THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, POKTLAM), MAY 14. 1916.
r
THE GREAT RIVAL. OFCJ
cyv (- LjIZ OHyo
ROUTE TP THE
INTERIOR.. OF
ALASKA
BY fJfANX G.CARPENrEft.
4
- firs' " --r?srr'irj'- 'irTf?' w"1' """"V " it I
CORDOVA. Alaska. I have crossed
Prince William Sound from Sew
ard to Cordova. Seward Is the
terminus of Uncle Sam's railway to
Fairbanks and Cordova Is the terminus
cf the Copper River Railway, which
was built by the Morgan-Guggenheim
syndicate to open up their great cop
per mines which are at Kennlcott.
about 200 miles in the Interior. The
two ports lie almost opposite each oth
er at the western and eastern ends of
the great bay known as Prince 'William
Sound. Their distance apart is the
width of the bay. which Is 200 miles.
Both ports have excellent harbors free
from Ice all the year round. Both are
close to valuable coal fields, and each
forms a natural gateway for a railroad
to the Interior of the country.
The railroad commission appointed
by President Taft to plan out the best
lines of transportation for the devel
opment of Alaska chose Cordova and
the Copper River road for extension to
Fairbanks in preference to Seward and
the Alaska Northern, but It advised
that a second road be built from Sew
. ard around Cook Inlet and across to the
Yukon by way of the Iditarod gold re
gion. It also proposed a branch line to
the Matanuska coal fields. The present
administration has decided that the
Seward-Falrbanks line Is the better,
and the road along that route Is now
being built. It is not Improbable that
the Copper River road may be extended
at some time In the future.
During my stay In Cordova I have
taken a trip over this railroad. Its
technical name is the Copper River &
Northwestern Railway. The cars go
smoothly. The passenger coaches are
like those of the states.
Is oak and the seats are unholstered
In wicker. The road is well built and
well ballasted. It has the standard
guage track, with- 70-pound rails simi
lar to those on the new Government
railway. The road crosses the moun
tains by easy grades, -having a maxi
mum of not over eight-tenths or nine
tenths per cent, ana it Is so made that
a train load of about 700 tons can be
carried each way over It. The construe,
tion of the road began in 1906, and was
completed in 1911. Its cost, it Is said, is
somewhere between $15,000,000 and
120.000,000. and some of Its building
shows great skill and scientific en
gineering. There are 196 miles of road
now In operation, and upon this there
are daily freight trains on the Kennl
cott branch, and three trains a week
between Cordova and Clutina, the sta
CD J . s . - o - ---' i,t.i.t
'. ' - r f". " ' nr!''- I r' It J :-
load copper ore. The ore care were
automatically dumped and the bags of
copper, each holding about a half
bushel, were shot from the cars right
Into the hold of the steamer. The
loading went on for almost a day, and
during that time we took in a cargo
valued at about $800,000.
be built. The cost of this the Taft
Commission estimated at something
like 114,00,000. The Copper River road,
I am told here, was offered to the Gov
ernment at its physical valuation, or at
its cost to the owners, which was some
thing like $15,000,000. making a total
for the through line of 129.000,000. The
l ir: Tii fn f . f-wniuM" ifm wfT i.ftTTii n'hv 'i-'ir-ni urMMA-Viin-l .mi 1 ifli jf'ltM lift
Among the arguments advanced in extension of the road would have passed
favor of the Government buying the through the rich farming lands of the
Tanana Valley, and the mineral regions
developed thereby would have been
greater, it is said, than those reached
by the extension of the Alaska North
ern Railway. The Copper River route
to Fairbanks would have been 18 miles
shorter than the road now being con
structed, and It would have had the ad
vantage of a terminus 200 miles nearer
for skating and sleighing.
some fishing done at that time through
holes In the ice.
Leaving the lake we passed through
a dense forest of spruce, some of the
trees of which were two feet in di
ameter. We then wound our way over
the Copper River delta, crossing stream
after stream, which come from -he
great glaciers of the Interior. The flats
extend for a distance of 16 miles east
and west, a wide expanse of green, level
land, half swamps, with water here and
Seattle. As it is now. the Steamers there nhnwlnir out of ha etumi Th.r
pounds of copper a year at a cost of going to Seward call at Cordova on the are ducks and geese on the ponds. They
less than 5 cents a pound The road is way. ny up and away as the train comes.
now bringing down from the Kennicott Wo could often see walls of green ice
mines 200 carloads of such ore per The Copper River & Northwestern rrnm th train Th riari... rar-ViH
Their finish month, and Its yearly revenue from that Railway is one of the picturesque routes the clouds that dark, rainy day. There
source is something like J2.000.000. The of the worid. It ls tho only railroad was a dense forest between us and
ore U charged freight according to its tnA, r..t . ... . . . them. The ,c. eemed to be looklna: at
magnificent glaciers and allows you to
examine these greatest wonders of na
ture while the train stops. Within an
hour of our arrival at Cordova a.n ex
cursion train started out from the
wharf, and the tourists on board were
i nere is
Copper River & Northwestern Railroad
was that the traffic already developed
would have made the railroad a live
working proposition from the very
start. The route taps the Wrangell
range, the richest known mineral sec
tion of Alaska. This range has gold,
copper and silver. It has the richest
copper mines of the world, and some
which are now producing 60.000,000
value, and that now coming down av
erages over 70 per cent pure copper
and pays at the rate of $1000 a carload.
Some of the lower grade ores pay only
$7 to $8 a ton.
Another argument made for the Cop-
us over the trees.
per River railroad was its accessibility carried a distance of about 50 miles up
to the Bering River coal field, which
only 32 miles from the present tracks
and about 75 miles from Cordova.
This is the coal that was So widely
discussed when Glfford Plnchot and
others made their great campaign for
conservation. It ls of excellent char
acter, and It could be brought here to
Cordova for smelting and reducing the
the Copper River Valley to the Miles
and Chllds glaciers, two mighty rivers
of ice that stand almost facing each
other on opposite sides of the track.
Leaving Cordova the road winds
around the hills high over the water.
It hangs to rocky cliffs, which are
covered with a dense vegetation. A
little later It enters the mouth of the
Copper River Valley and skirts Eyak
ores. There are at present being mined
apout prince w miam bound and In the Lake, which fills a depression scooiW
tion from where it was proposed to ex- munta'ns nearby ores amounting to out by some prehistoric glacier. The
ou.uuu ions per montn. jiucn oi mis lake is star shaDed and la almost en
tirely shut in by high, wooded moun
tains, which rise abruptly from tho
water's edge. The road goes for four
miles along the winding shores of
Stasres of tide. The Mrs hrlnc th.ir
urcaaeu anu new mineral regions cuum
be opened up. At the same time, the
coal from the Bering River field would
tend the road on to Fairbanks.
The company has office buildings
and machine and car shops here at
goes over the railway to Cordova, and
it all has to be transported from here
Cordova. It has also built a large ocean to the BmeIters at Tacoma, 1200 miles
wharf accessible to steamers at all away- "With, smelters at Cordova, the
cosi or reauction wouia De greatly ae-
freight right to the steamers, and are
unloaded with the minimum of han
dling. There are ample warehouses and
facilities for furnishing the steamers havo a local market, and both the coal
with fresh water and fuel oil. There
Is an automobile service between the
wharf and the town, which is about
three-quarters of a mile away. As
soon as our ship came to anchor, the
and the ore would furnish a steady and
valuable traffic to the railway.
The Copper River & Northwestern
road now reaches the town of Chitina,
and the extension from there to Fair-
hatches were raised and we began to banks would require 313 miles more to
this lake, and then crosses the Eyak
River, which carries the glacial waters
of the lake out to the sea. It ls by
this river that the boats from Cordova
go into and out from the lake, and
during the Summer months the stream
is gay with canoes, rowboats and
power crafts of every description. The
lake teems with fish and It has excel
lent trout. During the Winter It ls
sometimes frozen over, and is then used
We rode by several fox farms, com
posed of cages of wire netting, with
red and black foxes within; and further
on at one side we saw the graves of
some miners who tried in vain to get
through by this way to the Klondike in
the gold rush of 1898.
Some parts of the flats are flooded
by the ocean at high tide. There are
many bridges. At Mile 16 the bridges
seem to go from Island to Island. We
are crossing the mouths of the stream.
As we left Round Island we passed
through snowsheds on the flats. It ls
an unusual thing to build snowsheds
on the IrveL A little further on we
crossed Long Island, and at Mile 34
came to the Hot Cake Channel bridge.
It Is so called because a party of en
gineers were shut up there during the
railway .construction and for weeks
had nothing to eat but hot cakes. They
called the place Hot Cake Channel, and
so it ls known to this day.
The road goes over flats like these
all the way to the foot of the moun
tains. It winds about through the
delta, crossing the channels. The en
gineers had to wade through the mud
to lay out the route, and It was hard to
find a solid roadbed. At Mile 29 we
were dnly 32 miles from the Bering
River coalfield, and 20 miles further on
came to the narrow passage through
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on its way up the moun-
ttzes- (53cr&r &rc?$r3 Which Cos f, 500,000.'
&?iyesj-i zTpc CZhz'czT&' ancZ ZVctj Cs cri e-vr.
which the road runs between the Miles crosses the Miles Glacier bridge, which
and Chllds glaciers. Here the road coi-t more than 81.500.oOO to build, and
then goes
tains.
Think of riding on a railroad for two
hours or more with glaciers in sight
almost all the way. The Copper River
Valley Is a great glacial garden. Just
east of Eyak Lake Is Scott Glacier,
which ls a mile wide and six miles In
length. It Is only seven miles from the
track, but ls of so little account that
It ls seldom placed on the map. Sheri
dan Glacier ls about IS miles from Cor
dova and within two miles of the rail
way. This glacier rises In snow fields
about a mile above sea level and ends
In a great bulb-shaped tongue which la
only four miles In length and three
miles In width. The terminus Is a
mighty pear of ice 150 feet above sea,
level.
A little east of Sheridan Glacier is
Sherman Glacier, which flows south
westward for a length of over seven
miles and not far from the railway is
Pickett Glacier, an Ice tongue more
than four miles In length. And then
there are Saddlebag Glacier, which is
south of Pickett, and Goodwin Glacier,
which expands Into a bulb of two or
three miles in width where It enters
the valley. The McPherson Glacier,
which can also be seen from the rail
road, ls seven miles long, while Good
win has a greater length by three miles
or more.
" The two mightiest glaciers of the
Copper River Valley are the Miles and
the Chllds. Chllds Glacier Is within a
quarter of a mile or so of the track,
and Miles Glacier is in plain sight as
you sit in the cars facing the Chllds
Glacier bridge. Of these two the Miles
Glacier is by far the larger. It rises
In the snowflelds of the mountains and
it Is probably ii miles long. Where It
enters the Copper River Valley It
spreads out In a great bulb, which at
the end Is six and ' one-half miles
across. It Is about 12 H miles around
the whole front. The waters of the
glacier flow Into the Copper River, but
there is also a lake in front of It which
ls about two miles In width and four
miles in length.
Our train stopped on a switch near
(Concluded on Pace A.
MOTHERS1 DAY AND FRECKLES
HOW MUCH ARE WHITE CARVATIOXSP HE ASKED WITH PRIDE A.VD
SOME HESITATION.
FRECKLES stood on the corner try
ing to sell evening papers to the
throng of passersby as they left
the station.
"Here ye are all the news! Buy the
night extra paper." he shouted, thrust
ing a paper toward a woman who was
talking to a little girl at her side.
"Give me your best evening peper."
the said, handing him a five-cent piece
'and keep the change."
"Gee! ain't she a fine lady!" ex
claimed Freckles, looking after her.
"She was a regular beaut with her
carnation I say. Tom," he said, turn
ing to his pal who kept him company
during his dull business moments,
"why have so many women white flow
ers on today? I never saw so many
white carnations In one day!"
"You axe a fine one to be shAutlna-
the news when you don't know what
is in your own paper. Suppose you
read this." and Tom pointed to an arti
cle on the first page of the paper. "I
gave my mother one this morning."
Freckles had never had much school
ing, so he read half aloud and very
slowly to where Tom pointed, but he
read well enough to know by the time
he had finished that that very day
the second Sunday In May was "Moth
ers' day," and that every child should
pay his respects to his mother by pre
senting her with a white carnation.
Furthermore, he read, that the day
should be marked by a special love
service to the mother in the home.
Freckles thought of his sick mother
awaiting his return in their poor little
home. H.s knew that their supper de
pended on his earnings, and uncon
sciously his hand went into his ragged
coat pocket, and his finger ran through
the pennies. His paper sold for three
cents and he made a cent for every
copy he sold.
Tom was watching his friend and
knew the struggle going on in Freckles'
little brain.
"How many did you sell?" he asked.
"Fifteen," replied Freckles, "but that
lady gave me a nickel I say,. Tom,
how much are white carnations?"
"Why, that makes 17 cents all your
own you are a real millionaire.
Freckles; go on buy your Ma a flower,"
said Tom, poking him in the ribs.
Freckles' eyes filled with tears. "I
would." he said, "If the money was
mine to do with what I wanted, but
mother's sick, and hasn't been able to
work for days. She needs good food,
and I counted on buying her some meat
for supper. D'yer think I could.get a
carnation for two cents?"
"Two nothings," answer Tom con
temptuously, "but I'll lend you a dime.
It will cost every bit of that."
"Mother wouldn't like me to borrow
Mister, want yer baggage carried?"
cried Freckles, interrupting his talk
with Tom and running alongside a
man with a suitcase who was leaving
the station.
"All right, son; follow me to the res
taurant and let me have a paper."
In a few moments Freckles rejoined
Tom on the corner. "He was a regular
gent. Look!" and Freckles displayed
a new silver dime. "Now I can get
mother a white flower. So long,' Tom;
I'm going home after I leave these
papers at the office," and with a smile
he was off.
Fifteen minutes later he entered a
florist's shop. "How much are white
carnations?" he asked with pride and
some hesitation, for this was his first
floral purchase, and he was buying a
boutonniere for his "best girl."
"Boy. I'll give you a pretty one for
nothing and throw a handful of other
flowers into the bargain. If you'll sweep
up the place for me. This has been one
busy day. and my boy went home at
noon. Will you?"
"Betcher life." cried Freckles, pulling
off his threadbare coat and grabbing
the floor brush.
"Fine little fellow." thought the flor
ist, "better than Karl. Besides. Karl was
only a temporary arrangement." Aloud
he said, "Would you like a steady. Job
here as errand boy?"
Freckles' face showed the answer.
"I'll give you four dollars a week, and
extra on Sundays when I need you."
"Thank yer, sir. Mother needn't work
so hard ever again. I'll try to please
yer. When shall I start?"
"Report at 8 Monday morning. Here
are your flowers. You may go now.
Give your girl my regards," said the
florist, laughing. "What's up?" he
asked, seeing Freckles hesitate.
"There ain't a white carnation In the
bunch, and I want one to give mother.
She's the best mother ever a feller had.
and"
"You're a fine little man. Here's a
carnation her her, and tell her you
earned It honestly. Now you can give
these others to your girl."
"Mother is my best and only girl, and
she loves flowers. Thank you, sir. I'll
be here on Monday."
Freckles now called the second Sun
day in May his "lucky day." although
his mother insists that It ls "Mothers'
day." and in her heart she thanks the
good lady Anna Jarvis for instituting
that one day in the year on which moth
ers are publicly honored.
That day was the beginning ot
Freckles' good fortune. He did bis duty
toward the florist, and before long he
was raised from errand boy to assistant,
with the hope that in years after his
name might appear over the shop. His
mother superintends his home, but It Is
now a more pretentious one, and In the
best room a white carnation graces the
table from one year's end to another.
"Every day la "Mothers' day for me,"
said Mr. James Logan (alias Freckles),
putting his arms around his mother and
kissing her. and mother returned his
embrace, smiling contentedly.
A Born Nurse
lng her ninetieth birthday. Her monu
ment ls the record of her noble life.
Certainly Frank.
From the Kansas City Star.
A rector In South London was visit
ing one of his poorer parishioners, an
old woman, afflicted with1 deafness.
She expressed her great regret at not
being able to hear his sermons. De
siring to be sympathetic and to say
something consoling, he replied, with
unnecessary self-aepreclatlon, "You
don't miss much."
"So they tell me," was the disconcert
ing reply.
THE VIOLET.
I picked a fresh blue violet.
That by the morning dew was wet;
I pulled the crisp leaves all apart
And looked down deep into its heart;
I opened all Its petals wide.
And saw a little seed inside.
Its hidden secret then I knew
From suca a seed the violet grew.
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. born
May 12. 1820.
Next Friday Is the birthday anni
versary of Florence Nightingale. This
lady had the distinction of being the
first 'Red Cross nurse. In fact she
called the organization Into existence.
Florence Nightingale was born In
sunny Florence, - Italy, and was named
after that beautiful spot, where flow
ers hold full sway. When a wee child
she showed her fondness, not only for
flowers and plants, but for everything
In nature. When a young girl she
lived in a town in England, and she
had a little corner of the garden for
her special care. Her father said of
her, "She is a born gardener," and he
encouraged her to care for wild flow
ers as well as the cultivated ones.
"Florence ls a born nurse," said Mr.
Nightingale . to his wife one day. "I
found her yesterday caring for a poor
little robin that had broken Its wing,
add then she built the bird a nest. I
dare say she Intends to feed it until It
can hunt Its own food again."
Whenever she found any animal or
bird that was hurt, or any creature
that was suffering she nursed It, and by
and by her father gave her a corner
In the green-bouse for hospital pur
poses, and he called her "the little
sister of mercy."
From dumb animals she became In
terested in humans who were suffer
ing, and soon the neighborhood began
to know her as the "cheer-bringer to
the sick." She was as sunny in dis
position as the lovely land In which she
was born, and her gifts of flowers to
the stricken ones were as regular as
her visits.
When Florence grew to young lady
hood she went to Kaiserswerth on the
Rhine. In Germany, to study nursing at
a school that had Just been formed.
After a time England went to war with
Russia and Florence went to the Cri
mea to nurse the soldiers of her dear
England back to life and health.
She took a band of women with her
and there, as in her home town, she
became the Idol of the people.
King Edward singled her out as the
one woman to receive the Order of
Merit, and the people of London gave
her the freedom of the city. Her story
ls one of the most beautiful, for she led
an unselfish, useful, heroic life. She
died In August of 110. after celebrat-
Feasible.
The class was being Instructed on
the "circulation of the blood." The
teacher said, during the course of in
struction: "If I stand on my head, the blood
will ran down Into my head. Do you
understand?"
"Yes." replied the class.
"Then," continued the teacher, "why
is It that the blood don't run Into nr
feet when I stsnd upon them?"
There was a pause for a few seconds,
when one of the pupils said:
"I guess It's because your feet ain't
empty."
Worth Seeing;. Anyway.
Stanford Chaparral.
Her "You 'ought to have seen Mabel
run the quarter-mile."
It "What did she do It In?"
Her "I don't know what you call
the darned things."
SJHJ OUR PUZZLE CORNER
DINNER PlIZLE,
trzrrfZZZrA X i."0 y
Bess and Bob went to dine at their grandma's. Four things which they
had for dinner are represented lh this p icture.
MOTHER'S DAY PIZILE.
I am composed of two words of five
and ten letters each.
1. My 11. 13, 14 ls a measure of
weight.
2. My 1. 12. 9 is to gain In a eon
test. 3. My 2. 6. 7, S. 4 ls an organ of the
body.
4. My 3. 15. 10. 7. S ls a boy's name.
My whole ls something emblematic
of Mother's day.
HIDDEN PARTS OF A TREE.
The queer names of Mr. Smith's boys
were Imro, Otto and Jaspexv
The General fought the battle, after
which he retired from the Army.
The costumer loaned him hat. wig.
sword and boots.
The colt could trot. run. kick and
neigh.
The horse attached to the cab ran.
chased by the crowd.
Answers.
Dinner puzzle Rice, bread, butter,
milk.
Mothers' day puzzle White Carna
tions. I. ton; 2, win; 3. heart; 4. Isaac.
Hidden parts of a tree Root. leaf,
twig, trunk, franca-