Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-06-11

2,?oo feet before reaching the TOP. This
is 400 feet more than will h. tho high
est altitude on the new road to Fair
banks. The White Pass makes its
great climb within twenty miles. and
it has only one tunnel along its whole
route.
y AS YOU 60 up the mountains. YOU
have half dozen climates within
twenty miles Now and then YOU get
II breeze from a glacier, and as Jack
Frost travels on the wings of the wind
over the perpetual ice, his breath
sends chill to your bones. This is
pcrccptiblc as YOU cross the canyon
and catch the cold air of the Muir
Glacier not far away. This whole
region was once Il great gia cial garden.
You can see glaciers in SkaSway, and
there are glaciers here and there on
til" sides of the mountains along the
railroad. saw one with u thread OF
silver falling down the green slope
below II. y little lower the thread
had swclicd to q rope. Lower Still il
had become great cable, and il ended
IN the foaming SkaGway River. dash
ing down over the rocks TO the sea.
Passing over the MOUNTAINS II the
Coast range. YOU come into a new coun,
try as far as the character of the air
is concerned Skagway is as moist as
Puget Sound. while White Horse is as
dr% Denver la southeastern
Alaska IL rains almost every day. and
the soil is like Il Wet sponge once over
the pass YOU are in region which has
not had a hit OF rainfall for months
TIL" country is as dry as Il bone, and
in midsummer as hot as tn. Sahara
Their" are frequent forest fires AS we
climbed TO the top Of the pass we saw
thousands Of acres ablaze on the sides
of the mountains.
There is plenty OF soil on the north
crn slope of the range. and at first
sight the country would seem to he
cN"c!lcn, for farming | am told tina,
II - not. The soil is sand on a bed
OF gravel. and the rain sinks through
and is lost. Farther north the soil
changes. hut tho air grows dryer and
TN" climate is like that OF our Rocky
Mountain plateau In fact Alaska is
world as TO climate. and in speaking
or II II is impossible 10 compare IT with
amy one region. The conditions Of
ralhial. temperature and soil vary i'm
the different sections. There are parts
OF AlaSka as warm as Tennessee and
kentucky There are parts where the
ram p"urs almost every day. and there
'r' "'h"r parts. such as the far north
where me rainfall is only two or three
'"'hcS per year. At SkaEway the Their
'n"hl'tef seldom falls to zero. Here
at White Horse. 100 miles away. il
NO" AN" then drops TO 20 below and
!" /" 80 degrees below zero are 20 he
had every winter
CHANGES IN CLIMATE
SHOWN IN VEGETATION
I In travelling from Skagway to the
'opS Of the mountains the vegetation
H"""S IN" changes Of the climate ac-
cordinc 10 altitude. We start i'm :.
country covered with jungle. The trees
are spruce and pines of various y,.
r''''"S Some OF them are as bic
around as "a Hour barrel and as tan
as four story house AS we ascend
they grow smaller ana smaller and
shorter and shorter. until a; las, they
rang" in height from tina, of ono.
waist 10 his shoulder Higher s,il ,bo,
"c'"mc mere shrubs that crawl ON m.
ground And they still ar. n.,fec,
trees. although they have hecn fl,,
''hcd ny the snow tina, lies ON ,he,,
curing the greater part Of the yin,cr
NJ little distance they look nt. :,
carpet OF green on the sides of ,bo
mus 'l"Se !" the track they maize
you think of the dwarfcd piu.s Of
Japan which may lie centuries old NJ
'""uEh TESS than two feet in hcicb,
N'I we way UP the mountains Won
can 50" tho remains Of III. trail which
me G"ld hunters climbed hcforc tho
non track was constructed 'rh,, mad,
their way through the ice and snow
and many died before tbc reached
the top Of tho pass on mar. n ,,,,
trail is known as the Dcpl Horse can.
~ II VAS :" named for the dead
F"rS.S that save up their eo;iiu. YhnstS
~ That nom "hcy start ID out loaded
nH' wer" unable I" bear the ton of the
quincy The YEA, bcfor.. tn. -oaI wac
huiit more han 5000 dead horses ,yer,
c"uuted on he trail : ~ lad lost
ir'ir footing ard been dashed - death
on he rocks Glow Othn.. had sum-.
under their LYrdens in utter oxhous-
toms ana iad 10 be ~ w, over The
f'rks Wh'l. sin otha-s los. heart
ana actually committed suicide by
throwing themselves over the cliffs
enc miner driving Il mule team got the
ahim"" ~ last /" the top. when the
leader jumped over the prccipicc. drag
rlnp III" other animals with him All
wer" killed as they fen or the rocks
+ in the valley below The leader had
been twice over tn. trait
Not far from Dead Hors. CANYON
( and "l"nH IT. a.. lie remains Of the
4 n