The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1897-07-28
4 COLD FIELD RAILROAD
Delaware Men Will Build a
Line in Alaska.
QUICK TIME TO KLONDIKE
Director Salisbury Explains That
1t VIII Be Built From Taku Inlet
Other Than .Klondike and Sur.
passing 1t in Wealth.

Wilmington, Del. July %. Willard sauls-
| bury, one of the directors of the Delaware
Company which proposes to build a rail-
| road to the Alaska gold fields, yesterday
| afternoon fully discussed the project He
said:
1.-The intention of the company is to
| build railroad from Taku Inlet to Tes-
| lin Lake, which line will be within Ca
madam territory, with q branch through
the lower end OF Alaska, along tie TaSu
to Juneau, the great QUILTING point at
present for the Ynkon-Kbndike miners.
steamers from San Francisco, Seat
tie, Tacoma and Vancouver viii be able
the whole year to land at the company S
wbaryes and discharge freight TO De car
RED over the railway 100 miles to Tes-
lin Lake, whence steamboats, Will dts
tribute il TO all lake and river points.
Tesliu Lake Is large body of water
and the real reservoir OF the upper Yukon
country.
The time required to reach klondike
about three or -four days, while the quick
est communication the Canadian govern
ment has been able to make under the
most favorable circumstances with its
surveyor, william Ogilvie, now at klon-
dixie, has heretofore teen six weeks.
lit costs now about 81 40 per ton to
get freight from Seattle or Victoria,
Is. c., to the Klondike, andpassage, via 81.
Michael island and the mouth of the
Yukon. about 5000 miles, s 81 30. Freight
cannot be got into the county now in any
other way, and the rates ale pfOhibilVe
except for food and absolute necessities.
1t takes practically whole season for
passenger on the river boats to get into
the country. The mouth of the Yukon is
frozen up and filled with ice long after
the headwaters 2, 500 miles away and
much further south are clear, and a four
TO six-mile current must be overcome for
500 miles when boats carrying freight
down the stream from Teslin Lake would
he aided by the current when loaded and
run back light when breasting it.
1T is more than likely that the mer-
chants and business men OF Juneau viii
establish pack trail over the Taku route
and so hold their trade. pack trail
for mules from the head of canoe naviga-
ton on the Tuka TO Teslin Lake could
be readily anil cheaply established, and
would itself almost revolutiuniZe the
methods of getting into the YUKON fields.
Leaving the steamer thirty miles from Jul
neau the miners would canoe some sixty
miles and then witha mule train q gh tymiIes
to TeSliu Lake, v hen boats could again De
taken to any Yukon River point. This
would hold the Yukon trade for Juneau
and with the Takut Teslin Lake road built
with it's projected extension TO juneau
itself, the future of that thriving town as
8 distributing center would be assured.
While the Klondike is the center of
the present large gold fields, some other
find will likely soon equal or surpass it,
and 1t is especially interesting TO read
the late report of william Oglvie. d.
l.. g., OF the Canadian government. resi-
dent until recently at Fort Cudaby, that
rich finds OF coarse gold have been found
on the Hootalinqua 1.-THE Newberry River
OF the Schwatkal, the immediate outlet of
Teslin Lake.
at is especially noticeable that the
miners are all working upstream from
the old diggings. Circle City and Forty
Nile, the first rich finds, are almost de-
serted, and as the streams further south
tup-streaml are prospected, the richest
finds are made. This strongly supports
the reports OF the projectors of the Tesln
Lake Railway. that the Yukon gold fields
are only northern continuation OF the old
, Cassiar fields, and the western slope of the
Cassiars, which has never been prospected,
may he readily reached by the Taku and
Teslin route"
MI. salisbury has copies of all Official
reports and maps of the country, and
private reports and data furnished the
company by the explorers they have EN-
ployed, and says that these reports state
that the Taku route is entirely practical
ble and comparatively very easy for rail-
road construction.
Mr.. Salisbury continued: '.Mr Pack
ard has covered the distance on foot from
Teslin Lake, about ninety miles, travel
ing light, to the head of navigat ton on the
Taku, I'm thirty hours actual travelling time,
about three miles per hour, q practical
demonstration that the country is not SO
bad TO travel over.
ITO this company, known as the yukon
Mining. Trading and Transportation Com
pany,' the Parliament of British Columbia
at its last session gave full powers to build
its line and land grant of $50 900 acres.
which grants were confirmed by the Domin-
ion Parliament at Ottawa in May last, with
additional privileges and CONCESSIONS
Mr.. Salisbury. who visited Ottawa in the
interest OF the company at the last Sc ssion
of the Parliament. ridicues the idea of the
Canadian government treating American
miners harshly. The Canadians want the
country developed, he says, and there is
gold enough In the Yukon to occupy the
adventurous goidseekers of the world for
twenty years in washing its placer beds.
while gol'l-bearing quartz lodges have been
found for hundreds of miles, running from
$40 to 500 to the ton The possible gold
output is simply fabulous, and Mr. Sauls-
bury expects the present reports to be
greatly exceeded when this seasons wash
is reported =, ---t,
Reasons Why ChamherlaIn's Collie.