Perry Collins proposed a telegraph line to link San Francisco and Moscow, Russia; the line would run north into Alaska and span the
Bering Strait. He negotiated contracts in the United States, Canada, and Russia starting in 1858 and was appointed managing director of the
Western Union Russian Extension, later known as the Collins Overland Line, in 1864. The route was planned originally to follow the
Fraser River north from
Quesnel to
Fort George, but the river proved to be unnavigable during spring thaws, so an alternate route was chosen, following a trail used by the
Dakelh First Nations people, who also were serving as guides for the surveying crews. Although the rest of the Collins Line remained active to Quesnel and even was extended east to
Barkerville, the trail eclipsed its utility as the primary overland route from Quesnel for supplies and the thousands of prospectors eager to join the
Omineca,
Cassiar, and
Klondike Gold Rushes. A branch was added to
Atlin that year, which had grown as a result of its own gold rush. Work on the Atlin–Quesnel segment had to pause with the onset of snow in fall 1900, leaving what the planners estimated to be a gap in the line south of
Telegraph Creek. Two cabins were built at the termini and it was proposed to relay messages across the gap via dogsled during the ensuing winter, but this plan was abandoned as the gap proved to be significantly larger than estimated. When the gap was closed on September 24, 1901, it was discovered to be . There are thirteen cabins between Hazelton and Telegraph Creek, spaced approximately apart. From Telegraph Creek to Whitehorse, there are seven cabins, spaced apart. The Yukon Telegraph operated until 1936, when it was wiped out by floods and replaced by radio communications. As the trail was used by heavily-laden animals to bring supplies north, continuing from the terminus of the
Cariboo Wagon Road in Quesnel,
soil compaction has continued to preserve the trail by discouraging tree growth. ==Route==