338 REPOKr (»K OIKICK OK KM'KHIMENT STATIONS. 



j)('f j)t>uii(l. ( 'oiisidt riii^' lliat il (:ik('> I'loiu cij^lil lo ten diiys to iiiiiUc 

 the luintlrcd miles with a licaxily loaded pack train, that in the uN'enijre 

 condition of the tiail a horse can not cari\\ nni<li over •J(Hi pounds, and 

 that horse feed, hay and oats alike, costs iia cents jk r |)()und on the north 

 side of the siinnnit, this rate is not unreus()iuil)lo. 



THE TRAIL. 



Thr trail is known as the United States military trail and was con- 

 structed hy the W'iiv I>ei)artment in 1898 and l8'.>".>. For some miles out 

 from \'alde/. it is cleared about 12 feet wide, over Icv'^el ^-round, and in 

 dry weatiier is a very e(>od road; but when the mountains are reached it 

 narrows into a windin*;' bridle path, the trees and rocks ha\ in^- ])een 

 cleared away in places so as to niake it passable for horses. Throuj^h 

 Keystone Canyon a very excellent piece of trail has been constructed 

 ]>V blastino- a path alonj^ the side of the mountain tor a distance of 4 

 miles. Considerable work has also been done in bridging the larj^er 

 streams and in makinj^ a '/Ag'/M^^ path up th<> deep sides of Stewart 

 Divide. The trail as it now exists is of ver}' j^reat \ aliie in the devel- 

 opment of the interior, and in dry weather it can be traveled with com- 

 })arative ease; i)ut after heavy rains it abounds in mudholes. makinj^ 

 it well-ni<^"h impassat)le. 



Thi! sunnnitof the mountains is reached some 2n miles from \'aldez. 

 In summer time it offers no great ol)stacle to tralHc, as it is not a steep 

 climb, l)ut in w inter the frecjuent and severe storms and deep snow 

 on the sunnnit render the passage at times dangerous. The Stewart 

 Divide, which is rather a steej) ridge some 4(» miles from ^'aldez, is 

 much more diflicult to clind). lu'causc it is steeper, the trail having to 

 zigzag in places to reach the top of the sharp ridge. The winter travel 

 follows the streams around this ridge. Aside from th(>se tw'o eleva- 

 tions there is no arduous climl) to make, but the traliic over the low 

 places where horses sink to their bellies in mud is even more lal)ori- 

 ous than to go over the hills, and crossing some of the streams which 

 are not bridged is dangerous when the water is high. 



THE COPPER RIVER COUNTRY. 



The valley of the Copper, speaking in general terms, is a l)asin sur- 

 rounded on all sides with mountains. It has an area of about 10,(K>() 

 square miles, which will have more or less value as farming and graz- 

 ing lands. 



The streams tributary to the Copper have also valleys of consider- 

 able extent, and afford equally good fai'iuing land. At a conservative 

 estimate these tributary valleys will have an an^aof 5,000 square miles 

 of more or less valuable agricultural land, or a total area of 15,000 

 square miles. 



