The Leavenworth weekly times., 1879-03-13
ca,sci,v did Won po,qu Was asked.

capacity, Cid you mol! vas asked.
"Yes, sir; went there under directions
from secretary Sherman 10 insfeet the Gus
toms district located there. / have Just re-
turned, and viii submit report TO Consress.
Immedistly after the purchase, Cover
nor Lowell II. EJuseiu went to receive the
Territory with A large body Of uo1ps IN
naval vessels, after Viii n it was gsrri-c d
by several companies az PCss selected BY
General HaliccE. These posts we're mara
ed out BY General Haiitck at his military
headquarters in San Francisco by merely
locking at a map OF Alaska, Without a tour
Of exploration having been made. This
fact Is not generally known. As result of
Thu, the posts were. located At points that
Ser- either totslly Inaccessible or diffcIlt
TO resch, ard wh.re il WAS expensive 70
supply the troops with garrison stores Sab
seqgen,ly all tueSe posts we're abandoned ty
order oi the War Department, except two,
viz: Sitka and Fort "rsngel. on Wrangei-
Island, and the government Oi the Territory
was finally turned over 10 the Treasury
Del tment.
line government was placed in the hands
of the Collector of Customs and his dtpu
ties, who were occasionally visited hy
revenue cutter. But thee depntits being
only su,horiz j by law 10 Colie-t IeSsuu..
spd having 10 eSlgrdgt Iowors, whatever
government; hey have exercised ha- been
usurped This is but little at the b, st, ard.
a. a result, there il DO government at all"
Whist kind OF people, NJ Mtior, are the
natives
"rhey are Indians Of two classes. The
first Is the coast sayagss, who lives in viii
lages and sUbsists on tisn of his own catch
ing. lie is psrtisliy civilized from inter
course with the whites. He also ,rade- with
the tribes Of the Interior and with the
whites"
"Who are the second class Of people,"
"They are the interior tribes, of whom
little is known. They will allow no white
msn TO enter their domain, and they only
trade with the coast Iudisns. Their coun-
try is partitioned off for each tribe. They
are wsriike, dang rOus, and in fact perfect
savsge.. Both classes of Indians are more
of an Asiatic type than our r,d men Of the
plains, and clearly show their Tartar oryin.
The temperature Of southern Alaska il no
colder than at the mouth of the Columbia
river, Oregon, ard three degrees warmer
than at Ottawa. Tlis is owing to the
warm current which flows fiom, known -
the japanese gulf st-eam. Snow is very
rarely seen in the streets Cf Silka, though
in the winter time tie mountains in the
vicinity are covered. The same clothing
is worn there as you wear to-day in Wa-h-
inglon. The dampness Of the air is much
more to be feared than the cold. These
remarks, however, DO not apply 10 the
entire country west OF the Aleutian islands
which is barren and iuhC-pirable"
Has Alaska any rivers?'
"Yes sir, the principal one the Yukon,
which flows through Central Alaska, and
empties into Norton sound. Ii has never
thoroughly surveyed, but Capt. Raymond
navigated it for 1000 miles 1t il believed
to be larger than the Mississippi or the
Amazon. 1t is frozen up in Tie winter
time, and its breaking up in spring is
grand and terrific signt. Alaska is full
of coal. 1t can be found cropping out
everywhere. But it cannot be utilized,
because there is so much OF it in Washing
ton Territory, which is nearer California
and Oregon. The best coal Tor steamiDg
purposes is found near Nansimc, but
anthracite coal is known TO exist Its
development will prove fortune to some
body, as We have no anthracite coal on the
Pacific slope. Gold and silver, irOn, copper
and platinum have also bsen found in
paying quantities, but none OF the mines
have ever been prospectsd or developed,
owing to the dangers which miners are
subjected to Ia making explorations. In
the Cassiar district, however, which IL in
British Columbia, and which is annually
visited By ) 200 miners, who have to pass
through Alaska, the mines yielded millions
of dollars of surface gold. Recently
numerous rich deposits have been discover
ed in part Of the territory which is now in
dispute between the United States and
Great Britain. The Indians wear orna-
ments of gold, and state that gold exists,
but are very retiCent "a 20 its locality, Ii
must, however, be borne in mind that
prospecting in Alaeka is not like Arizona
or the Black Hills. lhe distance is great,
the season is short, great deal of money is
needed to get there, and even when they
reach Alaska there il no guarantee that
they will not be scalped by savages Tim
Der and fish are the. remaining principal
treasures. The forests are immense prin-
cipally of yellow cedar, which is most
valuable for building purposes. White
Alaska will eyeltually supply the
'hcSOu
are giving out. From the mouth OF the
Columbia river, below Astoria, there are
stretched across it every night for forty
miles seine after seine, and the salmon can
not get up the river TO spawn. But the
Alaska fisheries are ineIhaustIble, and a
catch of from 1000 to 1000 salmon with
one haul of the seine is of common occur
renee. Two wealthy San Franci=co firms
have started canneries up in Alaska, and
last year sent down between 1000 and
5000 cases, each case containing four dCz-
en- one pound cars. There il no govern
ment whatever. There are no courts, and
a man there has no civil or political rights
No person can acquire title to property,
for there is no law TO enforce the collection
of debts or the conveyance Of deeds, wills
or other instrumental. Nor can LIE even
acquire land by preemption. He can
neither vote, hold property nor is he guar
anteed trial BY jury
"How large is Alaska was asked in
conclusion.
"lt contains 100000 square miles, about
one-tenth the size Of the United States. 1t
has :. 900 miles Of sea coast, or more than
all the sea coast of the United States to-
+, q her"