New-York tribune., 1889-10-17
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE WEALTH OF ALASKA.

Houghton, Miiiin g. Co. ...
Mr. Ballous book on Alaska possesses an i"'o'esV
beyond that attaching 10 works OF travei ~n'c eop
rccor new impressions of familiar countries ana paee'
:, q, one q, the first clear and definite attempts to
eonvsv IN ida 10 the American people OF the Hs'efSi
value and Importance of Alaska Consldenhg 'no A'0
that has elapsed since the purchase OF uia'
by the United States and considering the SUM P'O9
ALREADY given the country OF It's great ni"era anu
other wealth the believers in its future who appear
A., y. all who have honestly examined the country are
Justified In accusing Congress OF soth ana indher
.nce regarding Alaskan interests which have long
ceased 10 have any excuse In the dihculty OF oota-
ing inform alton about the region The most serious
baree against the National Legislature IS that has
refused to give Alaska such a government, and IN
.special such land-laws. VIC ud invite an American
immigration Afer nearly a quarter of century OF
nossession It stin mprac Hcable TO obtain clear
and firm title TO land IN the Territory. The American
citizens there ask nothing more than they are clearly
entitled to demand namely. the extension to them OF
the ordinary Territorial laws. There is not SHADOW
Of justification for the refusal of Congress to do this
And the only result of what begins TO look like studied
neglect is the postponement of developmentai
processes, all OF which would inure to the oeneh' Oh
,he entire county.
Mr. Ballou is an exJ erienced traveller and has cul
sated the faculty Of observation to good purpose his
descriation Of the steamer trip from Tacoma 70 sit
through the interslsnd passages IS most graphic ana
Alaskan tour will become before long one Of the favor
lite summer enterprises of American travellers. Mr.
Ballou's extensive peregrnatons invest with authority
his assertion that for glacial phenomena ana hyper
borean scenery Alaska surpasses everything Oh
the Kind that Europe can show. The Immense
glaciers of the northern coast are by lar the
most extensive known, and nowhere can they DC
seen at work in Glacier Bay. There the icy rivers
llse three thousand feet above the sea and extend
four hundred feet below its surface, and, advancing
at the rate of forty feet in twentyfour hours, main
tain a constant discharge OF enormous bergs, which,
broken and thrust forth by the pressure from 10
hind of the frozen flood, fall into the bay with
laundering reports, at somewhat irregular Intervals
sometimes too, similar bergs are disengaged nom
the submerged Ice-wall, and, springing to the sur
face add new danger TO the approaches OF the
colossal glacier front.
Practically nothing is known Of the interior of
Alaska. 1t has been explored and the United
States Government has thus far taken no steps 10
have It surveyed OF to ascertain ia any way the
nature and resources OF territory so vast that haIl
tho Union might be hidden away in II. The mere
eoas,lne all that really Enown has already dis
closed such riches to demonstrate the fabulous
yalue of the entire possession. The cost OF Alaska
was 81 200 900, and that sum has been nearly ~
couped TO the Treasury by the hitherto scanty ana
martial revenues Of the few outlying Alaskan re-
sources which have been developed on small scale
The seal islands alone have more than vlndicateu
Mr. seward's farsighted purchase; but in view OF
the Alaskan gold mines this is small matter Ihe
most extensive quartz crushing plant In the worId Is
today at work the Treadwell claim, the seilihg
price OF which property has been fixed at S2ooOoOoo
,bourh the owners tall san Francscans) have no
desire 10 SELL The gold quartz formation oi Alasha
f. declared by geooeists to be the most extensive
and the richest on the globe, and what is equally 10
the purpose, the veins are for the most part 50
situated that wood and water for working them are
close at hand. As 10 the severity Of the climate II
has been made too much Of The cold Is, no doubt
',evere during the winter in the INTERIOR put IL Is
iiy cold. and with proper quarters ana iood ana
clothing it need not interrupt work
Tho batteries of those who for occult reasons run
,own and deprccate Alaska have always been tnrned
Eith particular unanmity against the agricultural
,spcct Of the Territory. OF course no one oouio
pretend that it likely 10 be an agricultural regoh'
tbo,,yh as strange things have happened as mat IL
should prove capable Of producing heavy crops oi
come hardy kinds. As regards vegetables, however,
ard produce of many varieties, sufficient Tor the
needs of a considerable population, Its capacly nus
been fully tested All along the coast Such proouc's
aomIsh thrifty But the ocean food prooncls must
for some time constitute the principal exports OF
Alaska and their profuson IS really Wohoerlui'
There is literally limit 10 the quantity oil saion
herrtnc and bslIbut. Last year S3,OOOOoo worth OF
canned salmon was exported, and every year the
trade increases by leaps and bounds. mus iar
conventional taste (founded In ignorancel mas pie
clused the use Of the betterhavored white-necApu
esh Eastern purchasers holding that salmon mus'
ne mink TO be coed. Presently no doubt, this super
,,ion will he cleared away By actual experiment,
and then tbe salmon canneres viii make another ior
ward movement. Meantime IL Is evident that Aiasha
ran supply the entire Union with FISH, ana u Is quio
rossihle that the whole world might be furnished
from that opulent tIeasuie-house
Among the interesting statements OF inc aothor MOI
The least surprising is the following
speakng of tho interior of the country we nave me
authority of Mr. E. f. Fowler late agent OF the AaSka
Fur Company and long ree3t , IN bn ,9 Savo r
investigated the subject for stating hSi theIu cn,
huge species OF animals n%teHr mammoths found in
herds not far from the headquarters Oh Ihe Sano
River the interior gaesnS OF a. be size Of tbe
IVORY tIsks Some OF these. weighing over zoo ponni
each from animals SO laeE ,cSsse6 hng al by Mr.
have flesh upon them and were puIcnase" oi rbesc
Fowler. who brought them TO the coast l4cs, Hoe,
mammoths are represented 10 arcraS M inct in many
r.snscs resembling elephants the body being GOV
cred with long. coarse red1sn nar' ,ns, a3d n,ore
aSer tSan those of the average elephant The two
tusks which Mr. Fowler brought away Win nun cav
measured fifteen feet in Iehg'h !,
" ~, orso sncb a statement this IS not TO be
.ocontad without much better evidence than ap
nears to exist at present AS Nr
paro,s inference that the mammo'hs "nu'
had been lately Killed because 'neS sun "
aes, upon theu the fact goes for ltte since as Is wen
q ,nown several carcasses of mammoths almost lulN
nreserved have been found embedded IN zee on ,n'
coast Of Siberia the first discovery Of the knd da't
from 1890 The Alaskan natives may very weii nav
come upon similar refrigerated mammothS' put '"H' a
animal which the contemporary OF inc '",o
men stil exists is likely TO be believed on autnoS
les conclusive than that of scientific exploring eA
pediuon. ,,,u,
Mr Ballou gives many details concerning the natV'
tribes of Alaska and anecdotes tending TO sho"
that few OF these Indians cunning enough 10 hoi'
their own with any white traders One sucn NATIVE
actually made use of the instructions received al
s,on sobool to raise check after the most approved
method of civilized swinders. Other natives, finding
black fox fur In demand and bringing high prices
actually dyed red fox skins cleverly as TO deceive
..oAoxe for n considerable time. BallOu