Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-07-09

VA has finally been completed. 1t
measures from beginning to
end exactly 1907 miles, and runs
as straight as the crow flies from
Mount st. Elias directly north, over
moving glaciers and some of the high
est mountains in the world, to the
Arctic ocean. 1t took seven years Ia
Dor of seventy-fve men to accomplish
this difficult task. 1t cost the United
States government in round figures
$750,000, with the Canadian govern
ment contributing like amount, the
cost of the whole work amounting to
$1.500,000.
The story of this great work reads
like some of the romances written
years ago of the so-called wild and
woolly west The men who took part
in the work tell tales rivaling those of
Admiral Peary in his search for the
north pole, and of Amundsen in his
hunt for the south pole. AS memen-
to of the hazardous nature OF the
work the bones of some of the heroic
scientist explorers lie today, whitening
the international boundary line in
Alaska.
The American party was made up
Of nine engineers, surveyors, and topo-
graphers, with thirty assistants, pack
ers, instrument men, and others. 1t
was In charge of Thomas Riggs, Jr.,
It Washington, D. c., with w. B. Rae
w q
s. Ryus, c. v. Guerin, D. w. Eaton,
Asa C. Baldwin and e. c. Guerin.
The Canadian party was in charge of
J. D. Craig, a celebrated civil engin-
eer Of the Canadian government
Old Resident In Charge.
Thomas Riggs is an old resident of
Alaska. He acquired the gold fever
during the wild rush of 1897, and
promptly packed his kit and hiked to
che new Eldorado of the northwest.
He remained there about four years,
prospecting in many sections of the
country, but at last becoming dis
couraged, returned home. Just about
this time Uncle Sam was looking
around for likely men to run the in
ternational boundary line between the
United States and Canada along the
forty-ninth parallel of latitude This
was another job similar in character
to the Alaska boundary, but not near
ly so difficult. Riggs applied for the
job, and was promptly employed.
With number of other engineers and
surveyors, he put in the following five
years on this work. Then in 1906 he
was appointed engineer in charge to
run the Alaska Canadian boundary,
which has now been brought to a sue
cessful conclusion.
The Alaska boundary is marked by
1873 stone monuments set three miles
apart from Mount St. Elias on the Pa
cific coast to the Arctic ocean. Most
exploring parties usually follow the
line of least resistance. These men,
however, were compelled to follow
the line laid down by the treaty be-
tween the United States and Canada.
This resulted in great difficulty, espe-
cially in transportation and field
work. The past year the men had to
cross the British mountains, which
rise to a height of more than 1000
feet. From the summit of these noun
tains could be seen the Arctic ocean
in all its terrifying silence, frozen as
far as the eye could see
It was at this point that the first
bad luck happened to the party. Rae
burn was taken Ill witt pneumonia
and laid up for three weeks without
medical assistance OF any kind. Two
members of the party made hurried
return trip to Herschel island, ITS
miles away. where the steam whaler
Belvidere was wintering, n5the. hopes
Of obtaining medicine. In order to
reach the whaler, they had to cross
a body of water more than three miles
wide, frozen solid in places and in 9TH
ers broken up. On the shore they
found prospector. The three roped
themselves together and started on
the perilous trip across the ice to the
island. 1t took three and half hours
to make the trip. Upon reaching the
whaler they found it frozen solid in
ice. Obtaining some medicine from
Captain Cottle. they started on the re-
turn journey and reached camp after
two weeks absence
Skeletons Found.
Near the Arctic oceas the engineers
found the skeletons of three men