Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1885-07-08
Alaska.

When, two decades ago, Secretary
Seward paid seven and half millions
of dollars for Alaska, the people ask
ed: "What is Alaska" The pub
lie fancy was tickled with few car
toons OF Uncle Sam astride an icc-
berg, soon utilized as soda water APP
paratus advertisements, and the matter
was forgotten. The idea of a land of
eternal ice was accepted, and the pur-
chase regarded by the people as
joke, and by those in high places rs a
reward to Russia for her course du-
ring the civil war. The land which
nobody deemed worthy of thought
was given up to fishing company or
two, whose interest it was to perpet-
uate the idea formed of the climate.
Incidentally it may be remarked that
even as fishery it has paid more
than five per cent annually OH the
investment. For dozen years or
more nothing was heard of this poss-
ession. Then an occasional hint,
vague and from unknown source, be-
gan to be dropped that things were
not as they seemed. These hints
grew strong enough to arouse news
paper investigation, and the scales
began to drop from the eyes of the
nation. Four governmental explor-
ing expeditions have been sent out,
and fifth is under way. The re-
ports brought back are exciting
visions of public and private wealth,
and, once the country is surveyed and
made accessible, it may not be less
familiar to hear Of emigrants for
Alaska than for Dakota. 1t has been
ascertained that the rivers and bays
arc open to navigation large part of
the year; that, as might be argued
from what was known of the coast
region of Oregon and Washington
Territory, the climate is not extreme
ly rigorous. Vegetation, fish, and
game abound. The soil has all the
elements of fertility. Spread over
the valleys and mountains arc mex
haustible forests of timber first class
quality. accessible by water for I'M
measured miles. Coal is known to
exist in large quantities. The pre-
cious minerals have been mined, but
as titles cannot be had to land or
claims, their richness is, for obvious
reasons, kept secret.
OF the extent of Alaska few peo-
pie have any conception. Its most
distant point is farther from San
Francisco than is the most distant
point in Maine. When the sun
awakens in Alaska he has not yet
gone to bed in Maine, and what Web.
ster said of England thus becomes
true of the United States-the sun
never sets upon our domain. If we
may believe Lieutenant Schwatka
this unknown land has river SO long
that if its head was at Salt Lake its
mouth would be at New York, and so
wide that Philadelphia would be on
one side and New York city on the
other. The development of the new
sections of our country has been the
prime mover of our manufacturing
and commercial growth. 1t has fur
nished and will continue to provide a
growing market where goods
will be sold to be consumed. When
these new regions have grown older
they have built their own factories
and a new manufacturing market has
been found farther out. Is there not
reasonable ground to hope that when
all available territory shall be occu-
pied Alaska will yet remain and fur
nish consumers for the goods of our
factories and home for the overflow
of our population A railroad in
Alaska is not an impossibility of the
century.-Ex.