Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-03-22


POSSIBILITIES. ETC.
washington, March 21.--Captain w.
r. Abercrombie, of the United States
Army, has left Washington on his
third tary,reconnoissance into Alas
ka. Capt E. F. Glenn, who has also
been directed to make a military re-
connoissance into Alaska. will follow
him in a few days. The first duty en-
joined upon these officers is to proceed
to Montana and purchase range ponies
to be used as pack animals. No rein
deer will accompany the expeditions.
The two expeditions named will be the
best equipped of any that have thus far
penetrated 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 Abercrombie
explored the Copper river valley for
the purpose of establishing an
ALL-AMERICAN ROUTE
to the Klondike. Capt. Glenn's instruc
ton on a previous trip were to begin
his journey at Cooks Inlet, and to dis
cover if possible the most direct and
practicable route from tidewater to one
or more crossings of the Tana 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 the Tanana, and
especially to cover as much territory
as possible between the Yukon, Ia
mana, Copper and Shushitna rivers. In
this Captain Glenn and his associates
did not wholly succeed, and in their
endeavors to carry out their instruc-
tons passed through many perils and
experienced great suffering.
Captain Abercrombie In his report to
the War Department Of last summers
work, says that the may of Alaska
shows
ONLY TWO LINES OF TRAVEL
into that section of the interior, and
both are confined to the main artery of
drainage-the Yukon river. The south
ern route from Seattle to the Klondike
of Dawson City is by rail from Skag-
uay, at the head of Lynne, over the
White pass to the headwaters of the
Yukon, which rises in a series of lakes
in fiat, marshy country. Through
this region the construction of a rail-
way will be a 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
Yukon. Going down the Yukon, the
Klondike region is entered. Dawson
: City is reached at a 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.
The northern route from Seattle is
entirely by water, and from ST. Mich
aels, at the mouth of the Yukon, fol-
lows that stream in northeasterly
direction to Fort Yukon. Here, at the
mouth of the Porcupine river, it turns
and follows southeasterly course to
Dawson City. Captain Abercrombie
here remarks with considerable empha-
sis that with Skaguay at the head of
the Lynne canal, Fort Yukon at the
mouth of the Porcupine, and St. Mich
aels at the mouth of the Yukon it will
be observed that this river forms
THE ARC OF A CIRCLE.
Of this arc Fort Valdez, on Prince
Williams sound, is the axis. To put
it more plainly, he says, consider the
arc of the circle as portion of the feloe
of wheel with Fort Valdez as the hub.
Strange as it may appear in making
this great curve, the Yukon parallels
almost the trend of the coast line at
distance of some 500 miles from the
sea. Comparing the mileage between
st. Michales and Dawson City, which
is 600 miles, and that from Skaguay to
Dawson City, which is SIS miles, it is
found that the Skaguay route is 1,O25
miles the shorter. Comparing the dis
lance from Skaguay to Dawson City,
SIS miles, with that from Fort Valdez
to Dawson City, 400 miles, it is found
that the difference is 125 miles in favor
of the Valdez route
1t is apparent from these figures,
says Captain Abercrombie, that there
are but two routes of communication
to be considered, the Skaguay and the
Valdez routes. He says disregarding the
fact that the Skaguay route passes
through foreign territory and involves
taxation, with the usual formalities
! and delays, it will be found topograph-
ically that the Lime canal and Fl.
Valdez are about the same latitude,
with a difference in elevation of the
White Pass on the Skaguay route and
the Thompson Pass on the Valdez
route or about 1000 feet in favor or
the Thompson Pass. The meterolog-
teal conditions arc about tho Samn