The daily morning Alaskan., 1900-01-20
CHINOOK CHANGES
 HE CONDITIONS
Whitening Warm Wind
 Turns Shows to Water.
RIVER ICE FLOODED
Blockade Not Heiiyed-Severai At- tempt to Get over Traii-Two Faii Through Ice.

Although the wind changed from northerly blast and has been blowing a whitening chinook from ihe south ever since o'clock yesterday morning, there has heen practically no relief found for the travellers bloekaded here and at Bennett. Several parties went out vssterday moln- ing in an attempt to cross the trail by tie old winter trail and some by the wagon road. but none got through. Those taking the winter trail got two miles up the can von below Poreuplne hill, and after hard work in breaking trail found the snow to- deep, and the work of going ahead peril ous, and turned back for a day.
 Water was reported six to twelve inches deep on the river at the close of the day.
 The railroad renewed its effort to get the rotary from White Pass through to Ben nett to relieve the train which has been snow bound there, and got near enough to Fraser for the operator al that point 10 hear the whistle of the locomotive driving the machine.
 All the leading hotels of the town are accommodating large numbers of Yukon bound travellers waiting for an opportunity to get over the pass, and some of the houses are full. Some estimate there are fully 200 people here awaiting 10 go inside.
 A perIous experience was had on the the trail yesterday by Tavlor Armantrout and Big Jack" Parkinson and two other men. all of whom started from Skagwav in the morning. They followed up the river and the old winter trail to a point two miles up the canyon where they found the snow too deep for passage. There they cached their freight and came back. Parkinson and one of the other men fell through Ice arches th1t lad formed over the river where it tumbed dcwn the steep gorge, and it was by a halrsbreadth that one of them escaped from going be- heath the lev arch into the water below. by sprawTIng nar wrtn ms rsce toward mother earth kept himself above the thin ice. The arch formed from spray that flew from the waters, and the river as 1t runs today goes silently beneath the lev erus,s.
 "Thtre were four teams in our party" said Mr. Armantrout last night. "Leav- ing here early in the morning we made our way up the river bed, and got to the point two miles up the canyon in four hours. We found but little water on the river in the morning, but in returning, we found 1t from half a foot to a foot deep. The chinook wind had melted the snow.
 "When we got to a point two miles above the forks of the river we ran into timber and encountered such heavy snow we could not progress. SnowShOes would sink three feet in places. We would walk half mile ahead of tIe dogs and bleak the trail. and then go back and hitch our combined teams of B dogs to one sled and take 1t forward, and then take another sled and draw 1t to the polntof advance Of the first. There was 9 thin formation of lee over the stream and snow over that, and we had great difficulty in trying to traverse such places.
 "Had we gotten mile further we would have had good sailing, but t was i'm possible. The snow we broke was al times waist deep, and there is no telling how deep is the hardened snow forming the foundation of the later fall.
 "The river was overflowed in the after noon all the way to Poreuplne hill, yet it was showing at the furthest point we reached. We cached our freight and came back with one sled drawn by B dogs. There were two of US on the sled' and the dogs sailed along. We sat on i'm provised seats and in that way kept above
 the water which sometimee overeaehet
 the top of the sled. There were dry spots
 in the river, and a part of the dogs woult
 be on the dry places while the other
 were in the water, so there was alway
 foot purchase for a part of the team |
 pnll. We were only an hour or less re
 turning distance it took three hours |
 cover going out.
 "There were teams on the wagon roa
 but thev did not get over Poreuplne hill
 Hall. the man whC started out with tn
 mail, got as far as the wagon road bridge
 and cached his mail.
 We shall go out tomorrow, and expe' to make White Pass City during the daN and get to the Summit the next day. w | have Post t-Intellgeneers for Yukon point , "No 'mushers' were met coming froI
 the interior.'
 : Mr. Hall, who started yesterday wit : the mail, had four dog teams. MT. Ma : thesen went out with him with a Nugg : Express outfit drawn by six dogs. Ye I terday was the fifth attempt tie Nugg ' Express has made to get to Bennett sin . the present storm began.
 I The inclination of the greater number ' people here waiting to go to the interi . seems to be to rely on the railroad, thin { it will have the tracks clear and trai I running again shortly.
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