The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-22
ROUTES TO KLOND|KE
Explorations to Be Continued BY
Military Expeditions.
ABERCROMBIE'S REPORT
SHOWS ADVANTAGES OF COPPER
RIVER ROUTE.
Shorter and Better Than Any Other
and Is an All-American Line
Railway Could Be Constructed Up
This Valley - Fine Agricultural
Resources.

Washington, March 21.-Captain A.
r. Abercombie of the United States
army, has left Washington on his third
military reconnaissance into Alaska.
Captain E. F. Glenn, who also has been
directed to make a military reconnoiss-
ance into Alaska, will follow him in a
few days. The first duty enjoined upon
these officers is to proceed to Montana
and purchase range ponies to be used
as pack animals. No reindeer will ac-
company the expeditions. The two ex-
petitions named will be the best equip
ped of any that have thus far pene-
trated that colossal domain of ice and
snow. In addition to better boats will
be the experience already gained in
Alaska by the explorers themselves.
Last summer Captain Abercombie ex-
plored the Copper river valley for the
purpose of establishing an all-Ameri-
can route to the Klondike. Captain
Glenns instructions on a previous trip
were to begin his journey at Cooks
inlet and to discover if possible the
most direct and practicable route from
Underwater to one or more crossings of
the Tanana river in the direction of
the Yukon between Forty-mile creek
and Circle City. He was also expected
to discover, if possible, a passage
through the Alaska mountains south of
Tanana and especially to cover as much
territory as possible between the Yukon
Tanana, Copper river and Shushftna
rivers. In this Captain Glenn and his
associates did not wholly succeed in
their endeavors to carry out the in
structions, but passed through many
trials and great suffering.
Captain Abercombie, in his report to
the war department Of last summers
work says that the map of Alaska
shows only two lines of travel into that
section of the interior, and both are
confined to the main artery of drain
age, the Yukon river. The southern
route from Seattle to the Klondike or
Dawson City is by rail from Skagway,
at the head of Lynn canal, over the
White pass to the headquarters of the
Yukon, which rises in a series of lakes
in a fiat, marshy country. Through
this region the construction Of a rail-
way will be difficult problem. At
present the proSpectOrS take a line Of
steamers at these lakes, passing
through them into Lewis river. thence
down to the junction of the Lewis and
Policy rivers, where originates the Yu-
kon. Going down the Yukon. the Klon-
dixie region is entered.
Dawson City is reached at distance
of about SIS miles from the coast. AS
a means of water transportation this
route is available for only about four
months in the year.
NORTHERN ROUTE.
The northern route from Seattle is
entirely by water and from st.
Michaels, at the mouth of the Yukon.
follows that stream in a northeasterly
direction to Fort Yukon. Here, at the
mouth Of the Porcupine river. it turns
and follows a Southeasterly course to
Dawson City. Captain Abercombie here
remarks with considerable emphasis
that with Skagway at the head of the
Lynn canal; Fort Yukon at the mouth
of the Porcupine, and st. Michaels at
the mouth of the Yukon, it will be OBJ
served that this river forms the arc
of the circle. Of this arc, Fort Valdes,
on Prince Williams sound, is the axis.
To put it more plainly he says con-
slider the arc of the circle as a portion
of the felloes of a wheel, with Fort
Valdes as the hub. Strange as it may
appear in making this great curve, the
Yukon parallels almost the trend of the
coast line at a distance of some 500
miles from the sea. Comparing the
mileage between st. Michaels and Daw-
son City, which is 1900 miles, and that
from Skagway, the latter route is 1,02o
miles the shorter. Comparing the dis
lance from SkagWay to Dawson City.
SIS miles, with that from Fort Vaides
to Dawson City, 400 miles, it is found
that the difference is 125 miles in favor
of the Valdes route.
ONLY TWO ROUTES.
1t is apparent from these figures, says
Captain Abercombie, that there are but
two routes of communication to be con-
sidered, the Skagwa and the Valdes
routes. He says. disregarding the fact
that the Skagway route passes through
| foreign territory and involves taxation,
with the usual formalities and delays.
it will be found geographically that
the Lynn and Fort Valdes are about
the same altitude, with difference in
elevation of the White pass on the
Skagway route and the Thompson pass
on the Valdes route of about 1000 feet
in favor of the Thompson pass. The
meteorological conditions are about the
same.
AS far as agricultural possibilities are
| concerned Captain Abercombie believes
that there is no comparison between the