PURINGTON.1 ROADS AND ROAD BUILDING IN ALASKA. 219 
As a little less than three-fourths of this amount is available for 
roads, it is evident that the work can not be pushed very rapidly. 
It is probable that not more than 40 miles of standard road could 
be built and maintained in any one year in the central Yukon prov- 
ince, and not more than 20 miles of standard road in the South Coast 
province. Moreover, it is not likely that the fund will increase 
rapidly, as the number of incorporated towns is growing. 
Though a beginning was made in the construction of a military 
horse trail from Valdez over Thompson Pass, the project was only 
partially successful on account of lack of funds for maintenance. 
The recommendation of Mr. Alfred H. Brooks, of the Geological 
Survey, of an appropriation of $1,000,000 to be spent for wagon roads 
in Alaska is amply justified by the necessities of the case. It is prob- 
able that for this sum 900 miles of roads (300 of the Dawson standard 
wagon type and 600 for sleds) could be built in those parts of the 
country which would be most assisted by their construction. Provision 
should, however, be made for their annual maintenance. The inhabi- 
tants of Alaska would be as appreciative of such Federal aid as those 
of any portion of the American possessions, and, by such improve- 
ment in transportation facilities, the annual Alaskan product in gold 
would be greatly increased. 
A serious detriment to the making of a road in Alaska is the thaw- 
ing of the ground beneath the moss. It has been the universal 
experience that wherever the moss is cut into thawing immediately 
commences, and the trail which was passable becomes a filthy, slimy 
mass of mud, roots, and broken stones, a difficult route for men on 
foot, a slow and tiresome road for loaded animals, and an impassable 
obstacle to any sort of vehicle. In regions farther south, under 
temperate conditions, trails frequently are developed into fair wagon 
roads by much usage. Such developments can never take place in 
any part of the Northwest. 
In the Northwest, where the ground is always subject to slight dis- 
turbances from alternate freezing and thawing, the roads can not be as 
durably constructed as in portions of the United States where similar 
topographic conditions prevail. The table of expenses furnished by 
the Canadian government for this report shows that the cost of main- 
tenance does not exceed 15 per cent of the original mile-cost of the 
road. A feature that can not be too strongly impressed on those who 
have never seen the interior of Alaskan country is the extraordinary 
difference between the topography of the southeast coast, which is 
most often visited by tourists, and the portions of the country in 
which the rich placer deposits have been developed. In the coast 
region about Juneau, Admiralty and Baranoff islands, and in Prince 
William Sound (see PI. XYI, A, p. 114) the needle-like peaks, precipi- 
tous slopes, cataracts in summer, avalanches in winter, and all the 
