FACTOID # 2: Andorra has no unemployment, which is just as well because they have no broadcast TV channels either. What would everyone watch?
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS    Advanced view

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Dalton Trail

The Dalton Trail is a trail that runs between the Pacific Ocean at Pyramid Harbor, west of Haines, Alaska in the United States and Fort Selkirk, in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It is 396 km (246 miles) long.


The Dalton Trail should not be confused with the James Dalton Highway, a highway built in the late 1900s that leads to the North Slope of Alaska.


Originally, the Chilkat group of Tlingit controlled the trail, which they used for trade with the Athabascan people of the interior. They called the trail "grease trail" after the eulachon oil (extracted from the tiny candlefish) that was the most important item of trade on the Chilkoot side.


Each Tlingit chief had an exclusive Athabascan trading partner. Tlingits took eulachon oil and returned with furs, hides and copper nuggets gathered by the Athabascans. Trading parties often lasted a month or more and often consisted of as many as 100 men, each of whom would carry a 160 kg (100 pound) load.


Upon the arrival of Europeans, the Chilkat acted as middlemen between the traders and Athabascans and became quite wealthy.


The Chilkat trade monopoly was broken in 1890 when E. J. Glave, John (Jack) Dalton and several others were hired by Leslie's Illustrated Magazine of New York to explore the interior of Alaska. While exploring the Grease Trail, they saw the possibility of a trade route there. Dalton and Glave returned in the spring of 1891 to try taking pack horses on the trail. Glave died a few years later, but Dalton remained in the area. He developed a series of trading posts and, in 1899, begain charging a toll to use the Grease Trail, which prospectors called Dalton's Trail and later the Dalton Trail. During the Klondike Gold Rush many prospectors walked the trail to Ft. Selkirk, where log rafts would float men, horses and cattle to Dawson City.


In 1900, the White Pass and Yukon Route Railway was completed to neighboring Skagway. This ended much of the traffic on the Dalton Trail.


The west portion of the present-day Haines Highway follows much the same route as the Dalton Trail.


  Results from FactBites:
 
Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center: Historical Vignettes (1245 words)
...Dalton and I decided to stay to see the last of the caravan and pick up any odds and ends that might be left behind; we found plenty of this material with which we brought up the rear of the procession, loaded with a curious assortment of property.
Dalton carried three pairs of snowshoes, one gold pan, one bread pan, four saucepans, (all about the same size, strung around his waist on a belt), besides which he had a rifle, revolver, ammunition, etc. I was loaded with one bucket, one big kettle, teapot, blankets, sack of books, camera, overcoat and a wild duck.
Dalton hired out to guide groups over his trail and in 1898, he established a short-lived pony express to carry mail and people between the Yukon and Pyramid Harbor.
Dalton Trail - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (402 words)
The Dalton Trail is a trail that runs between the Pacific Ocean at Pyramid Harbor, west of Haines, Alaska in the United States, and Fort Selkirk, in the Yukon Territory of Canada.
Originally, the Chilkat group of Tlingit controlled the trail, which they used for trade with the Athabascan people of the interior.
The west portion of the present-day Haines Highway follows much the same route as the Dalton Trail.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms, 1022, m