Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-02-09
Gov. Swineford Undeceiyes the Public
Mind Regarding the Territory
Its Mineral Resources and Fisheries
the Most Extensive in the World.
No Extremes of Temperature-It Will
Yet Rival Russia as Wheat producer
Wisconsin People prosperous in Their
Official and Business Relations.
ALASKA'S RESOURCES.

ALAShA > hESOUhttISs
An Interesting Interview With Gov. Swine
ford-The Public Have Been Deceived
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4.-Gov. Swineford
is one of the familiar forms seen around
the capitol now a days. He is as enthusi-
astic as ever over Alaska, and hopes to
see territorial form of government for
that territory this winter. alaska" says
the governor, "has been the most misrep-
resented territory have ever known of.
This is due to the fact that the Alaska
Commercial company which has had a
monopoly in the great fur interests had
no desire to let the world or the govern
ment know what they had or what they
were doing. Up to the time of my going
there the only truthful and reliable work
ever published about Alaska was published
by VIM. 81. Dill, of the Smithsonian insti
tute, who visited the country in 1865 and
remained there several months. The
general public have very crude ideas as
to the territory. They take it for granted
to be country of perpetual snow and
ice, barren and of no value. This view
is accepted by the majority without
question. Some years ago l was of the
same view and was one of the demo-
Gratis who through the press and on the
stump ridiculed the purchase of Alaska.
I had not read a great deal about it, but
like everybody else, called it the great
northwestern refrigerator. I was max
ing a speech in Michigan in 1880
and going on in the spread
eagle style, referring to the ter
ritory acquired under democratic as
cendancy and the barren tract the repub-
licans had secured. After the speech an
old man stepped up and said, ''you could
talk much better about Alaska if you
would read up on the subject" I did
read up, and when Cleveland was elected
was pleased to have him recognize me
with the appointment as governor. You
can put me down as saying that Alaska
and that the time is not far distant when
it will be the greatest gold producing sec
ton in the world. 1t will in time rival
Russia as a wheat growing country; yet
aside from these two great advantages
its fisheries alone will command for it
the highest consideration. Why this
nil ha foh
We have more Goldfish than the Canadian
and New England seaboards can produce.
We have every kind of fish from a brook
trout to whale. Our waters are alive
with salmon. In the spawning season
you require 10 hook and line, as in some
of the streams they are so thick you can
kill them with club. Chicago man
was up there recently during the spawn
ing season, and calling his attention to
the salmon jumping out of the
water in countless numbers ask
ed him what he thought of
it. He replied by saying that "there was
$4,000 worth of property jumping out
fish story.
THE LENGTH OF THE DAYS
during the summer months admit of
growing all kinds of vegetables and most
cereals. The days between sunrise and
sunset are seventeen hours long in June,
with three hours of twilight morning and
evening. [ have sat on my porch and
read the papers at IL o'clock p. m. with
out artificial lights. In December, the
days are reduced down as low as six
hours and twenty-three minutes, not
counting the three hours twilight
morning and evening. The climate is
pleasant and not variable; the coolest
weather I have ever seen was one degree
above zero, and that was in the winter of
SO, while the heat is not as excessive as
it is in Wisconsin. This, of course, ap-
plies to the coast. In Che interior, with
in the Arctic circle, the winters are very
severe, while the summers are the hottest
in North America. In the summer, in
the interior, op the Yukon river and
within the Arctic circle, the lover ami
mails can hardly survive the attacks of
mosquitoes and black flies, while the in
hebitants are obliged to go masked. The
only disagreable feature about the
climate on the coast is the excessive rain
falls"
SOCIETY, RELIGION AND EDUCATION.
"I am located at Sitka, which has a
population of about 500 whites and 1,5OO
natives. The town has amateuur thea
tiers and other places of amusement. The
natives are not disagreeable, and many
Or them dress better than the whites.
We have schools there which, though not
sectarian, partake in a measure of that
class of schools. The Greek Catholic
church, supported by the Russian gov
eminent, predominates so far as mem
bership is concerned, the Presbyterian
church following next, while the Roman
Catholic comes third. The Russian
government expends more annually for
outstanding and educating the natives
of Alaska than does our own. That gov
eminent conducts 10 schools, in which the
Russian language is taught, also the Eng
lish. The United States supports 15
schools.