The Chitina leader. [volume] (Chitina, Alaska) 1910-1928, 1911-03-04
OVERCOMING THE ELEMENTS.


In both Industrial and military en-
terprises the forces of nature always
have been the hardest to overcome.
The greatest force that nature has at
her command is Winter. What help
ed the Russians when Napoleon in
vaded their country, and what made
him turn back and retreat to France?
Not the forces of man, but the forces
of nature in the shape of the long
and hard Russian Winter, that show
ed him that, he might out-general an
other man. but he could not out-gen-
eral nature. >.
In industrial enterprises, especial
ly in railroad building, the forces OF
nature have nearly always been con-
sidered first, and a country with
hard Winter and a. great snow fall
has always been the hardest to over
come. The lack of water in build
ing railroads across. the deserts has
more or less been: easily overcome,
and in places where there have been
large mineral deposits found and lit
tie or no. water. mans ingenuity has
usually overcome that drawback. as
in Western Australia, where water
has BEEN piped over 800 miles to
the city of Coolgaidie, across, almost,
a trackless desert.
When the Copper River & North
western railroad commenced to build
from Cordova through the Abercrom-
bic canyon, the "wise. acres" of the
country, who were of the pessimistic
turn of mind, said,. "Wait until they
20 to bucking the snow in the can
yon, and they will find that they can
never keep the road open in the win
ter" ..5...
It is true that one. of the trains
was showed in for about three weeks
last winter, but on the other hand
the road was not in the condition
to contend with the snow and finally
the hardy train crew broke through
the snow blockade and won a fight
against nature that is hard to COM
pare to any in the previous history
of railroading.
This present winter of 1901
Dame Nature has been playing some
queer pranks. The end of January
and the beginning of February the
mercury" lowered some good many
degrees below the zero mark. Dame
Nature on her way down to Australia
with her "rain bags under her arms,
suddenly decided that this section OF
Alaska needed a rain and wind storm
worse than the island continent. AS
far as the previous history of this
section. of Alaska is known, never
has there been such storm as that
that has been raging for the past two
weeks. For a rain storm to come
in the middle of February is not in
the annals of the past history OF Chit
ina. the old-timers usually looked
for a rain or a thaw to come along
at the end of November or the be-
ginning of December, but to rain in
February, unheard of.
When one considers the conditions
In which railroading is done under
;. in Alaska, especially on the c. r. &
N. W. Ry.. the newness of the road
bed, which in parts is not up to
grade, and where for miles it is ex-
posed to one of the most terrific
winds that blows, and through can
yon that has been feared for it's snow
slides, even by the Indians of this
district. The train crews that fight
the elements are like soldiers going
through campaign, but unlike the
soldier, who destroys, they advance
civilization. These hardy fighters OF
the elements on the C. R. & N. w
Ky. deserve all the credit that is COM
ing to them for putting up records
against dread winter, and one and
all should join in with their hearty