The daily morning Alaskan., 1900-02-22
BLASTING THROUGH
 GLACIAL FROSTS
Progress of the Railroad Grading Beyond Caribou.
WILL BE DONE BY JUNE
Engineer HisloP Makes an Interest- ing Report on the Blasting and Bridge Work and Trostles.

All the heavy grading on the extension Of the White Pi>s X Yukon, the most n,r,hsilv railrold oi the American contin- ent and O; the western hemisphere, vii! be completed bv the end of next month, and the rlIls that will allow the ircn Steet to advaree torty-iour miles faither toward the pole thar ever be'ore will be llid and trains will be running into CloSeleigh bv June [. This announcement comes from Assistant Chiet Engineer John HlSlop, who his returned from a six days tour ct inspection along the extension,
 Besides the progress Ot the grading. Mr. His'op makes ln interesting report as to nature of the ground in which the men are working A hrge number Of the cuts are being m,je through ground that hlS never known the suns warmth. In other words through gro1nj hardened as hard as g-anite by the effects Of permanent glacial frost. Mr. Hislop SlyS;
 "lhlve never heard Of a railroad grade having ever before been cut through such f5fmltion. The frost in the ground seems Co have te n there for ages. We ,an make the cuts in no way save by blasting. The earth Is just like Io;k. This peculiar formation Is no, found at all places along the line of the extension where there are high ridges of earth Co cut through, but only where forest and moss cover the ground, The trees and the moss keep out the sun and lelye the ground in the embrl.e of the frost king summer as well as winter.
 "One of these big frozen elrth places IS of quick s,nt. lt is several hundred feet long. aat promises Co give Us eonSit- e-a5ls trouble ia the summer after the sun IS pe.miusI Co shine upon the exposed surface. However. we will be able to keep it in fairly Co3i c'nii:iln after it drvs out. lt may be thlt dry earth placed on the top would keep the buried quick sands hard enough to sustain the t-lck and the trains.
 "Cu,s through some of this frozen ground are in some cises twenty feet deep, thus entaiI.ns ml,h hard work with powder.
 "We have begun driving piles tor sev- erll bridges and tres,leS. among them one atL.wis lake. whi,h Is Co be 6lo feet long and So feet high. In setting the piles We have Co hrst blast out sx feet of frozen earth.
 With the exception of the deep cuts there remains only three or four miles ot other roli Co g-li- beyond CUi5ou. and it isalm1st as level sS a floor, and will re- quIre simply the throwing up of earth on which Co hv the rails.
 "ln the division teyont Caribou 800 men and tz9 telms are at work. The snow IS not deep there and the weather is milder than along Lake Bennett. The weather on the Car5ou>Closel-igh division, is in fact good tor winter work.
 "Oa the division between Bennett and Caribou. the weather Is more seveie. Winds blow oftener and the snow is deep, and so only leo men are kept at work there. Th-y are engaged in blasting ro.l<. After the Clri5ou-Clo elsigh division is completed. the grIjers will be transferred to the Bennett.CE.blu division, and work pushed on that stretch, ln this way we are doing most ot the winter work in tie miller district. as l5s, winter We worked from Bennett toward Skagwlv, thus lelv' ing the more exposed part of the road near the summit for construction during warmer months.
 ''l went as flr as Clos-leigl but tit not visit the White Horse copper mines. A few houses including a hotel, are already on the site osthe new town of CIoSesigh.
 "The road between Bennett and Close leigh Is in splendid 6 milton for teams of all kinds.
 "l understand Mr. Tache, a Dominion government engineer, has gone to Five Fingers with a crew Of men to remove the ro>I,s from the rapids so steamers nay bet Ter navigate there in the open season, and that one of the i've rocks that pro;rut' from the water and form what are termed Five Fingers. is Co be removed.