The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-09
AMID ALASKA RICHES
The Stories Of Mineral Wealth
Are Confirmed.
oLAvE's DARING EXPEDITION.
Report Of Mountain Of Copper Proved
by Native yessels-Discovery OF
q Route for Horses.

the Grand hotel with M Senpsi Peff1us pies1-
Dent Of the Pyramid Harbor Continuation Pack
ing Company
Las. year Mr.. GIave went seross the cbiIcst
lass and discovered the Aiseck river This year
he hes made an exploration of the unknown
region lying between the Mount Sc. Elias range
snd the Yukon river. lie has suceesSed ~
taking into this country tram Of
pack horses. and thus has csnonssratsd
THAI Transport OF the mineral and other
products Of the place is wholly praetieAfie.
This feat is al important one In the develop
rnent OF ALASKA, because the psrt into which M
Gisye has gone has been considered the Tooss IN
accessible, and go II PACK horses ran 60 there
they can 70 anywhere. aud tbs opssaing OF
AIaska's rich mines IL now possibility.
With Jack Dalton, weii-kDown Alaska pros
rector, Mr.. Giave left Cbilcat last Azy- IneF
took four horses and pushed north and west ~
the EJeeheenee branch OF the Gnileaf. Al 8
p0in. about fifty miles by trail from the
~. they crossed the 5ultsr Tame di-
vide, which IL climb OF some 5,1J0
feet Here Trey passed over immense
fields Of hardened snow, and though the CLIMB
ing was dllIa1ft, fhs snow WAS 80 packed that
the horses Travelled easily on IL In spite Of the
swsmps. pEeeipiees and deep canyons Tnich
abound they found by dint Of careful recon
noIsssnce q very practicable trial, and one
which can BE much improved by little WORK
Ing.
'sfhe country beyond the divide" said Mr..
Glars. sis mountainous, but there are many
lakes and rivers. The hills, unlike those OF the
Coast range, are in groups aud short ranges,
between which lie broad fertile valleys The tim
Der IL abundant. but Of no very superior
quality. The long days OF summer, when the
sun shines clear and strong. give all vegetation
q rank growth. and found crsnberries, fasp-
berries biackferries. gooseben1es. ~iid onions
snd other nstiye fruits s1d vegetables large
end finely Favored / see reason why, IN
spte of the shortness OF the season. some OF the
fardssr grains might not be grown there; Tor
the grass 10 long and succElens have seen ia
Europe many places far less adapted TO the sup
port of life
SIR. Glaye penetrated 30 point about 40
miles from the coast, aud upon each side OF this
trail rich countries were discovered. The lakes
and rivers are all well stocked with fish. Mr.
Glare found good specimens Of gold, silver. coal
and iron. while he saw al Indian dish beaten OF
native COPPER. This he was told came from the
Copper mountains, and all information be could
obtalG tended 70 show that these fabulously rich
deposits OF the valuable metal actually exist.
seThe traditions Of the Chileat, the Yakutat
and In fact ali OF the Cost Indians refer to the
Copper mountains Of the interior, said Mr..
GIaye, ''and ine copper utensils aud weapons
found in their possession undoubtedly came
from this source"
~
surely prove To- be the largest in Alaska, Mr.
GlAve and Mr.. Dalton had narrow escape from
death. They were cruising ia small fndi an
canoe, when q sudden squall came upon them and
upsct their frail vessel. They were thrown
into the water, which was icy cold. as 1t was
from the melted show OF the hills around. The
canoe could not be rigbted. and thu wind blew
from of shore. They struggled for moro than
m hour, lighting their way inch by
inch toward land and life Finally they
reached rocky bluff, and though beaten up
against 1t by the heavy waves they scrambled
out too numb to do more than crawl Dalton
was speeches. with the cold. In this accident
they lost their guns, cooking outfit. watch,
pick, shovel, and other necessarics of existence
I'm the wilderness
They returned by much the same route over
the divide, picking out a better trail than thst
BIZ which they went In. Mr.. Glaye speaks in
the very highest terms OF Walton, whose long
experience fits him most admirably IT. overcome
the difficulties OF such expedition.
Mr.. Giaye gladly denies the authentic
ity OF published interview sent out
from Victoria, in which he is reported as speak
ing i'll OF Lieutenant Schwatka and the Alaska
Commercial Company.
In talking of his expedition, Mr.. Glave said:
"Thc one thing which has stood in the way of
the development of this rich interior of Alaska
f. a section Of land about thirty five
miles across, lying between the head
waters OF the Yukon ana the Pacific
ocean at Chilkoot This mountainous strip is
a stumbling block across the natural entrance
10 the region, for when once 1t is passed yoa
can travel by boat through the lakes and down
the Yukon to the gold mines already opened
below.
AT present the only mode of transport is by
Indian packers, who charge SIS a hundred for
carrying stuf. and at the same time are utterly
unreliable. Miners often halt south OF the d.
vide for weeks, subject to the whims OF these
irregular carriers. Even IN the face
of these difficulties stin few
of the more undaunted push their way into the
country each year, searching for gold. We're
trail for pack horses proved practicable, there
would be a large influx OF immigration and a
corresponding output OF mineral product With
a reiiable transport on land improved, nayiga-
ton on the water would follow and
the consequent shortening OF the time of enter
ing would give longer season. Under present
conditions food and other supplies are obtained
nj great expense that only "A very rich
claim will yield any profit 20 the workers
Whereas improved means OF conveyance for
men and their outfits will allow profitable
working OF many gold deposits now untouched.
"were this country opened up by a pack trail.
o wagon road would soon be built and
steam locomotion Is possible. Any fur
Their development of Alaska means a grea,
stimulus 90 the trade of the Pacific
coast. for the cities here on Puget sound and
those further south the natural points oi
supply for all the operations carried on in
Alaska. and the products o' that territory mus,
in turn be marketed through these centers. The
trade with Alaska has already assumed such
proportions that & is deemed worth coupeti ms
for; bat with the working Of the rich gold fields
OF Central Alaska this trade would be worth a
dozen, perhaps n hundred, times as rnuch--iu
short. there is no limit to the posi- bilities OF
development
"CertAinly some effort should be made to M:
into shape pack trail across the point men
toned, and remove this obstacle The peo-
pie of Juneau are petittoning the gov.
eminent for an appropriation for this
work, and this petition should ID
urged by seattle. Tacoma, Portland, san Fran
cisco, and in fact all of the cities which would
benefit greatly by Alasks's development
Were all the merchants, transportation CON.
panies and others who have direct interest
In the undertaking 10 make common cause tho
work could be accomplished. The cost of a sur.
rev for the trail would not exceed sl0.0O0. and
the expense OF building the trail Itself would
not be very heavy.
"The trail which we made this summer is tas
only practicable route into the country. be-
tween Mount -. elias and the Yukon: and
opens up, as well. the regions botn 70 the north
aud south. The t,sil which should
now be opened, have said
% the headwsters of the Yukon. must star
from about the same point. and would establish
Quick communication between the outsid,
world and the whole of the Yukon basin"
H.vtou Brown Explains His Par, in the