Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1871-07-12

Ia the Waterman Of May 81. we raye nm ac
count of the Prihylon Islands Of the west cons
Of Alaska and Of the fur-sculs caught in prca
numbers thereon Ibis account was from "a re
port made December. 1862 by DR. Henry II. Ne
lntyrc then special agent Of the United State
/ Treasury Department and formerly Of Randolph
[ The following description of Alaska and its re
sources, condensed from the same report, will b.
Of interest as the statement of Nermonter win
has had every opportunity Of forming corcc
/ judgment DR. Mcintyre is now General Agcn
Of the Alaska Commercial Company and is spend
ing hi- fourth season in the territory
GENERAL FEATURES
On account of the great diversity in the miner
al and vegetable productions of the Territory o.
well as in the character and condition of the ma
tive inhabitants. shall divide the country, fi
thepurposc of description into Eastern and West
ern Alaska including ia the former ulI that por
ton lying east of the ij2d meridian, compri-in.
the Siikan Archipelago the district bordcrin,
on Prince William Sound aud the kcnay PENN
sua and in the latter. all the territory west o.
the 1921 degree, inluding Kodiak island. tn,
Alaskan Peninsula the Alcutmn Archipelagoau.
pribyloG Group or Seal Islands
Any remarks concerning Alaska. at the present
day, must be understood to refer to such portion.
OF the Territory as arc accessible by water. The
interior is as yet almost wholly unknown, and tho
little knowledge we possess, having been derived
from the natives, is not altogether reliable
therefore coutne my remarks chiefly 90 tine dis.
trlcts lying along the coasts. inlets and water.
courses.
Through the SItkan Archipelago, from The
southern border Of Alaska the islands are uni.
yersally mountainous varying in height from 500
to 1000 feet, and covered 10 the tops with ever
green forest. The same is true Of the mainlond.
with slight exceptions, throughout Eastern Alas
ka, the mountain chain being "a continuation of
the Sierra Nevadas There is, therefore. very
little arabic lund-n1ne, in fact, owing TO climatic
reasons 20 be hereafter mentioned Beyond the
Coast range, as we learn from the natives. there
lie vast plateaus covered with the most luxurian
veriurc and swarming with insect life during the
summer months, but uninhabitable for the greater
portion Of the year owing to the rieor Of the "a.
mate.
To the westward of longitude lj2- the feature,
Of the country undergo an entire change. and I'm
place Of f1rest.crowned precipitous heights We
have treeless mountains with occasional stretches
of level country intervening but all utterly de-
void Of vegetation, except the rank gra.s that
thriycs luxuriautly There is neither tree nor
shrub in the whole Aleutian rc,up r,,npri.in, "a
distance of nearly 1000 mile. from the most e,st
crly to the most westerly Of these Islands ,ou
points the mountain, exhibit evidences ,r reec,,
volcanic action. Nearly every peak basa circular
depression at or near the ton while t,e ,,y, ,,.,
notable mountains in the Aeutian Islands. si.u-
,ted On Ounimak and OanaIaska. and NOT los.
han s 900 or 10000 feet high. are still -enlip,
ip vast columns of smoke "a fine acti,.r n
hese is ascribed. by the natives. the occasional
earthquake felt at Ounalaska VILLAGE The e,r,l,
was twice convulsed for several seconds inriny
NY sqiourn at that place last summer. Ina more
violent conyulsion in the autumn of 1865. the
narrow tongue Of land on which the village is
situated, together with the basin of the small or
inner harbor, is said to have sunk several feet
Proceeding north Of the Alaskan Peninsnl, into
Behring'S Sea and inward olop, tho o,,., ,bo
mountain range recedes and in place Of the pre-
opitous ascent directly from the waters edge, We
nave Nat stretches OF country only partially tim
oereu' ana IN tho river bottoms shifting sands
whlen annually change the channels Of the M
s"'sAN, Nu'nqnelun ana hwlchpak Rivers II
IS possible TO penetrate the interior from Bsh-
ring Sea only by way OF the great rivers and
w" N'i7 - " NHuNuit UNDERWRITING since only "a