The Flagstaff sun-democrat., 1897-10-28
A LETTER ABOUT KLoNDlKE.
Special Correspondence.
 TACOMA. WASH, Oct. l9.

men who has done moie than any
 other man in the country O tighten
 the hardships of the jalrney overland
 to the gold fields. has just left for the
 other side of the world. Ills name is
 George B. Dodwell, and he makes
 about us much fuss about establishing
 new steamship or railroad line as
 the average man does about investing
 in new suit of clothes.
 Mir. DUiwell makes his home at
 Yokohama. London and Tacoma. He
 was returning from London when the
 Klondike excitement broke out in a
 yirulent form. He had the chief man.
 agement of the Northern Pacific
 Steamship company's lines from Taco
 ma to China and Japan on his hands,
 but this did not deter him from pitch-
 ing into other projects. Anticipating
 the greatest gold-hunting rush since
 the days of 49. Mir. Dodwell at once .p put three large surveying parties in the field to locate a railroad route over the mountain passes to the head waters of the Yukon. They agreed upon the Chilkoot pass. and while other projectors were building KIon- dike railroads on paper. Mfr. Dodwell assisted by Hugh C. Wallace. late national democratic committeeman for Washington, and n son-in-law of Chief Justice Fuller of the United States sup, eme court bench. quietly filed maps of locations and right-of-way with our government at Washington city and at Sitka, the capital of Alaska.
 Thus the iirss Alaska and Klondike railroad was started by Tacoma gem tlemen, who hold contracts for the completion of the same before next February. A large part of the mate- rial has already gone to Alaska. The railroad will be from Dyea. eight miles to the head of the Chilkoot pass canyon. It will be standard broad gague and capable of carrying all the freight that is offered From the head of the canyon an aerial tramway will transport the miners supplies over the summit, 3.20O feet high. to the headwaters of the tributaries of the Yukon river. The tramway will be operated by for:y horsepower engine, which will be located at Sheep Camp. This tramway will have capacity for carrying l20 tons of freight daily.
 During the past season the estab- tabllshed freight rate for carrying miners supplies from Dyea to Lake Linderman was from 25 to 50 cents per pound. By making the average from 30 to 40 cents per pound the rate per ton would be from $500 to $500. At that rate the aerial tram way would have daily earning capac- ity of from e75,000 to tl00,0O0. But the freight rates over the passes will take great tumble once the tramway is in operation. At present 1t is esti- mated the prevailing rates next spring will not be over 10 or 15 cents per pound and. perhaps. even less. The owners and operators of the new rail and tramway own and operate exten- slve steamship and railroad lines. and are particularly interested in the lat ter, and can, therefore. afford to ad- vance their rail and water business to cut prices of the Klondike and Alaska traffic to the minimum.
 With the Chilkoot pass railroad and tramway in operation the difficulties and hardsl,ips that have been verti- tiable nightmare to those desiring to enter the mines overland will be re- moved. There will be no more pull ing aud hauling and drudgery in get ting supplies to the headwaters of the Y ukon, and, in fact. the possibii', "f a food famine in the new district in the future will be averted. Once sup plies are landed at tho beadwaters of the Yukon they can be aoated down stream with comparative ease. and the time required heretofore, in making | the journey, will be reduced at least month.
 Following the opening of the rail- road and tramway over the mountains,