Declares Dr. L. S. Sugden, Well
Known Northerner, When
Giving Detailed Account of
His Trip to New Gold Fields
(From the Whiteliorse Star.)
In interviews with Dr. L. S. Sug
den, who has been in the Yukon cou
tinuously for fifteen years and who
has spent the past summer in the
Chisana and adjacent territory, tak
ing moving pictures and gathering
information concerning the differ
ent routes to the new gold fields,
and from Mr. Ernest Bryson, of
the I iteruational Boundary Survey,
the S.ar has obtained the following
valuable information for those who
are gJiug to the new diggings this
winte.* and during the coming
spring:
"Upon landing at Skagway, the
traveller will find first class hotels
and fine business houses with a
full line of everything suitable for
trail or city life. He will then en
train for Whitehorse by the White
Pass Jt Yukon Railway which runs
comir odious and comfortable trains
without any delays, such as often
times occur by the Cordova Route
(it is an unhappy thing that the in
itials of the Copper River and
Northwestern Railroad should be
translated by the people of Cordova
as the Can't Run and Never Will
Railroad, for it casts a doubt in
the mind of the traveler as to
whether he will reach his destina
tion by such a road). The White
Pass & Yukon railroad., on the con
trary have a record of steady ser
vice under most untoward circum
stances, and also the enviable record
of never haviug lost a life. The
terminus of the line is in Whitehors
and here the traveller will find the
same conditions as in Skagway, fine
hotels and business houses, merch
ants who carry large stocks of goods
selected from the best the world af
fords and whose long experience in
the business in the north enables
them to sell you just what you re
quire at reasonable prices and they
will see that the goods are proper
ly packed to insure against freezing
or damage. Ample stabling and
| feed for horses and dogs may also b
I had. Here the traveller will notice
j a considerable difference in weath
j er conditions, for he is in the in
i terior of the great Northland. He
has been carried comfortably over
the great coast range in a spacious
parlor car, away from the humid
coast with its penetrating winter
j gales, and this is one of, if not the
I greatest thing in favor of this
route. It must be borne in mind tha
by no other route, in winter, is the
j traveller able to reach the interior
: in such manner; if the other rall
; roads are running at all he or she
i is dumped off to face all the horror
of scaling the ice burdened and
wind harried passes, which are tree
less and desolate wastes of snow,
subject at any and all times to hur
ricanes which howl in unremittent
fury from the Roaring Forties north
ward. Once in the interior how
ever, the conditions are altered,
winds of high velocity are a rare
I ity even when mild; when cold the
air is still, but like champagne. On
the other routes the largest vehicu
lar traffic "'b by single horse and
double ender. Here at \Vhitehorse
a four horse load can go through
to Chisana without let or hinder
ance or unlashing.
The trail from Whitehorse fol
lows the valley of the Yukon on the
great highway toward Dawson city,
for a distance of 33 miles, it then
turns and follows the Tahkini val
ley, turning again into that of the
Mendenhall till Champagne Landing
is reached; here the road goes down
the valley of the Kaskawulch to
Bear creek, and here the so-call
de summitt is reached. The rise is
500 feet in 12 miles, iu timber all
the way, and then there is the same
gentle descent to Lake Kluane.
The lake is nearly always glare ice,
a distance of 30 miles, and glare
ice is the rule for considerable
stretches before reaching this point.
From Lake Kluane the road follows
OUR NEW FALL LINE OF
Ladies' and Misses'
La Vogue Coats,
Suits and Skirts
ARE NOW BEING SHOWN
AS WELL AS|
Fall Millinery
SEE OUR
WINDOW
DISPLAY
STYLES THE LATEST
PRICES ARE RIGHT
I
H. J. LYNCH
Leading Ladies' Furnisher and Haber
dasher of Skagway
the Kluune valley, which reacues
through to the Doujek. Crossing
the glare ice of the Doujek, the
trail goes up Wolverine creek, all
ice going, aud then leaving Wolver
ine, runs through Wolverine valley,
a succession of beautiful lake* feed
ing one into the oilier and the great
est game country on the North Am
erican continent today, 'l'lui road
runs thence down Harris creek to
the Generk, thence down the Geu
erk to the White; and here let me
state that it is a significant but in
disputable fact, that for years, both
United Stat .3 and Canadian gob
ernnuMits, have sent in the monu
ments and sapplies of the entire par
ties in the field surveying the In
ternational Boundary Line along the
tl 1st Meridian, and over this same
road and to this point. Why? from
lail-heud oil the Copper River
N. W. railroad it was only 00 miles,
why did they not send them that
way?
From the White, ltabbit creek is
allowed to Horsfelt and thence to
Chiteuda city. The average snow- I
fall for tile last eight years lias been
less than 12 iuehes. If yo wish an
explanation of this peculiar phenom
enon it is, tnat all the precipitation
of the humidity takes place 011 the .
exterior of the high mountain mass
es forming the coast range; in oth
er words .t falls on the Cordova
route. This is another significant
fact, and one well worth digesting
There are some liills ou this route,
but one does not climb any just in
order to go down on the other side. ;
For a mountainous country, 1 aud 1
all who traveled it will say with
me, that it is the most wonderful
succession of valleys leading one in
to the other by natural water cours
es, that can be found anywhere 011
the map. The distance is approx
imately 330 miles. It will be a
boulevard this winter, and those
who travel by it by my recommen
dation will remember uic with grat
itude when they hear the liowls of
execration which will rise from the
frozen lips of those who stepped i
where angels fear to tread.
The highest riso after leaving
W'hitehorse on this route is 500 feet
in 12 miles.
The lowest 011 the Cordova route
is 5,050 feet. Truly, comparisons j
are adious."
"There are two trails between j
McCarthy and the diggings, one of
which is known as the Chitistone
trail, and the other as the Scolai
trail. After leaving the railroad
there is but one trail until the Ni
zina river is reached. Here the
Chitistone follows up tlie Chitistone
river and the Scolai branches off
up the Xiziua river.
McCarthy crcek, which is very
near McCarthy station, is a small
but treacherous stream. Mickey Mc
Carthy, one of the mail carriers de- ;
livering mail to Dan creek, told me
ho had several horses drowned in |
the McCarthy. If this stream is
forded safely, no unusually hard
traveling is encountered until the'
Nizina river is reachcd. This is re
puted to be the most treacherous
stream in Alaska, no safe ford hav
ing been discovered up to the time
we were there, which was last Aug
ust. One man was drowned in this
river on Aug. 27th and another on
September 2nd. This stream, like
all others in that region, is of gla
cial origin. The current is very rap
id—a succession of whirlpools—and
the eddies are mostly quicksand,
tlio water being so muddy that it is
impossible to determine a ford. And
like all glacial streams the bed of
the river is constantly stifting, and
a safe ford today may be a dan
gerous one tomorrow.
Following the Chitistone trail
along the river of the name, there
is a succession of ridges, none of
which is very high. While slow
traveling, this trail is not a dan
gerous one until you reach the up
per Chitistone ford. Here you have
the same conditions to contend with
as prevail in the Nizina and all oth
er glacial streams in whirlpools and
Quicksand. If this stream is forded
safely you take the trail over the
Chitistone glacier. After leaving
the glacier the only possible route is
to climb a summit over three thou
sand feet high, the pitch being three
thousand feet in two miles. The
trail here is just wide enough to
accommodate an animal with a light
pack, and in the summer time the
mud on the trail makes travel very
dangerous, as there is a sheer drop
of 3,000 feet to the Chitistone can
yon below. Going over this trail,
which took us five hours, we didn't
speak to one another nor even turn
around to look at the horses, as one
misstep of anyone meant a drop of
three thousand feet into the can
yon. There is a succession of gul
lies cut into this bluff, and the trail
down into them is steep and always
muddy and slippery in the summer
time. One man told us that for
practically all the time he was
traveling over this "goat trail" he
tied his pack on his shovel and
dragged it behind him, as he was
afraid to risk carrying it down into
these gullies. He said he had to
slide down into mest of them, and
he was afraid that he might become
overbalanced with the pack and
thrown into the canyon. There hav
been many horses lost on this trail.
One man lost 14 head out of his
outfit of 23. Naturally it would be
an utter impossibility to cross this
in the winter.
Glacial streams are always un
certain, even in the winter. While
they may freeze over solid, there is
always the chance—as frequently
happens—that an overflow will oc
cur, caused by a lake bursting from
under the glacier. These lakes are
at present under all glaciers, and
:.i-e liable to break forth at any
(Continued on Page 4.)
W ANTS A SITPPLY DEPOT
Raced at dutch harbor
Washington, Dec 8—Commondant
Berthoff of the United States rev
enue cutter service, in his annual
report recommends the establish
ment of a supply depot at Dutch
Harbor.
WANTED.
Ten cords of four foot wood. In
quire at the Skagway Laundry.
12-6-tf.
FOR
Preferred Stock Canned Goods.
Atiiiore's Mime Meat
Layer Raisins
Plum Pudding
Figs and Dates
Hills Bros. Coffee.
Extra Fancy H»ort River SpltzenDcrg apples.
Malaga Grape*
Celery
< ranberrles
Cauliflower
I'invapples
Oranges
Buna*as
Head Lettuce
Tomatoes
Popcorn
And -\uis <u an nuius.
P. H. GANTY, GROCER
SKAGWAY, ALASKA.
is A GRAND OUTING
FOR THIS ROYS AND GIRLS
Cleveland, O., Dec. 6—Tuesday
was a great day for 2,000 boys and
more than 100 girls in Ohio. From
every section of the state young
men and young women—mostly far
mer boys and girls—left for Pitts
burg where the "Corn Boys Specials
were to transport them to Washing
ton, Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
The trip is a reward for the boys'
and girls' efforts in raising the best
corn in each county in Ohio during
the season. Every county in the
state was represented in the par
ty. The trip was planned by the
state board of agriculture. T. R.
Riddle director of the organization
is in chargp.
Governor Tener of Pennsylvania
will play host to the boys and girls
while they are in Harrisburg. At
Washington President Wilson will
receive them and deliver an address
while two days will be spent at the
capital sight-seeing. At Philadelphi
the party was taken for an inspec
tion of t'.e Navy Yard.
The party will be quartered in
nine hotels in Washington. Hotels
in which gas is used were avoided a
on the trip last year a boy from the
south, not used to gas, blewo out
the light, went to bed and was foun
asphyxiated in the morning.
WANTS TO REORGANIZE
IN ORDEK TO STOP GRAFT
New York, Dec. 8—Commission
er of Agriculture Calvin J. Huson,
in his annual report wants the de
partment reorganized in order to
stop the free seed graft that has
crept into it through the system j
now in use. * I
SIX DAYS' BICYCLE RACE
IS COMMENCED TODAY
New York, Dec. 8—The six days'
annual bicycle races started here
today with seventeen teams entered.
A great many people in Sltag- ,
way have been made happy this |
week by eating "The New Idea's"
bread and pastry. You start the
next week right by doing the same.
Phone 9-1 or call 2nd and Main, or '
ask "Toodles". 12-G-tf. j
rHE LODG3 OV SORROW
IX ITS AN'WL'AL SESSION"
At their hall ou Sixth street yes
cerday at'ternoon at 2:o0 o'clock the
members of Skagway Lodge No. 4ol
B. P. O. Elks, went through then
beautiful ami impressive ritualistic
services in memory of ther departed
brethren. In tuc absence of Exalt
3d Ituler, W. C. Blancliard, Esieem
i-d Leading Knight James Ken
nedy presided over the Lodge of
Soriow in a most efticinet man
ner.
After the entrance of the members
each of whom had pinned to the
left lapel of his coat the customary
badge of mourning, and the open
ing ceremony had been gone through
with Mrs. A. C. Blauchard, who pre
sided at the piano, rendered a well
executed number, which was follow
ed by a selection by the orches
tra. A part of the ritualistic ser
vices of the Lodse then took place,
i:nd was followed by a vocal solo by
A. C. Blanchard, and this number
Dy another part of the ritualistic
services.
The address in eulogy of the de
parted was delivered by Rev. L. H.
Peders^en, pastor of the Skagway M.
E. church, and showed a sympathetic
comprehension of the seriousness of
Lhe occasion and a thorough under
standing of his subject.
After Mr. Pedersea's address fol
lowed ritualistic services in the
closing ceremony, the lodge and
audience were then called to their
feet and joined In the singing of
the doxology, and the 1913 session
of the Lodge of Sorrow was ended.
Owing to the absence from town
o* so many people, and the inclem
ent weather, the audience was not
as large as the memorial services
usually call forth.
FEDERAL AJTD REBEL TU30PS
WILL MEET AOAI.V SOON*
Hermosiilo, Dec S—Two federal
columns are advancing from the
west today and will bo met by the
rebel general, Cor.tretas.
change of date
The basket social to be held in
the annex of the Presbyterian church
building has been changed to Wed
nesday night of this week. Fur
ther announcements next two days.
The Home of
HART SCHAFFNER
& MARX
Clothes
Twenty-five dollars kn'fc much
money to spend for a suit
of clothes; when you come to know what
first-class quality of materials and tailoring,
and what restfulness of mind as to style
that price commands, you'll almost think it
isn't enough to pay.
Young men especially want smart
style; and Hart Schaffner & Marx have
the style problem so perfectly worked out,
we advise any man to put his money, and
himself into one of their $25 suits.
We have clothes at $18
and $20 and at $30, $40
WILL CLAYSON