The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-20
ALASKA RIVER ROUTE
Plan to Connect Two of the
Big Streams of the
Country.
WHAT MUST BE DONE
Distance Can Be Shortened 500 Miles
by Cutting Through Portage
Between the kusk OI&mip
and the TaIbikSaIx,
WHAT MUST BE DONE
Special to The Globe.

Special to The Globe.
WASHINGTON, April 19.-To reach the
geld region of Alaska by much shorter
route than the Yukon river now affor Is
seems possibility of the not distant fg-
ture
The government will soon be called upon
to consider an engineering plan for the
utilization of the Talbiksak rivera tri5-
utary ct the Yukon-to connect the latter
with the Kuskokwim, a river which ranks
next to the Yukon in the matter of size.
AT present over 100 steamers run reg
ularly on the Yukon. carrying passengers
and freight to and from the goIi district
Engineers have recently gone ever the
ground and reported favorably GA a
scheme CT connection between the Yukon
and KtIskokwim whereby the Eavig;ibie
route will be shortened by 800 miles.
The KuskOkwim can be naVigated by
steamers for a distance of geo miles from
ITS mouth, and because Of its greater free
dom from obstructing islands. and the fact
of it's having a slower current, it Is moe
favorable for ships than the Yukon. The
thing is TO make connecting route be-
tween the rivers by means Of the Okna-
kluk lake and Talbiksak river, anG in or
der to do this a portage now existing be-
tween the two latter bodies of water must
be cut through.
Where Steamers Winter.
Near the northerly bend in the course of
the Yukon, the Talbiksak has it's mouth.
Here steamers winter, en- route to the
gold regions, waiting for the ice to
break as the ice here does not obstruct
navigation as ii doees at st. Michael's
by lying on the bars long after the deep
water is free. To winter eat Talbiksak
liver mouth means that a steamer doing
so can so on up to Dawson and get back
before the season opens at St. MichaeFs.
inc waotK Tailc
south Of the Talbiksak mouth the Kus-
kokwim describes a great bend in it's
couse. The Talbiksak itself is a slow
flowing stream with low banks on botn
sides.
At its southern end the proposed i'm
proved route stars from the village of
Kalchagamut There a slow stream de
pouches into the Kuskokwim, navgated
northwesterly for some three miles This
stream al its mouth is seventy feet wide
increasing within the first milesto 100 feet
but narrowing by degrees to between 80
and 10 feet 1t varies very little in depth
from the average of to y feet above
the mouth-having at that point a depth
of 80 feet. The banks are usually about
five feet high.
Portages ReSOrted TO.
Tor the passage Of boats, portage is
necessary at certain points, in order to
reach pond of $50 feet in length; after
which portage is again resorted to over
high bank OF earth From thence boats
are pushed or pulled for 1000 feet of
narrow water channel until anotaer lake
500 feet wide is reached. Having crossed
this lake the boats are showed Though
shallow. reedY water to a stream which
runs northwest and with a serpentine
Coursc-haVing between 200 and 800 differ
ent bends. Tnis stream is 30 feet wide
and averages about feet in depth. Fur
Their up il narrow at points to even 10
feet, but again widens later. 1t is bound
alternately by banks and swamps.
At certain junction the main stream is
reached and the boats navigate this east
erly for some 20 miles until another lake
is reached, from which another stream
flows into Lake Oknakluk, two and one
half miles in length and usually four feet
deep, with level beaches.
From Lake Oknakluk a water channel
brings the boats to another lake, Tess
than a mile long. which is succeeded by
still another Portage IS again necessary
from here to a water channel. as a lofty
eGrth-bank has to be cross d-the chan
nel leading into the Talbiksak river
which, flowing into the Yukon. completes
the connection, as described, between
that stream and the KuskokWim. SO
what the engineers have to do is to cut
through the portage between Oknakluk
Lake and the TalbiNsak river, which WORK
viii involve making a gravel cut some
hundreds Of feet in length and not at
any point exceeding 40 ieeu in depth.
Water Expected to DO Work.
L is believed that the Talbksak he~e
is higher than the lakes and the kus-
kokwim-as is also the Yukon Itself. Aft
er the cutting of the portage, the water
thus released is expected to acCompish
naturally the creation of q clear cr5 vice
through the route as here described. wi h
its incidental channels and narrow rut7.
1t is also suggested that the Talbiksak
be damned especially for the purpose and
thus made to rush towards the KuSkok-
win The dam will probably be made Of
ice owing to the ease with which the
latter can be obtained. The new channel
once formed it is believed that in time
the Yukon would naturally avail itself
of the new and shorter passage in order
to reach the ocean.
When the work is done, steamers nav
igating the river would start from Good
news bay an excellent harbor some thir-
ty miles south of the Kuskokwim's
mouth, which, at low tide is not navi-
gable for steamers with over four feet