294 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



experiment station at Copper Center. The settlement is 103 miles 

 from Valdez, and supplies would have to be taken in overland from 

 the coast in the early spring when prospectors are going into the 

 diggings. The trail would then be good most of the way; but on the 

 summit and on the Valdez side storms are apt to occur at any time, 

 and they sometimes block travel for days. Farm implements would of 

 necessity have to be hauled to the station before the snow goes off. 

 Provisions, of course, can be packed in at any time; but this is expen- 

 sive. During the past summer season 50 cents a pound was paid for 

 packing goods from Valdez to Copper Center. 



Early on the morning of the 24th we again started toward Valdez, 

 103 miles distant as the Government trail runs. We crossed the 

 Klutena River near Copper Center, over a bridge built by the trail - 

 makers. This bridge is similar in construction to other bridges which 

 span the streams between here and Valdez. Cribs are put in place 

 lengthwise of the stream, one in the center and one on each side of the 

 stream. Bed pieces are placed on these cribs and the bridge is well 

 braced above. The floor is made of poles about 4 inches in diameter. 

 After crossing the Klutena bridge, we turned to the left and followed 

 the bank of the Copper for several miles. A new trail was being 

 opened when we passed along. It joins the original trail above Ton- 

 sena Lake, and is built to avoid the swampy land between Copper 

 Center and this lake. Leaving the Copper River bank, we passed over 

 some 5 or 6 miles of heavily timbered country; the moss was not deep 

 here and the soil was well drained and rich-looking, dark in color, 

 with just enough sand to work up easily. The size of the trees would 

 make clearing costly as compared with the amount of labor it would 

 require to clear the land near Copper Center. Grass was growing in 

 scattered bunches through the woods, but there were no patches of 

 any size. About noon we passed close to a lake where the trail men 

 were working, and we had to make our way through the woods to the 

 old trail as best we could, and the task was none too easy. The timber 

 was dense, and chopping was necessary in places in order to get the 

 pack animals through. The day was cloudy, which made it difficult to 

 keep the direction, and the situation was made more confusing by trees 

 that were blazed in a seemingly promiscuous manner, which made it 

 difficult to follow a course in any direction. By this time it had begun 

 to rain, and all together it looked as though we would not reach Tonsena 

 road house by night, as we had hoped to do; but about 4 o'clock a 

 blazed trail that it was possible to follow was discovered, and we were 

 shortly afterwards on the Government trail again, about 6 miles from 

 Tonsena road house. It was dark and raining heavily when we reached 

 Tonsena. This was the only rain we had during the trip. There is a 

 Government bridge across the river at this place. 



From Tonsena the trail leads through Kimballs Pass. For several 



