New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-02-02
RAILROADS TO THE YUKON.

Plans for railroads TO the Yukon gold fields
are now much 10 the fore. Most OF them are
British or Canadian, for obvious reasons. Inc
Dominion Parliament at lts session this month
will be confronted by n dozen or more applca-
lions for charters to build railroads to the hlon-
dixie, and will doubtless be kept busy for time
with considering the various schemes and judg-
Ing their comparative merits. Some OF these
proposals are for roads from the Canadian IA
c!hc Line, up through British Columbia. to the
Klondike Probably at least one such Will IN time
be built for all the way it would run through
a region Of considerable wealth. and perhaps OF
mineral riches rivalling those Of the Klondike.
But the distance by such n route to the Klon-
dixie ia so great-fuly thousand mles-as to
rule all such schemes out OF consideration for
immediate use. Years may elapse before one
Of them can be realized. The present demand
is for short line. from the head Of coast navl-
CATION. which may be in operation within the
present year.
For such roads there are numerous proposals.
One IS for road through White Pass. Indeed,
British company Is said TO have secured a
charter for IT, The route, from the head OF
Lynn Canal to the Yukon, IS only fifty-two
miles long, through country partly heavily
timbered, partly barren and rocky. The high
est elevation Is 1900 feet The engineering
difficulties of such a road will be considerable.
but not insuperabie That Is the route most
used las. year by overland gold-seekers and
along It's rugged preclpices now lie the bones
OF thousands OF horses, and of how many men
one fears to guess. lost in the mad race for
riches. Another route Is that from Taku Inlet
east Of Juneau. for which charter has also
been granted. 1t is about one hundred and
eleven miles long, with an extreme elevation OF
800 feet. It's engineering difficulties are not
so great. probably, as those Of White Pass, but
Taku Inlet is reported to be a much more dan
gerous bit OF water TO navigate than Lynn
Canal.
The Canadian Pacific company is said to be
planning a road by way OF the Sttckeen River
II would require about one bundled and fifty
miles OF railroad building. through n partic-
ularly easy country, and would include long
stretches Of navigation on Teslin Lake and
Hootalnqua River. BY this route the distance
from Victoria to Dawson City Is sixteen hundred
miles, all except one hundred and fifty miles by
water fourth route is that from Dyea through
Chilkoot Pass, starting. like the White Pass
route from Lynn Canal. 1t Is the old-estab-
llshed Indian route, and is partly easy, partly
difficult The first few miles present no more
difficulties than a level turnpike. After that
the railroad would have to be hung for a dis
lance along the walls OF canyon For some
miles too, the gradient would be very steep
This route makes use Of many miles Of water
fifth route, and a third from Lynn Canal. Is
that Of the Dalton trail. II Is longer than the
others, but presents fewer engineering diff
culties, and has a better harbor
One feature all Of these routes have In COM
mon, and II is one OF surprising importance,
and may prove the most serious obstacle to the
prompt construction of any road That IS, that
twenty or thirty miles Of each IS in disputed
territory The boundary line between the
Alaska panhandle" and British Columbia has
not yet been fixed. At present the United
States has possession OF and claims ownership
Of Dyea. Juneau, Taku Inlet and Lynn Canal.
But Canada claims that they rightfully belong
to her Surveys and negotiations for n settle
ment have been dragging on in desultory fash
ION for years, but no result has yet been
reached The finding OF gold on the Yukon
has. Of course. greatly increased the value OF
the disputed strip. and a settlement will now
he more difficult to reach than it would have
been a few years ago But until It Is reached
men Will hesitate to do much railroad building
in that region. They will not care to invest
capital until they know whether they are put
ting Il on United States or On Canadian soil.