Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-02-11
new RAILWAY PROJECTS OF ALASKA
lCLUDE THE KSKOWIM VALLEY AND THE SEWARD PENINSULA

Islands, and must have seen North America
as Cape Prince OF Wales is plainly visible
from them. When the news came back to
Peter the Great, who was then car, he
wanted to know more about the new CONT
nent, and ordered Vitus Bering, a Danisl,
captain of the Russian navy, to go there and
explore. Later on Catherine of Russia car
ried out this plan. Boring crossed Siberia
and built two small vessels on the Bay Of
Okhotsk. He sailed through the strait, but
came back without having sighted the
American continent, and it was not until
so years later, when Captain Cook passed
through, that the strait was explored and
named Boring strait.
The railroad from Nome to Siberia would
probably rum along the coast, touching at
Port Clarence which is little south of Cape
Prince of Wales. That port would be the
great supply point for railway materials. 1T
is about the best harbor on Boring sea- 1t
has an immense inner basin. walled with
steep slate precipices, and vessels Of good
draft can lie there at anchor. This was the
port from which the engineers OF the West
ern Union Telegraph company expected TO
stretch their cable across Bering strait to
Asia. The scheme originated in 1868, when
expedition were sent to both Alaska and
Asia to lay out the route. George Kennan
was connected with the work in Siberia,
and Robert Kennicott was the leader of the
party which did the work in Alaska Kenni-
colt and his men assembled the Yukon and
he ,,I
their old stakes are still visible at Unalakli!l.
on the eastern shore of Norton sound, and
near that place are the ruins of one of the
stations with few poles and some wire
The wire was distributed here and there
along the route, and much of it was taken
by the Esl<imos and Indians and used for
Jewelry. The Atlantic cable was proved to
be success, and the old world and the new
were joined together by that great wire
rope across the Atlantic. The cable re-
moved the necessity of any land line The
men were at once recalled and steamers
came to Port Clarence and took them away.
The kuskokwim extension will open up
an empire of mineral and agricultural pos
sibilities. During my travels down the Yu-
kon | have been with ]. l.. Mcpherson, the
civil engineer who made the railroad SUR
vey of that line. lie took a party OF eng-
neers and travelled with pack horses across
country, exploring the land north and south
and picking out the best way for the rail-
road. lie had a pack train OF 20 horses a:
the start, but when they reached Fort Me-
Grath there were only seven left that could
carry freight. The road was SO heavy and
marshy the horses could not travel more
than three hours day, and some of the
country offered great difficulties in the way
OF surveys Mr. Mcpherson says that the
railway can be built at a cost OF less than
S12,OOO,0OO, and that with the extensions
to the gold mines OF the lnnoko-lditarod
gold regions, the cost will be under Sl8,OOO,
600 This includes track TO the extent Of
445 miles and that at an estimated cost OF
about 81 900 mile.
The main line of this road will cross the
Susitna valley and go for some distance
along the Skwentna river. 1t will wind its
way up the Happy River valley, and will
cross the mountains over Houston pass, II
great bend running to rle south, then west
and then north, before starting toward the
northeast and Fort McGrath Much OF the
region through which ii goes is covered
with spruce, ranging from eight inches to
two feet in diameter and there will be no
lack OF timber for ties and piling.
Mr.. Mcpherson says that the route offers
no great engineering difficulties. Houston
pass is only about half mile above the
sea, and the slopes are such that it is easy
OF approach It is the lowest and best OF the