The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-01-26
ALAsKA's RAILWAY.
Great Yukon River Serves Country in
Place of Trains.

Xii
"The Yukon says bulletin from
the National Geographical society, dc-
spite the general failure to recognize II
as such, Ii one of the great rivers Of
/ the world, is over 1000 miles long
and il both the longest and largest
river flowing into Pacific waters in the
western hemisphere, surprising by a
considerable margin its nearest com
petitors. the Columbia and the Colo
RADIO. Among all the rivers Of North
! America the Yukon Is surpassed in
length only by the Mississippi system
and the Mackenzie. Ii Is longer than
the st. Lawrence as well as the other
rivers except the Mississippi system
which flow into the Gulf of Mexico or
the Atlantic.
Though the discharge of the Yukon
has not been accurately measured. it is
its tremendous volume Of water rather
than its length that causes ii to be
ranked as a great river Ii IL of course
far outdistanced by the vast Amazon,
greatest of rivers, and the Congo. which
.is probably second. But the Yukon
had been estimated To have three
fourths OF the volume OF discharge OF
the Mississippi. and II the estimate
be accurate the stream which it pours
into the sea IL probably among the halt
dozen greatest in the world.
TO Alaska, heretofore having no
highway of steel into its interior, the
Yukon has been Indispensable. Because
Of the shallow bars at its mouth. ocean
steamers cannot enter the river, but /.
at the harbor Of st. Michael, just north /
of the mouth. freight is transferred to !
shallow .draught, stern-wheel river |
steamers which ascend the stream not /
only throughout the breadth of Alaska,
but for several hundred miles into
Canada.
The Yukon, flowing through Alaska
roughly from east TO west, divides the /
territory into northern and southern
halves. Large areas along the banks Of /
the river and its tributaries as well as
at considerable distances from the
stream can thus be served by freight
boats. The principal objective OF the
river steamers, however, are Dawson.
IN the Yukon about so miles in Canada
and more that 1900 miles from the
mouth. and Fairbanks. the metropolis
of interior Alaska. near the head Of
navigation on the Tanna, q tributary /
If the Yukon.
The Yukon is an international river,
Using nearly 500 miles within Cana
liau territory and sweeping n great
lrc 10 the north and east. Although the ,
liver is over 2000 mile. long, one OF its ,
onrccs. small lake, is within twenty
i've miles Of the salt water to which il
makes such round about Journey.
eThe existence of such a large river !
6 the Yukon in the far north was long >
A Russian lieutenant. !
.agoskin, entered its mouth by boat in
s42 and trayersed it for several hun
red miles. The Hudson Bay com.
any had discovered its headwaters in
'anada; but the two bits of informa-
ion were not pieced together. The ex-
'tence of the river as stream OF great
magnitude and length first became
eaily known through the daring and
omantic project of installing land
telegraph wires between America and
EUROPE across Alaska. Behring strait
nd the wastes OF Siberia Robert
ennicott in connection with this en-
prprise, blazed the Yukon trail by
esrending the river in 1886. The first
aiding steamer assembled the stream 10
s6a The Yukon really came into its
an with the discovery Of gold in the
londike in 1896
''Thc Yukon is not alone in being
rcat river which has remained in
imperative obscurity because Of its
IT northern situation. Just TO the cast
le Mackenzie brother stream Of
srily less magnitude which il now
so beginning TO feeel the throttling
lip Of frost. flowed almost unnoticed
trough little-known wilderness
nth the discovery Of oil along its
INKS brought Il into the lime light
nd in the eastern hemisphere three
vers. worthy TO be classed among the
ighfiest streams Of the earth-the
B, the Yenisel and the Lsna--peur
lndreds Of thousands Of gallons of
alter into the Arctic each SECOND IN a
ighty but losing hattie against the
rwnol line ....xr.ss ~ ~..l1