The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-07

large; for while every mountain road is difficult to build, this one was at tended by more than the usual diff culties. Aside from almost impossible stretches of country which had to be traversed, the scene of operation was a thousand miles from the base of supplies, as everything was, perforce, shipped from Seattle and Vancouver In one place a cliff 120 feet high, 70 feet deep and 20 feet thick, had to be blasted away in order to get space for the roadbed Notwithstanding that the road spans mountains 5000 to r. 900 feet high, there is but one tunnel on it's entire length.
 Elghtysone miles from Skagway, the road runs through the bed of a lake. During the building, difficulty was experienced in securing a feasible line along the shore of this lake. Therefore, it was proposed to lower the water level of the lake about IA feet by excavating an outlet channel. After this was completed, the water soon cut its way into the sandy hill through which the outlet had been ex- cavated. and in the end the lake level was reduced over 70 feet. This made 1t necessary to construct two large bridges over the great canyon formed by the outlet in the hill. To-day the road runs directly through the former bed of the lake.
 o1,a employed in constructing the road and strange to say. but 35 men died from sickness and accident, an extremely small proportion under the clrcum- stances The workmen were forum ately of an extremely intelligent class of men. Many were prospectors, anxi- ous to reach the gold fields, but glad to work during the winter while wait ing for the opening of navigator. 9th CTS again labored to replenish their ex- hausted capital in order to start out on further prospecting trips. This feature of the construction was not, however, without its attending disad- vantage. For instance, in one day r. 800 men without warning drew their pay, abandoned the work. and started pell-mell for the Atlin country in the northern part of British Columbia, on the rumored discovery of new gold fields.
 Recently, the original construction has been improved in many places Switchbacks, trestles, and bridges have been replaced by more modern steel constructions, fills, and cantilev- CT bridges. The road Is operated dai- ly, except Sundays, throughout the year. During the winter rotary snowpow keeps tho track clear, ant 1t is seldom that snow delays the | trains for more than a few hours Furthermore, the track is constantly
 patroled to insure that powders fall
 ing from the precipltous mountain
 side, rising on one or the other sidt
 of the roadbed. may not cause {
 wreck. In winter the trains connec
 with an excellent stage service tt
 Dawson, which replaces the boat ser
 vice of the warmer season.
 Three other Alaskan railroads
 though in themselves of no great size
 deserve notice because they are pion
 eering efforts of this character in
 country that Is practically a wilder
 ness. They arc the Alaskan Central
 which runs inward from Seward ol
 Resurrection bay; the Councii-Solo
 mon road, from the mouth of the Sol
 omon river on the shore of Behrin
 sea inland to the placer fields; and
 unique little stub line called the VII
 Goose, which runs, from Nome t Dexter Creek.
 The journey from Skagway to tn
 terminus of the White Pass and Yu
 kon road keeps the traveller in per
 petual state of wonder. After twic
 crossing the Skagway river, whic'
 runs in a narrow valley betwee
 high mountains, the train begins tn
 ascent of the drowning fastnesses Tn track follows the east bank of tn river, until at the end of the sevent , mile it reaches Rocky Point, a plac
 so precipitous that the track is lai , upon bed blasted out of an almos perpendicular wall of solid rock. Frol this point of vantage is obtained , magnificent view of Skagway and th Lynn canal. which is lost after passin . the hanging rocks at Clifton, and in , PitChfork falls. The latter is a wa terfall 1.500 feet in height. which rt ! ceived its name from passing miner because two-thirds of the way down divides into three streams. At tn point, hundreds of feet below tn car, one can look down and see tn odl Waite Pass trail in the canyoi over which the intrepid prospectol toiled to reach the diggings
 Across the canyon loom up the sci rated peaks of the Sawtooth mour ] tains. and as the road winds hig ! above the river. a glimpse of Whit Pass city is seen a thousand feet b, . low. in the days of the old trail tow of a thousand inhabitants. but no comprising merely a few log cabin E Winding continually on its sinuul 1. way around the mountains. makir ! horseshoes curves. passing great glac t CTS. and always ascending, the tra l traverses a tunnel to that part of Il E road where the workmen were su pended during it's construction. He :. it hslts for a last glimpse of the sa water, which sparkles in the distan many thousand feet below. Over Il ! cantilever Eritye, 215 feet above tl : bottom of ths canyon, the engine put {. slowly, and soon the summit of tf