THE WHITE PASS 



33 



RAILROAD TERMINUS, SUMMIT OF WHITE PASS, 

 JUNE 7, 1899. 



were the primal rocks, sweeping up into the clouds and 

 plunging down into the abyss, that held the planet together. 

 Over against us on 

 the other side of the 

 chasm we caught 

 glimpses here and 

 there of the ' Dead 

 Horse trail.' Among 

 the spruces and along 

 the rocky terraces, 

 are said to have per- 

 ished several thous- 

 and horses on this 

 terrible trail. The 

 poor beasts became so weak from lack of food that they 

 slipped on the steep places and plunged over the preci- 

 pices, thus ending their misery. 



On the summit we found 

 typical March weather : 

 snow, ice, water, mud, slush, 

 fog and chill. The fog pre- 

 vented us from getting a 

 view down toward the Klon- 

 dike country, 600 miles 

 away. The British flag and 

 the Stars and Stripes were 

 floating side by side on the 

 provisional boundary line 

 between Alaska and British 

 Columbia, and several Can- 

 adian police were on duty 

 there. In this bleak spot 

 we found birds nesting or 

 preparing to nest: the pippet, the golden-crowned spar- 

 row and the rosy finch. The vegetation was mostly moss 



CUSTOM HOUSE AND FLAGS OF BOTH NA- 

 TIONS ON PROVISIONAL BOUNDARY, 

 SUMMIT OF WHITE PASS, 

 JUNE 7, 1899. 



