after a measles epidemic, but Eyak oral tradition says the village was very old, possibly one of the oldest of the Eyak villages. The village was abandoned toward the very end of the 19th century after a severe epidemic and people moved to Cordova. Allen reported that a Russian trading post had been built in 1788 just south of Alaganik but when he was there in 1885 he found no trace of the post.

At this point Allen and his party continue on to Alaganik. They make the mouth of the Copper River and start upstream on the western most tributary but are blocked by an ice jam that forces them to ferry supplies by foot. All this time it had been raining and blowing and Allen describes how the crew is drenched to the skin and tired out. There is no firewood with which to make a fire, warm up and dry out. From where they have cached the supplies the party splits up into 3 groups each starting out on foot to find Alaganik in the dark and sleeting rain. After walking 2 hours Allen and his group find the village which consists of two houses. In the house where Allen slept there were 29 people and 10 dogs. At Alaganik were two Ahtna. Allen hired these two men and all the others to ferry his supplies to the village, but had to give up completing the task because everyone was so worn out. At this point Allen returns to Alaganik and finds Skilly and Kawkus. None of the Natives want to continue up river, and the Ahtna are content to wait until another Ahtna trading party comes down river in May, before returning up river. Allen has all he can do to get all of his supplies to Alaganik.

The party leaves Alaganik and starts up the Copper River using canoes and sledges purchased in Sitka. The weather is terrible, with rain and snow. The rain melts the snow and weakens the ice making travel extremely difficult. Eventually the canoes are abandoned and one is cut in half to serve as sledge. Supplies, including the tents are abandoned, and the party ends up hauling 150 pounds of flour, 40 pounds of rice, two sides of bacon, 15 pounds of tea, extract of beef, deviled ham and chocolate. They exist on a piece of fired bacon and one flapjack.

Comment: Through the entire journey the party has trouble finding food. At one point they try to trek and hunt at the same time, but that does not work out. Eventually they rely on the Natives to provide food or go hungry. Spring in Alaska is the most difficult time of the year for finding food. The thaw makes it hard to travel over land while river ice presents a problem for river travel. Towards the middle of May the Ahtna began congregating along the Copper River waiting for the salmon. Caribou and moose were upland away from the river. But interior Alaska has never had abundant food resources. Starvation has always been a constant threat. During the summer the Ahtna gorged on salmon, and at certain times of the year they intercepted herds of caribou. But in May there was little fresh food and the winter supply was all but gone.

On their way up river they pass the faces of several glaciers. Goodwin glacier, then Childs and Miles glaciers. They have to cross the foot of Childs glacier – that creates the west bank of the Copper River and causes the river to form a single channel. Today the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has a sonar counter across from Childs glacier which is used to count salmon as they ascend the Copper River. Also located here is the Million Dollar bridge built for the Copper River and Northwestern. Completed in 1910, the Million Dollar Bridge was the crux of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, built to carry copper oar 196 miles from Kennicott to Cordova. Childs Glacier did not engulf the bridge, but the glacier crept to within 1,475 feet in June 1911.

Every morning Allen had problems getting his Native helpers to leave camp. They preferred to stay in their shelters than face the bad weather.
“On the morning of the 3rd of April, after a terrible night, so reluctant were they to leave that I was compelled to pull down the small pieces of shelter that had erected and drag each one from his resting place onto the snow.”

They eventually got beyond Abercrombie Canyon and the weather partially cleared, which raised their sprits. Camped at Baird Canyon – named after Prof. S.F. Baird of the Smithsonian Institution - that evening it snowed and in the morning the party was completely covered. In an aside Allen describes their sleeping bags were made of water proof linen. The bag was 6.5 feet and large enough so as not to cramp the arms. A poncho was pulled over the head in place of closing the bag.

Allen thinks that Baird Canyon marks the transition between the coast and the interior climates and the sun came out again. The snow was firmer and it was easier going. Along the river the snow measured 4.5 feet deep. Walked until 10 pm that night. During the day the sun had melted the snow but after sunset it became cold and the snow clogged up the webbing on their snowshoes making it difficult to walk. Next day they passed the Bremner River which the Ahtna told Allen thaws earlier than the Copper River.

Allen’s eyes began to bother him, as did the eyes of the Eyak. Several times Allen said he had to bathe the eyes of the Eyaks, whose eyes would be so swollen when they got up that could not open them.

They pass the Tiekel River (Konsina) which enters the Copper River from the west. Night of April 6 they camp at the mouth of the Uranatina River. On the opposite bank – east side – across from the mouth of the Uranatina is Spirit Mountain (see photograph below), which Allen supposed was Mt. Wrangell.

At this point everyone in the party beings to realize that they cannot hunt while at the same time make headway on their trek upriver. The men begin to husband their food, and for the first time they attempt to eat the entrails of a porcupine. One morning the Eyak smear their faces with ashes, which they explained was protection against against Mt. Wrangell – which was known to spit fire and smoke and to produce great rumblings which the Eyak thought were the workings of a great sprit.

Walked through Wood Canyon – named after Col, Clay Wood - - canyon zig zags so that the expedition cannot seen very far forward or rearward. Allen reports the walls of the canyon are from 100 to 500 feet height and the river narrows down – the twists and turns of the river creates chambers or sections – in one of the chambers Allen describes an ice wall 100 feet high and 30 feet wide.

At the upper end of Wood Canyon they see their first habitation since leaving Alaganik. Does not say on what bank the house is located, but that it is about 11 by 14 with a long low entry way that the party has to crawl through. Found some half spoiled dried salmon, which they ate. This house may have been located at or near the mouth of Eskilida Creek – and may have been the fish camp of Eskilida. Ts’enłt’e’ Cae’e, mouth of Eskalida Creek (Reckord 1983a:95, No. 3; Kari 1983:6, No. 54; McKinley and Kari Ahtna Tape (AT) 23. Chief Eskalida had a fish camp at this location.