New-York tribune., 1870-05-24

has been already demonstrated at Lengths and the espa,
cy 81 g Ssrrea %srT. Ss Oats nnd barley possibly wheat
and rye may succeed OH these isapds ia,t,, eycent
peFhops potatoes NAV be considered settled T9Ss nat
cattle viii do well there, there Is 10 and cheese
om tb acntp @ v and northern kan Districts sheep
goats, and swine have not not been VS3 sncceed
vet but the inference is that they also moTu ttorv are
Most of the berries found in the Yukon ieflpIy M ao o
also common the Aeutian Dsic sn" 10 The sue
cess Of some kind of frurees 1t is 10 be hoped at
least that one T0a % R RSnd COOKS Inlet are unQues
,,onn6y tbo best agricultural country in our new pos
S9TSng tho resources of the southern stkan & District
lie apparently entirely in it's o timber, coos InS a5d
most valuable acquisition. No better lumber lumber
ing district can be IG %ngnef sdes Ts SO steep
thai slideeasy made OF the least valuable timber
viii IT e a q GGS as N @ 70 as be raised g
some stock kept I'm this part OF Alaska, but propapy
MANY reports may be found in circulation, in
official documents in regard to ALASKA, having very Ie
has never exported any products Of her soil except gran
te and ice may look in less than ESQ years 10 receive
from Alaska supplies Of siptimber butter cheese WOOL
mutton and beef and perhaps more paatable fruits may
take the place of the weliayered eraneeITies which
have already found their TO San Francisco narke
The mineral OF geological resources of Alaska have
not been materially developed, but the existence oi
coal in large quantity and of good quality has been
abundantly demonstrated
Mr.. Dali shows very conclusivey that tnere is
nothing mythical about the fish or fur trade OF
Alaska. The abundance of fish near the shores has
been wonder to all the navigators and explorers OF
those regions from the earliest records Cod salmon
halbut herring, &c, &c. are apparently without
limit Statistics not attainabe, but few approx
innate statements indicate what we may expect from
the Northern Pacific coast. The catch OF cod for
the Autumn of 1869 is reported as S2O 600 fish, whch
at the low average of 81 pounds each land the racine
q IL. nfIn
would be worth, at five cents a pound, Sle93S0 in
gold and yet this is but the day of small things"
in our Alaska experiences. In 1906 10000 gallons OF
cod liver oil were reported by the Shumagin fisher
men, Fresh water fish include salmon, white fish,
pike, &C. Dali estimates that the natives consume
12GO0GOO salmon annually. At a single Russian
fishing station s4,159 were obtained i'll one season.
while at the fisheries at Kadiak and Cookies Inlet
$4,000 salmon are caught annually AT the mouth
of the Yukon River 100000 salmon reported as
dried every season. ard the true number is probably
double The whale fishery is also extensive, although
it has not wholly recovered from the ravages of the
pirate Shenandoah, and yet not fewer than 20 Amer
can whalers visit Behring Straits annually Before
the purchase of Alaska retting in any of the ports
was practically forbidden. Important is the fish
trade it has been overshadOwed by the trade in furs
In merely pecuniary point of view this is at pres
ent the chief business in the Territory. The sea-
otter and the fur-sea are the two leading skins"
The sea-0tter is a very large animal; the fur is soft
and black while long hairs tipped with white add to its
form The tails are always cut off and sold separately
The hair in 1irSelass seaotter SKIN Should De nearly MY
length of fallsized skin is about six feet and its
almost exclusively marine in its habits. 1t is said 10
come up on solitary rocks or isets TO bring forth ls
often sleeps the surface of the water, floating on its
back ana is said to clasp s young with one arm III an
| oil, nr,t1u x~.t Tf bOa lopk
The teeth remarkabe; those in front are not unlike
those OF cat while the rinGers are rounded 6Gssy ana
valves. II Is said 10 live principally on fish,
The skins were formerly worth in Europe from $500
| to $500, but they have much declined in value. At
present the best quality bring from $50 to $780, The
natives receive for good skins about $50 i'll gold or
goods.
The fur-seals are found in immense number, but in
order to prevent dmnutOn, possible extermina-
ton the Russian Government wisely restricted the
killing to young males less than five years, and
more than one year old. Mr.. Dali estimates that
100000 fur-seas might he safely killed annually who
even indulges the idea that account of the large
margin for profit our Government might well secure
reasonable proportion toward paying for the cost Of
the territory. At time the Russians destroyed
100000 skins through fear that the market might be
overstOcked OF land fUrs we find the fox, marten,
mink beaver otter lynx, black bear, and wolverine
among the Yukon Indians.
A beaver skin is worth twenty balls or two fathoms
of strung beads. Four mink two marten, or two white
foxes equal in value TO beaver Fstrate otter is
worth three beaver lynx also three good red fox -
equal 20 beayerand half This tariff is quite different
from the commeIcial value OF tne & i % Dut II - tat "
doublebarreed percussion is worth ten beaver yet
siuge-baTroled fnt-lock will bring twenty. These old
customs cannot OverFidden, although they may aI
pear absurd. The fixed prices at which the old trading
companies have held their goods doubtless tended to
confirm the practice.
The limited explorations that have been made |
show that there is coal i'll various localities of good
quality and in large quantity; copper, sulphur
plumbago, irOn &c. are also to be found. A few
gtteTing hints Of gold have been sufficient to stimu-
late the avaricous. The icetrade also promises to
be great feature in the developing resources OF
Alaska and certainly one after reading Mr.. Dalrs
book will doubt the excellent facilities there for
the manufacture Of this cooling commodity! 1t is
easy to see that along the coast down to San
Francisco, aud across the Pacific to the warmer
latitudes there openings for this trade big with
promise. In our previous estimates of Alaska we
have been too apt to judge of its value by its rela
tiOns to the Atlantic coast but we must extend our
IDEAS broaden horizon, and think of the regions
beyond the Rocky Mountains, and those in the far
off West who are now neighbors, and with whom
our commercial intercourse is 10 increase indeii-
nltely.
In the June number of Hdrper'S Magazine
there is sprghtly illustrated record Of "Jottngs and
Journeyings SPAIN" by Junius Henri Browne, des
tined we believe, to be much read and much quoted
Jacob Abbott explains "The Mysteries Of Thunder
Shower" Hamilton Busbey begins series Of papers on
"The Running Turf in America - William j. Flagg writes
about Wine in America and American Wine;' Mr.. Sea-
yer collects q number Of anecdotes Of "The Gaming
Table," and Prof I. b. Maury develops theories
about his pet subject-the Gulf Stream. The msceane