Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-07-29
The territory Of Alaska.

ing . very full. interesting and Eaiuaoie az
count of Alaska. the country concerning
,xbich opinions have so widely differed. Inc
letter opens with an account OF the early histofs
of the country and its purchase by Congress-
,aap describes the country and its resources
;,s ooverument-if it has one,-its attractions
for tourists and the means 10 get there we
COPY SO much as relates TO the resources oi
this distan, and strange part of our domih-
ions.
TuE LIMITED RESOURCES OF ALASKA
Thouch the country has been under cIvi-
l;zad Government for nearly eighty years. and
,hongh MANY agricultural experiments nave
heen made. as vet very little has been ac-
,omplished In the Sitkan DIVISION no
grass has been grown, and the small gardens
AZ Sitka and Wrangell produce only few Oh
tho hardest vegetables SO great Is tile
moisture that hay cannot readily ne cureu,
wheat ripened. nor potatoes raised. Even
cabbayes will not head. While our troops
uern in the territory. few cattle were win
o-.a, difficulty kept in the District. but there
ia NOT at present cow IN the whoie oNis-
ion of Alaska. Beef Is luxury most high
Iv prized. the only meat being an occasional
hanncb of veni>on. and. in the proper season
small game. The mountains As a rule ue
scend abruptly to the sea, ami the sihi'i
matches of level land are few and far between.
In a word. agriculturally this whole district
il absolutely worthless. There Is no io'ner
for cattle. and the ground under the mos'
it'll cultivation Yields nothing but the
poorest v4r'e'ies of the most lnsignincan'
vepetsbles. The hand of man can do little
.ff ta N.
The chief business in all parts of Alaska
h,. b.en and still is the fur trade The gold
mines of the Still in River are all located in
R-;,;sb Columbia and As the stores from
which the most of the miners supplies are
furnished are upon the river the business IS
diverted 10 the British possessions very
MANY miners however, winter at Wrangeii'
and freight bound to points on the Stlkne
River is al this place transferred to the small
river steamers. Some gold claims have been
located near Sitka and specimens of ore sent
m the ASSAY Office at Victoria have been
found 10 contain a fair quantity of the prec-
ions metal. A quartz mill was erected dur
;ng 1879 and il was intended TO develop one
of the mines but the unpleasant weather
and short DAYS of winter will render 1t eX-
trcmely difficult to carry on operations unr-
inc more than six months of the year. NC
sufficient amount of capital has as yet been
invested nor have the mines been sufhclentiy
worked to determine the mineral wealth OF
the territory Many who have given the sub
iect great attention are fully convinced that
valuable deposits of the precious metals ex-
ist.
Mr.. Francis. now and for many years past
,ur Consul at Victoria, is sanguine in the be-
lief that considerable quantities of gold will
vet he mined, and his son, who was until re-
Gently the Deputy Collector at Sitka, speaks
ir still more confident terms of the value OF
the ore-beds. The Sitkan Division does how
ever. possess a great abundance of most val
uable ship-timber The wood, known as yell
low cedar. and sometimes called camphor-
wood which is the most durable of all woods
for purposes of ship-building. is found in
large quantities, and the Sitka spruce, in
ferior to this, but of very great value. is
most plentiful. Logs of either of these
woods can be easily procured at very small
expense Lumber has been sawed at a total
cost of three dollars per thousand, which
would easily command from twelve to fifteen
dollars in San Francisco. There has been
for some time a small saw mill in Sitka, and
another has recently been built in Klahwoch,
but only trif1ing quantities of lumber have as
vet been sawed at either place. The vast
tracts of timber land in Oregon. Washington
Territory and Northern California will fol
many years supply the market Of the Pacific
coast.
The fur trade Of the Sitkan Division is al
present the most important interest. The
small amount of business now transacted a
Sitka is entirely dependentu upon the exchange
of commodities for furs and peltries. Fol
the past few wears there has not been a suf
cient demand for fnrs to make high prices oil
large gains Fashion has frowned at the
dictation perhaps, of the hard times. ant
connection among traders has assisted in re
incing the profits. All the mer hants pro
frss 10 have lost money and il is the genera
onrion that none have made any The FIJI
seal j. not found in the waters a.li1cent
Sitka brt large quantities of other valuable
f,rs are hrouqhr to this place and 70 Wran.
CELL nv the Indians and accumulated Nv tad
"rs Fnr-tra'iiny il IN its rat"r.. liftl.
.ritel 10 the permanent prnsn",i'v If roun.
nv II demands the fror,i. and The wider.
ncss the scat of operations ar'' is pcrforce
,illel Ne y country is settled and is resources
-'cvelnred II is the enemy nf civilization
and The more profitable il is the sooner does
II rune Ia an onl Year nv wear as the cir
Gle of popnla'inn wilens. the trappers ar.
i-iv.n further to the north Astoria fnr
cd its supremacy. and TODAY no f'irs are sold
in that market al first hand. large part y,
the worlds supply must hencefortlr come
from Alaska. She has no rival on this Con-
iinent and in the most important branches
no formidable competitor on the globe
The fisheries of the Sitkan waters will per
hars ultimately prove the most valuable re-
source. They have. however. until very re-
Gently heen of but little practical value A
few barrels of sailed fish have been annually
exported. and the inhabitants have to a large
extent sustained life on the products of the
sea. Within the past two years two salmon
canneries have been built. and quite large
amount of money invested in this enterprise.
but lack of information does not permit me
to saw whether the venture has proved sue
cessful.
1t was said in support of the Alaskan pur-
chase that all the ice Of the Pacific coast was
imported from that Territory: but the value
of the export was never in a single year more
than thirty thousand dollars, and the success
full introduction of machinery for the pro-
duction of ice artificially has caused the bus
mess to rapidly decline and disappear No
ice is now exported from any portion of the
Territory.
The GARDEN OF ALASKA.
The second division, which | have called
the Yukon. has been less explored than either
of the others. There were formerly few