The Wrangell sentinel., 1931-03-27
B. c. Engineer Tells Why Inter. Highway Should Be Built
GOLD. SCENERY. BIG GAME. ARE REASONS ENOUGH. SAYS P. M. M0NCT0N

Some of the questions often ask ed in southern British Columbia are What is the object of building the International Highway, and what kinds of country will it traverse?" and above all, What will it eost?"
 P. M. Moncton of the B. c. Land Survey, answers these questions, writing in the Stewart News.
 In reply to the first of these queries, to give our northern coun- trymen an all-Canadian route. to which they are certainly entitledi to open up a country of wonderful resources: and to attract a large number of tourists, who would spend a great deal of money while passing through.
 But what kind of a country is this Cassiar, and what resources has it?" We'll, first. it's minerals: the possibility of finding more Pre- miers and Dolly Vardens, not for getting placer gold, of which it has produced many million dollars worth. Of scenery, naturally it has a large variety, high mountains, broad valleys, and innumerable lakes. It is wonderful big game country, too, and if hunting were to be prohibited within a belt of a few miles wide along the road, the wild life would very soon come to realize it's safety there and it would become a daily occurrence to see moose. caribou, and bear when driv- ing along, and by looking up at the crags goats and sheep would be in view everywhere.
 North of the 57th parallel the country is in the dry belt, with very light snow in winter and not much rain in summer. There isl very abundant bunchgrass on which the horses can range out all win ter without any attention, and cat tie could range from May until No Yember; which corresponds very much with the high altitude graz ing lands of Colorado and Wyoming. Some day spur tracks of railways to the south will bring young stock up in the spring to fatten all sum- mer and be butchered in the fall. Highway Easy to Construct
 The written has passed over all this district, and can safely say that it would be very easy to construct; bench land with gravelly soil for most part and covering a country oF s1p,o ogriou1turo1 possibilities and of low altitude, mostly less than a thousand feet, and near enough to the coast to be free from sum- mer frost and to receive a copious rainfall. From where the old bridge stood until it was demolish- ed by heavy snow in 1915, the road may take one of two routes, One, it may go up the east fork of the Mass, strike the Yukon telegraph line near the sixth cabin and on up to the headwaters of this branch of the Mass to where it divides with the Klappan at an altitude of 4500 feet, and follow the Klappan to it's mouth; or, two, ascend the west fork of the Mass, sometimes called the Bell-Irving. cross into Iskoot waters over the low Telegraph trail divide and continue up the Iskoot to it's sources in a beautiful chain of large lakes lying 2S00 feet above the sea, which are the habitat of nany kinds of big game, and thence over a low fiat pass down to the mouth of the Klappan as by route one.
 Last seasons explorations disclos- ed a good crossing of the Stikine near the mouth of the Klappan and low rnss leading to the foot of Dease Lake, and from there the road will wind through the hills, across the rapid Tuya, gently climb the northern spur of a gigantic lava plateau known locally as Level Mountain, strike the head of the Nahlin and follow it down to again touch the Yukon telegraph line at Nahlin telegraph station. Main t,ining its northwesterly trend through the valleys of the Nakina and it's side streams it will come 10 the end of the existing road sys- fem 28 miles south of the town of Atin. and will follow the present roads for about fifty miles to witt