Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. 24 PERILOUS WORK. by chaining On the steep mountain sides a foothold was obtained logs to iron bars drilled into the rock. ment in July 1898 by electing a Vigilance Committee and killing “ Soapy Smith.” The gravel flat upon which Skaguay was situated was hemmed in by snowclad moun- tains on three sides, and by the sea on the other. The trail which connected it with the interior followed the rocky banks of the Skaguay River for some distance through the mountains, and then, turning sharply to the left, ascended the canyon of the White Pass to the Summit. Beyond the Summit it was necessary to climb still higher The White Pass Trail. on the precipitous sides of Turtle Mountain in order to avoid the many arms of what is now known as Octopus Lake. From Turtle Mountain the trail descended to Log Cabin, and thence to the head of Lake Bennett. Although it was called a trail, it is not what most people understand by that term in the sense of being a path at all suited for reason- able travel by man or beast. Before the discovery of the Klondike it had been the line adopted by the Indians in their migrations from the coast to the upper waters of the Yukon ; and when the Klondike rush began, the Indians piloted the gold- seekers over this line and assisted them to carry on their backs their personal belongings, for which they made a charge aver- aging about two to three shil- lings per pound weight. The early goldseekers having abused the confidence of the Indians by liquidating their indebtedness in patent medicine advertisements and other alleged paper currency of no value, the Indians there- after exacted silver dollars, and would accept nothing else for their services. They were good climbers, and, like all Indians, too lazy and improvident to make any attempt to improve their trail. They had never seen a horse, and considered that any rocks, boulders, or fallen timber which a man could climb over, and any swamps or streams which he could wade, were no ob- jection whatever in a line of travel from one place to another. As the goldseekers came in increasing numbers they began to bring pack-horses with them, and the owners of the first horses were compelled to do a certain