ALASKA AND THE KLONDIKE. 5 



Had it not been for the kindly advice of one who had just re- 

 turned from the Klondike, and who claimed to have crossed both 

 passes fifty times, I should almost unhesitatingly have taken the 



White Pass trail; but the representation that beyond the summit the 

 mud would be neck-deep and virtually impenetrable for a distance of 

 twenty miles or more, cast the decision in favor of the Chilkoot. The 

 fortunate or unfortunate circumstance that a billowy sea made a land- 



