Arizona republican., 1898-03-27

Then things will move, at least at Dyea. At Skagway, however, the old fatal mudholes remain. They are fro zen solid now but when they thaw that trail will be as impossible as last year. The Skagway partisans claim that a good wagon road has been built from the town to the summit But from reliable sources I find that this IS not true. On the other hand com pany at Dyea is advertising, the world over, that a railroad has been built from the town to the Scales, and that an aerial tramway takes freight of the cars and lands it at Lake Linder- mann, at trif1ing cost, and in quick time This is absolutely false. It is what they hope to accomplish but they are not likely to. The truth is this, so far as Dyea is concerned: A wagon road goes part way, as it did last year. A trail goes the rest of the way, as it did last year. These ropeways over the worst part of the pass are being built but cannot be finished before May, if then. No work, such as build ing roads, could possibly have been done since last fall, either at Dyea or Skagway, for the simple reason that everything has been covered by many feet of snow and ice, and is so still.
 People who mean business will get over the Dyea route this summer, par ticularly if they have pack animals of their own. I confidently predict, how ever that the Skagway route will again present the same difficulties as prevailed last year.
 The Stickeen river route is not yet open. Men and freight are piling up at Fort Wrangel at tremendous rate and thugs and confidence men who have found it wise to leave Skag- way have discovered new and glori- ous field for effort at the former place The Dalton trail, which is an all over land route to Fort Selkirk, at the junction of the Lewis and Pelly rivers the head of the Yukon proper-will not be open till the middle of May. This will be first rate route for peo- pie having plenty of pack animals. There are no difficulties at all and there is always plenty of feed
 So far as I can discover from off, cers of returning steamers and from general reports. the epidemic of cerebro spinal menengitis is diminishing at l Dyea and Skagway. Of course the partisans of each place declare that l the other is still cursed with it. but that is quite in keeping with their general behavior. The owner of the so-called road at Skagway and the president of the so-called railway com pany at Dyea keep the local papers filled with advice of eacii other l-using freely such terms and epithets as in some more southern parts of this country would induce an equally free. use of six-shooters. One feels almost inclined to believe that it is a joint advertising scheme. The Dyea man called his colleague of Skagway a sen ile old fool in this mornings payer, and I'm morally certain that the gen tleman from Skagway will go him one better tomorrow. But no one seems 1 to expect row over it.
 The government is sending to Alaska two expeditions of the United States geological survey. One by way of Dyea and the other by Cooks Inlet They leave simultaneously on April 1st on the gunboat Wheeling And next year the prospector will, in con- sequence, have first class geological and geographical maps at his com mand. The expedition under Capt Abercombie, reindeer, Laplanders and all, got away yesterday. They will make extensive explorations looking to a quick, all American overland route to Dawson and Forty Mile from the Cooks Inlet country.
 Altogether the outlook is improving on the trails and by April 18th things ought to be moving well both at Dyea and the Stickeen river. Skagway should, in my opinion, be avoided.
 One other caution will not be out of. place. This town is as full of clever
 bunco sharps and confidence men as
 a hive of bees. Two or three men
 day, regularly. fail victims. Hotels
 and lodging houses are full of them.
 The prospector should get his money
 into a bank just as quickly as he can
 on arrival. In his pocket it isn't very
 safe in the daytime. But at night it
 is apt to leave him by various methods and in surprisingly sudden way.
 ARNOLD BECKER