The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1901-12-26

half doxen days in the "trip to the t
Klondlke mining regions. t
BY another projected road it is {
proposed to join points on the Mack
enzle in British Columbia and the S
Yukon.
1t is worthy of remark that the ex-
perts who have been in Alaska look I
ing after these railroad enterprises are
unanimous in the opinion that the
builders of railway through the
length of Alaska up to Cape Prince
Of Wales on Behring Straits would
encounter no greater difficulties than
we're met in the construction of parts
of the Northern Pacific The trouble
would be to get over the coast range
of mountains.
Once that was accomplished the
task, it is declared, would be no more
difficult than the building of railway
in Colorado OF Montana. The physi- |
cal contour OF the interior of Alaska |
presents few obstacles and the valleys |
of the continents OF the Yukon offer |
natural avenues.
AS for climbing the coast mountains,
it should be remembered that the
Skagway and White Pass road has
already done this an1 is in successful
operation. 1t is problb that this
road would be incorporated in
through Alaska line.
The greater obstacle in the opera
ton of an Alaskan road would be the
snow, but this would be in great
measure overcome by snow sheds and
snow fences and the rotary snow plows,
which cut their way through practi-
cally the heaviest drifts and without
which the Canadian Pacific and North
3 ern Pacific would be put out of busi-
ness tor two months in every year.
\, The real engineering problem Of
a the undertaking would, of course, be
the passage of Behring Straits. The
' straits are forty eight miles wide, but
the distance is broken by Little and
Big Dlomede islands near the middle.
The islands are two miles apart and
the line of demarcation between
:, Alaska and Siberia runs midway be-
. tween them. The straits average
~ about twenty-seven fathoms in depth.
% Several plans of varying practlca
o bility have been suggested for cross
. ing this stretch between Cape Prince
: OF Wales and East Cape. A bridge
would be out of the question owing
10 to the swift current and the winter
a ice flow which would speedily de.
~ molish such structure.
% A tunnel has been advocated, bu
~ the mind iaints at the magnitude O
sf the proposition. Minor Bruce in hi:
of volume Alaska" suggests that line
across the straits would be filled il
- with rocks allowing sufficient open
70 ings for the water to flow through anc
g for vessels to pass, thus forming ar
-, adamantlne roadway between the ex
- treme West and East. The mountains
of at Cape Prince OF Wales, Mr.. Bruc,
,,s points out, would supply endles
~ quantities of rock, and their gradua
49, slope toward the straits would rende
. i: feasible to get the stone to tn
waters edge.
ny This also would be Titanic pre-
.. ject, requiring unlimited capital an
aS labor, even though, as Mr.. Bruce sug
IN gests, $4,000 Esqulmaux from Alask
IL and Siberia and Russias Siberia
&c convicts were impressed in the worl
ne M A plan that would probably receiv
uT more serious attention from scientifi
IL men is that recently outlined by Pa,
'ei Heinze, a civil engineer, who helpe
'ay to build the Northern Pacific roa
cot through the mountains of Montan
and in the summer OF 1900 made
''n partial reconnaissance on behalf
., some English capitalists for a rallroa
Wau W in Alaska. Mr.. Henze proposes th
lhe gigantic ferry boats and ice boa
lhe combined, somewhat on the plan
tue the ice breaker Yermak, be run b
a'' tween the two shores.
W Such boats could make the passae
r en' at any time of the year and carry ov
'' a train expeditiously and safely. The
Vi cost would be inconslderable cor
'ei pared with every other plan propose
The real, and the present, final o
my stacle to world girdling railway
'oo way of Behring Straits is commerce
aS v one. Leaving the Western wastes
GU GU British Columbia out of the questio
'''n aft er the southern borders of Alas
VI are reached there is yet thousa,
NC miles to be traversed before Ca
Vi Prince of Wales is reached. In Il
ioh vast stretch in its present stage Of {
- velopment there is practically nothi
enu to support railroad.
by The population of Alaska is a flo;
not ing one of adventurers, fortune see
car ers, whose strongest desire is to ma
eaf- their pile and get out. 1t is true II