Show ROUTS TO KLONOKE I Explorations to Be Continued By Military Expeditions + ABERCRO11BIES REPORT + SHOWS ADVAAGES OF COPPER RIVLR ROU + I Shorter and Deter Than Any Other and Is a AllAmerican Lie Railway Could Be Constructed Up Ti Valley Fine Agricultural Resources f Washington March 21Captn A R bercombie of the United State army has left 1Yashingtonon his third military reconnoIssance into Alaska Captain E F Glenn who also has been directed to make a military reconnois ance Into Alasko will folow him in a few days The first duty enjoined upon these officers is to proceed to Montana and purchase range ponies to be used as pack animals No reindeer will accompany ac-company the expeditions The two expeditions ex-peditions named will be the best equipped equip-ped of any that have Jhus far penetrated pene-trated that colossal domain of ice and snow In addition to better boats will be the experience already gained in Alaska by the explorers themselves Last summer Captain Abercombie e plored the Copper river valley for the purpose of establishing an alAmeri can route to the Klondike Captain Glenns instructions on a previous trip were to begin his journey at Cooks inlet and to discover i possible the most direct and practicable route from tidewater to one or more crossings of the Tanana river in the direction of the Yukon between Fortymie creel and Circle City He was also expected to discover If possible a passage through the Alaska mountains south of Tanana and especially to cover as much territory as possible between the Yukon Tanana Copper river and Shushitna rivers In this Captain Glenn and his associates did nat wholy succeed in their endeavors to carr out the instructions in-structions but passed through many trials and great suffering Captain Abercombie in his report to the war department of last summers work says that the map of Alaska shows only two lines of travel into that setion of the interior and both are confined to the main artery of drainage drain-age the Yukon river The southern route from Seattle to the Ilondike or Dawson City is by rail from Skagay at the head Of Lynn canal over the White pass to the headquarters of the Yukon which rises in a series of lakes in a fiat marshy country Through this region the construction of a railway rail-way regon wi be a difficult problem At present the prospectors take a line of steamers at thee lakes passing through them Into Lewis river thence down to the junction of the Lewis and Pelley rivers where originates the Yu hon Going down the Yukon the Klondike Klon-dike region is entered Dawson City is reached at a distance of about 575 mies from the coat Asa As-a means of water transportation this route is available for only about four months in the year NORTHERN ROUTE The northern route from Seattle is entirely by water and from St Michaels at the mouth of the Yukon follows that stream in a northeasterly direction to Fort Yukon Here at the mouth of the Porcupine river it turns and follows a southeasterly course to Dawson City Captain Abercombie here remarks with considerable emphasis that with Skabway at the head of the Lynn canal Fort Yukon at the mouth of the Porcupine and St Ichaels at I the mouth of the Yukon it will be ob served that this river forms the arc of the circle or this arc Fort Va1des on Prince Williams sound is the axis To put it more plainly he says consider con-sider the arc of the circle as a portion of the feloes of a wheel with Fort Yaldes as the hub Strange as it may appear in malting this ereat curve the Yukon parallels almost the trend of the coast line at a distance of some 500 miles from the sea Comparing the mileage between St lIclaels and Dawson Daw-son City which is 1600 miles and that from Slmgway the latter route is 1025 miles the shorter Comparing the distance dis-tance from Slagway to Dawson City 575 miles with that from Fort Ya1e Ito I-to Dawson City 400 mIles It is found that the dIfference is 125 miles in favor of the Valdes route thE ONLY TWO ROUTES I Is apparent from these figures says Captain Abercomble that there are but two routes of communication to be considered con-sidered tlid Skagway and the Valdes routes He says disregarding the fact that the Slmgway route passes through foreign territory and involves taxation i with the usual formalities and delays it will be found topographically that the Lynn and Fort Valdes are about the same altitude with a difference in elevation of the White pass on the Skagway route and the Thompson pass on the Valdes route of about 1000 fet in favor of the Thompson pas The meteorological conditions are about the same Asfar as agricultural possibilities are concerned Captain Abercombie beleve that there is no comparison between the J Jt tworoute He thluk th Coppr river vale will prqduc all th cexdalS garden truck small fitiit tc U t will be required for the mining population popula-tion which may heieter Inhabit the Copper river Tanana and Fortymie districts af Alaska The gradient into the Interior for railroad construction is practically timber for nominal Bridge timber tmber nomina Brdge tmber railroad ties col and iron Captain Abercomble believes will be found in abpdance He says he did not understand un-derstand hat he was directed to make a preliminary repor on the route for a railroad but was Slfply to report abaut the topographical features and a to rain such as to render the road practicable Not only does he regard it possible but holds to be a commercial propositIon of great merit |