The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-07
MILLIONS BACK
HARRY EDWARDS
Former Salt Laker Now a Great
Railroad Promoter.
is IN WITH THE HAVEmeYERS
SCHEME TO BUILD LINE FROM
ALASKAN COAST TO DAWSON.

unlimited capital is to be en-
gineered across the Alaskan frontier
into the Yukon country by a former
Salt Lake City man. Harry Edwards,
who went from Salt Lake to Alaska
at the time of the Klondike excitement,
is at the head or the enterprise. His
rise to the position of railroad pro-
moter is in itself fascinating story,
but the scheme of his hackers reads
like fiction.
The road is to start from Valdez
and will afford an all-American route
into Dawson. Upon the shores of the
bay where the railroad will start is
to be erected a city rivahng in i'm
portance any summer resort of Amer
lea and SURPRISING them in splendor
This, in nutshell, is the brilliant
plan mapped out by the money pow
ers behind Harry Edwards.
Mr. Edwards is now in Los Angeles
| where he expects to have a conference
/ with Governor Ross of the Canadian
northwest. TIE latter is trying to re-
gain his health and strength at the
| summer resort of southern California.
| He has never recovered from the shock
| resulting from the tragic death of his
| wife and child, who went down on the
steamer Islander two years ago. But
| upon his influence viii depend the
question of the Canadian terminal of
the proposed railroad The Canadians
| do not look with favor upon the prop
! osition of an American railroad enter
! ing the city of Dawson. They believe
| that it would injure the Canadian pro-
jects.
With the Havemeyers.
Edwards gained his first knowledge
| of the Alaskan country some years
ago. when he landed at Valdez with
! two nephews of Mrs. Charles Have
! meyer. The party had a fine outfit
/ and took along an Indian from the
! states to help them in packing the
goods across the country. They were
supplied with pack horses and had
every convenience that could tighten
the hardships of the trip.
| Valdez is at the head of an arm Of
Prince Williams sound. Twelve miles
| farther east is the famous Copper
| river. Owing to the peculiar coast
/ line Valdez is several hundred miles
! north of the mouth of the river. 1t
rests in a broad valley which about
ten miles nOrthward narrows into great
canyons whose mouths are checked up |
! by the MoFraine glaciers. These ice |
| fields rise in gigantic terraces to a
height of 5000 feet and are walled in !
| by grim and towering mountains
whose SUBMITS are never free from
snow.
Railroad surveys into the Yukon
country have been unsuccessful owing I
to the great glaciers. Between the |
glacier country and the winding river |
is what is known as the Lost Trail |
country, and it is to this country that |
Edwards made his way with the Have |
meyer boys in the spring of '9S, partly !
to map out a railroad route and part |
w he hOEc hop lr
owing to the extreme hardships en-
cOuntered.
Edwards Pushed On.
Taking with him two pack horses |
and the Indian Edwards pushed on
The interior of the country, while |
giving rough indications of volcanic 1
origin, was we'll timbered and wa /
tered, and the climate is delightful |
| during the summer months. The sea-
sons are much earlier in the interior !
and in the Iowlands a fine quality of |
titles to the fertility of the soil.
Standing upon the summit of the |
coast divides in the early part of the |
season, it is possible to, fguTatiVely, I
throw a SNOWFALL into summer or win !
| ter. The way to the interior is i'm |
peded with all sorts of obstacles Pc !
culiar to a country of such apparently J
AoNG SCOIOSlCdi IOII1dllOll, Oul EOMdIuS
pressed on, surrounding all difficulties, |
and made most of the way on horse !
back by picking out favorable canyons /
and passes. He opened trail to Eagle |
City. the first place of Importance west |
of Dawson, and he was practically the |
first white man to make the trip /
across country.
He was armed with valuable maps, !
which he had made on his difficult |
journey, and his fame soon spread. |
Mine and railroad promoters with Can !
adam and American financial backing |
sought his advice, and he was invited |
into all sorts of schemes having in /
view the development of the country. I
Among the discoveries ne made were |
vast mountains of rich copper ore, |
which less daring and less adventurous |
spirits had sought in vain to find, al |
though it was known to exist with rich |
gold deposits.
Capitalists Are Interested.
Letters of his safe arrival at Dawson
eventually reached the states and he |
was piled with kilograms from repre- !
sentatfves of the Havemeyer families,
in whose interests he started out These |
interests are represented by Alberton |
Helm and A. J.. Abbott. Mr.. Edwards /
reached Seattle several weeks ago, |
where his wife went from Salt Lake to |
were made for a meeting with Helm. |
He was instructed to go to New York, |
| but learned of the presence in Los An |
geles of Governor Ross. He was anx-
lous first to ascertain what could be |
done with the Canadian government re- !
garding the matter Of Canadian ter
minal.
As soon as the result of his trip be-
comes manifest he will go 10 New York
or Mr.. Helm viii meet him on the
coast. There the final arrangements
for the railroad deal will be consum-
mated. Twenty millions of dollars are
behind the scheme for the railroad |
After leaving Valdez the road viii go
through the Lost Trail country. strik-
ing the headwaters of the Copper river. |
Crossing Mentasta pass near WrangeI
and other famous peaks, the route
crosses Ketclumstock pass the Tanana.
the Forty-Mie country, and. skirting
the Tanana foothills, will pass easterly
to Eagle City, where the road will fol-
| low the Yukon into Dawson
At Valdez il is intended TO erect no.
tells and make the place one of the
greatest summer resorts in the world
A fabulous sum Of money is to be ex-
pended at this point and the projectors
are 10 begin as soon as possible after
| Edwards can furnish the necessary
maps. An engineering corps will be
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